Posted by Jay Bertolet on July 16, 2000 at 06:43:55:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holton 6/4 posted by pete on July 16, 2000 at 05:14:45:
It would depend on what the excerpts were on the list. For example, what if the list contains stuff from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring? As much as I like my new Nirschl, I wouldn't ever play anything from the first tuba part on the 6/4. To my mind, it just isn't the right sound for the piece. I suppose if you had a really versatile Eb/F tuba, I mean one that you felt comfortable doing alot more excerpts on than I do, you might be able to get away with it. By doing something like The Rite on a small horn, admittedly it could be done and I've certainly thought about it myself, I think you would lose some of the raw agression in that piece by going to a sound that you can't really jump all over like you could on a 4/4 CC. Another example would be what if they asked you at the audition to play some brass quintet repertoire? Maybe something really big like the Malcolm Arnold or the Bozza? I play both those pieces on CC tuba, not Eb, and I wouldn't attempt that on the Nirschl. At least not yet.
So to answer your question, I don't think it would be foolish so much as maybe ill advised. If you were going to do so, you'd better be very sure that you could cover all the bases in the audition convincingly. My preference would be for two versatile horns, like a 4/4 CC and a medium sized Eb/F, that would give the most coverage possible. When you get to the later rounds, where anything you do can potentially eliminate you from contention, the last thing you want to be trying to do is fitting a square peg into a round hole. My strategy would be to bring the right equipment for the list and have as many different options in the "bullpen" as possible, waiting for just the right moment to be used for effect.
My opinion for what its worth...