Re: Re: Lost art form or evolution?


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Posted by Rick Denney on August 13, 2000 at 12:38:32:

In Reply to: Re: Lost art form or evolution? posted by MG on August 11, 2000 at 19:49:58:

I can't think of a time in history when a wide variety of instruments haven't been available. The Cerveny Kaiserbass of the middle 19th century was available alongside the Wieprecht-style tuba, which was, at best, a small F tuba. Assuming these instruments were bought and sold, there was a market for them.

And I can't think of a major player in history who didn't own a large number of instruments, whether it was Bill Bell, Arnold Jacobs, or anyone else.

While I stand by my earlier statements that prospective pros are obligated to learn the fundamentals cold, it does not seem to me that working pros and playing amateurs lose any bonus points at all for not playing in a wide variety of colors and styles on just one horn. I respect those who must overcome a lack, but I suspect even in the former Soviet Union, the better working pros used at least two horns, even if one was a Cerveny F and the other a B&S BBb. There were lots of horns produced under the Soviet umbrella--not just St. Petersburgs.

Tuba players abound who respond to their circumstances by choosing to play only one horn. Most of them limit their repertoire appropriately: Why would a guy who plays only in a Polka band or a town concert band get an F tuba? A few are good enough to do it all on one horn, but most of *those* wish they had other horns, too. A friend of mine who is a fine tuba player, with a Masters in performance and the chops to prove he earned it, plays everything from orchestral music to polkas on a 186-5U CC Miraphone. But every time he blows a note on my F tuba, he tells me I'll know where to look if it turns up missing someday.

I remember two stories in Song and Wind that touch on this subject. The first was Stokowski's concept of the sound he wanted in Philly, and his direction to Philip Donatelli to get a bigger tuba to match that concept. Donatelli complied. The second was the opposite--when Reiner requested of Jacobs to get a smaller sound in line with his concept at the time, resulting in Jacobs acquiring the Dehmal, which he replaced with a Rudy Meinl or Alex F tuba, if I'm remembering correctly. Jacobs also played the Vaughan Williams on a Besson Barlow F tuba, certainly just about as different from the York as two tubas can be. And Jacobs owned over a dozen instruments at any one time, even though he didn't like changing horns much, prefering to change mouthpieces instead.

In summary, it seems clear that the market has supported a desire for a variety of instruments, and great players have used a variety of horns, throughout the history of tubas. So, which art form is being lost, and where's the evolution?

Rick "It can't just be a talent issue" Denney


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