Author Topic: G.M. and the tuba  (Read 7291 times)

Offline barry guerrero

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G.M. and the tuba
« on: February 18, 2015, 08:19:32 PM »
This thread from the Tubanet forum may interest a few of you. It goes on to a second page, where yours truly made a brilliant final posting.

http://forums.chisham.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65108

Offline ChrisH

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Re: G.M. and the tuba
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2015, 03:10:00 PM »
Thanks for that, Barry. It was pretty interesting. I remember fond times in high school having similar discussions about trumpets, especially the post horn solo. The ballerina solo from Petrushka was also heavily debated; should you use C cornet, regular C, or even D trumpet. Even now there seems to be small divide growing between playing C and Bb in the orchestra. And, as always the rotary and piston valve argument.

My school had a very nice old instrument collections, sadly no posthorn. We did have a Serpent and an Ophicliede. One of the best 'sounds' for the posthorn we came up with was to take a Crown Royal bag and put it over the bell of a Schilke C Cornet. It was a wonderfully deep, dark and mellow sound.

I tend to agree with your sentiment that Mahler would not have cared what physical instrument is being used. He was more concerned about the tone and color of the sound. Get that however you can. One thing I've always wondered is would Mahler have changed his scores if he heard a modern orchestra play his music?

Offline waderice

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Re: G.M. and the tuba
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2015, 03:44:38 PM »
I tend to agree with your sentiment that Mahler would not have cared what physical instrument is being used. He was more concerned about the tone and color of the sound. Get that however you can. One thing I've always wondered is would Mahler have changed his scores if he heard a modern orchestra play his music?

I think you answered your question in your second sentence I quote here.  Without searching for examples in his scores, I tend to think that he would have said what kind of sound he was looking for at a certain place, and would give a particular instrument as the suggested starting point to get that sound.  As a corollary to this, recall that he went on record as giving conductors express authority to make adjustment(s) to his scores where the acoustic(s) of a given hall demand that the adjustment(s) be made (obviously, to obtain the given effect called for).  The classic example is the numerous variances in instruments and their timbre I've heard in recordings of the posthorn solo in M3.

Wade

Offline barry guerrero

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Re: G.M. and the tuba
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2015, 05:44:57 PM »
"Even now there seems to be small divide growing between playing C and Bb in the orchestra"

I'm glad to hear because I think that applying C trumpet to everything like a trowel isn't all that great. The trumpet solo in the third movement of the Shostakovich 8th symphony goes down pretty low, and it always sounds thin and anemic on a C trumpet. Those you use the Bb trumpet can make those lower notes sound fat.
« Last Edit: February 25, 2015, 05:45:53 AM by barry guerrero »

Offline akiralx

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Re: G.M. and the tuba
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2015, 02:51:18 AM »
This thread from the Tubanet forum may interest a few of you. It goes on to a second page, where yours truly made a brilliant final posting.

http://forums.chisham.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65108

Interesting - thanks.  This thread reminded me - did you ever get to listen to the Tubin Symphony 4?  :)

 

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