Posted by Rick Denney on December 09, 2003 at 11:27:32:
In Reply to: Re: Re: tuba advice needed posted by Tuba playing phoo on December 08, 2003 at 20:00:06:
Yes, it should be played like a solo instrument. But the conductor is the soloist.
What does a soloist do that is different from a section player? He interprets the music in a personal way, and expresses that interpretation using variations in tone, dynamics, pitch, articulation and rhythm. A soloist will shape the phrase dynamically, pull the tempo a bit here or push it there, bend a pitch occasionally, and so on.
Good section players do the same things, but they all have to do these things mostly the same way, or the section will sound like dog do.
I've played in sections where I was surrounded by people playing soloistically, and even though both were far better than me, I could not tolerate the tension they set up with their different interpretations, and was forced to stop playing altogether to keep from adding to the confusion.
I've listened to the Portrait of an Artist recording of Arnold Jacobs playing, for example, the opening recitative in the Berlioz Romeo and Juliet (I think), and when he plays it by himself, he plays is soloistically, with a personal interpretation including vibrato. During the recording of the orchestra playing, where Jacobs was playing with the trombone section, there was no vibrato, and no personal interpretation. Everyone started at the same time, ended at the same time, played pitches compatible with each other, executed the same dynamic shaping and phrasing, articulated the same way, and used a tone that blended as an ensemble. Jacobs was most assuredly not playing like he was a soloist. That didn't make it any less musical.
Rick "who confesses complete confusion concerning the first sentence in your post" Denney