Posted by Dave Zerkel on June 05, 2003 at 13:54:47:
In Reply to: James Woodward Concerto? posted by Travis on June 05, 2003 at 12:44:30:
James has written a really nice concerto for the tuba!
The piece is in four movements: the outer movements are pretty similar in character (rhyhmic, somewhat pointilistic, very accessible harmonic language)The second movement is marked "Quirky" and cries out to played with a lot of character. There is an extended cadenza in this movement. The third movement is a lovely slow movement that sits at the top of and above the staff for the entire movement. There is also a cadenza in this movement that takes you up to high Bb.
The qualities of this piece that one will note right away is that it is very high throughout. It is also very fun to play and enjoyable to listen to. It is twenty minutes long with just a little rest, so it is pretty taxing. I'm sure that James wouldn't mind me saying this, but the piano reduction doesn't work nearly as well as the band or orchestra versions, largely because James does such a good job with orchestration.
I recently played in a section with a very prominent player/teacher who after listening to a recording said that he thought that this was the best piece written for the tuba in the past twenty years.
The piece is available through TUBA Press. By the end of the year, there will be a recording available with me playing it with the UGA Wind Symphony. (Already recorded...mastering of the CD going on right now)
If you have any more questions please drop me a line. It is a terrific piece that is worthy of study and performance!
DZ