Posted by know-it-all-tenor tubist on May 11, 2001 at 22:54:30:
In Reply to: Re: Anon posted by Brent Herhold on May 11, 2001 at 13:32:33:
It was once told to me that Strauss (whose father was a leading Horn player in Vienna) so much loved the sound of the euphonium/tenor (which he thought was a good timbral bridge between horns and tubas) that he wanted to write for it. Not having a name for the instrument at the time, he(perhaps along with others in Austria) labeled it a "tenor tuba" (as opposed to labeling it after another composer, like the Wagner tuba).
Now, Strauss, being considered one of the world's leading conductors and composers at the time (also, one of the wealthiest), had a lot of worldly influence. Due to the routine and tradition of orchestral conductors, his monicker has remained in the orchestral vocabulary for nearly 100 years later.
Even though many English-speaking people refer to the instrument synonymously, over the years, many versions of instruments in that voice range have been labeled one thing or another, and in many cases today, valid points of difference can be noted.