| Popis: |
Solo tuba repertoire, a relatively recent development in western classical music, owes its genesis to one work; the Concerto in F minor by Ralph Vaughan-Williams, written in 1954. Since that date there has been a veritable explosion of original and arranged works for the tuba, with orchestra, brass and wind band as well as in jazz and other combinations. Inextricably linked to development of the repertoire has been the development of the performers and the equipment they use. This work seeks to investigate the development in the United Kingdom of this repertoire (with one excursion to the USA) through those works that have lifted tuba playing, technically and musically to new levels. What contribution have composers made to the development of the repertoire and what levels (if any) of collaboration between soloist and composer have shaped this development? Did composer's perception of the tuba change in any way after having written for the instrument and if so how? What new techniques might be explored to take tuba performance to even higher levels? These, and other questions, will be addressed through the presentation of four recordings with associated commentary. The first project returns to 1954 in a historically informed performance of Vaughan Williams' Tuba Concerto. The remaining projects examine the repertoire of the 1960s and 70s, the 1980s and from the 1990s to the present. The criteria as laid down by the Senate Research and Graduate Studies Committee have influenced and guided the choice of repertoire and practice based research methodology throughout this work. |
