Where's all the good solos?

[tubafatness]

Now, before I even start, I will acknowledge that there are plenty of great solos and such for tuba out there. But, as the title suggests, where are all the good solos? This was brought to my attention today as I went through a list of the competitors and music in a forthcoming concerto competition. Of course, there were about 6 Mozart pieces, a couple of Brahms, some other composers. Then there's the tuba piece. "Concerto" by Ewazen. All though this is a great piece, I was immediately struck by the fact that the only solos written by a composer of any notable status were the two Concertos written by Vaughn-Williams and John Williams, (hey that rhymed!) Where's all the good tuba music!!? I was also distraught by the realization that, just because I play "that ugly instrument" the tuba, I was immediately going to be a step down from the other competitors, (stupid french horns and violins.) This just makes me mad. I better stop and take a few breaths...........Now, I'm sure there is a reasonable answer to this question. I just need to find it, and quick!

Incidentally, does anyone know where I can find both the piece "Andante Tranquilo" by Barry McKimm and Defasye's "Marine Suite" Thanks, Aaron "Tubafatness" Hynds

[quinterbourne]

To find good tuba music, you need to redefine your perception of good tuba music.

Trumpet and french horn players have a vast variety of concertos to choose between, from many different eras, styles, etc.

Most of our music is cheezy (since most composers don't take the tuba seriously) or contemporary/atonal. Either learn to like the contemporary/atonal music, play transcriptions or spend your whole life in search of that "gem" you'll never find.

[quinterbourne]

speaking of the John Williams concerto, Where can I find a copy of this piece? Sorry to hijack the thread but I just needed to know.

A lot of music stores will probably have this... except they will have it because of the name on the piece, instead of for it's musical qualities (or lack thereof).

The John Williams could be considered a huge study in technique. I, personally, don't find it very musical at all. It seems like John Williams has taken large steps to avoid having his tuba concerto sound like any of his film music. It sure ain't Star Wars.

[tubafatness]

Hey, I like contemporary/atonal music! So I guess I'm half-way there.
Aaron "Tubafatness" Hynds

[THE TUBA]

There is a plethora of great tuba solos and concertos from many famous composers like Richard Strauss, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, Beethoven, Bach, ... Unfortunitly, the only copies of these great works are stored inside the bell of the York #3.

Play our corny repitoire and enjoy it!!

[Aubrey Foard]

Like anybody really wants my personal favorites, but what the hell...

Most anything that you hear on a Lind, Baadsvik, or Bobo recording is going to be worth checking out... these guys lay it down musically

[smurphius]

There is truly a lack of melodic music for our instrument. Most everything I've seen is either atonal or modern and often times less than pleasing to the ear. You have to keep in mind that when our instrument took the plunge into solohood, the race quickly began to prove ourselves as technically comparable to trumpets. All of our modern repertoire obviously displays this.

I hate to say it, but I am highly fond of much of the standard repertoire in the trumpet realm. If you're really looking for some solo works both technically challenging as well as musical, talk to your local trumpet professor. You'll probably have to transpose it to if you're planning to use the accompaniment (to compensate for transposing Bb instrument) but you might be happy with what you find there.

I'm in much the same boat. I'm looking for literature that lies well on CC tuba and there just isn't much. I am not too fond of F tuba and would really just love to play half and half on my recital. However, I've played many of the more difficult works that lie well for CC tuba.

Best of luck. If you find anything, let us know.

[THE TUBA]

Well, the tuba did not emerge as solo instrument until reccently (in terms of music history), and if I am not mistaken, there have not been that many "great" composers in the "solo tuba era." I guess that depends on your definition of a "great" composer.

Is John Williams considered a great composer? He has certainly written a lot of great music. We don't have any living Beethovens or Brahms, but we do have a Barnes (Barnes, James Barnes- couldn't resist ), and he wrote a tuba concerto. I think the Barnes concerto is also playable on a CC.



(Staccato, not slurred )

[Kevin Hendrick]

We don't have any living Beethovens or Brahms, but we do have a Barnes (Barnes, James Barnes- couldn't resist ), and he wrote a tuba concerto. I think the Barnes concerto is also playable on a CC.



(Staccato, not slurred )

License to trill?

[MaryMacK]

Hi all,

Yeah... compared to other "popular" instruments, we don't have much to pick from. But I'm going to share some of my favorite tuba piece that aren't mentioned above.

- Tuba Concerto/Sonata by Bruce Broughton. Some tubists may say that this piece is over played, like the Vaughan Williams, but I still love it. It shows a lot of great characteristics that normal people don't expect out of tuba; the aggressive side, the lyrical side, high range, low range, fast tempo, multiple tonguing, and so on. The piano part compliments the tuba part so well too!

- Concerto in One Movement by A. Levedev. This piece is so beautiful!!! If you can play this piece right, you can really bring the audience to tears. And again, the piano part compliments the tuba part so well.

- Tuba Concerto and Baroque 'N Brass (duet with tuba & trp or tuba & euph) by Eugene Anderson. I came across a CD of Sam Pilafian playing those piece and I was blown away. These two pieces are very cool, you should definately check them out.

Well, these pieces are some of my favorite tuba pieces and you're more than welcome to "agree to disagree" with my opinions

[Dan Castillo]

Walter Hartley wrote a couple diddies for unaccompanied tuba that you might enjoy.

Walter Hartley wrote a lot of good music for the tuba that just sits on a shelf. I can't really understand why....his tuba music has a lot of things in common with the Paul Hindemith Tuba Sonata, which is played all the time. (Pianist permiting)

1. Same "contemporary" melodic lines (Wide leaps, unusual intervals, etc.)

2. Fairly conservative range, making it easy to play on the CC/BBb tuba.

3. Many of his pieces also have that quirky "tongue in cheek" character about them, similar to the third movement of Hindemith.

There seems to be this kind of silent stigma against putting a Hartley piece on a recital. If you want proof check the program of the 2000 ITEC in Canada when Dr. H was given the lifetime achievement award by ITEA, yet you didn't get to hear a single one of his pieces at the conference.

I have a theory that people don't really think this music is challenging enough. Even if a Hartley piece is something interesting that the audience will enjoy, performers would prefer to play something more technically difficult (Granted....it could be just as musically interesting) that will let them show off a bit. This is a big generalization and all, but I believe it's the biggest reason his 25+ solos hardly ever get played.

A piece by Hartley probably isn't going to be a great masterpiece of Western civilization, but it'll be idiomatic for the instrument and have a lot of unique, intelligent character to it. I bet if you work one up, you'll enjoy it in the end.

Good luck on your search,
Dan C.