Re: F tuba research


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Posted by Rick Denney on May 08, 2003 at 14:54:13:

In Reply to: F tuba research posted by Mike Roylance on May 08, 2003 at 13:51:50:

There is the frequently recounted story of Arnold Jacobs, who was instructed by Fritz Reiner to play a Viennese F tuba on some works, and Reiner imported one from Vienna, complete with the backward 3+3 setup. Apparently, Jacobs despised that instrument, but eventually obtained F tubas that he liked better, including an Alex and the Boosey that he used for the Vaughan Williams. This would have started in the 50's. Brian will know more, even if you aren't already well-versed on details I don't know.

I have also seen a picture in Stauffer's book of an F tuba that had been made for Bill Bell. It was a front-action piston instrument, date unremembered.

And you would know, of course, that Vinal Smith played an F tuba exclusively in Boston during that era.

There is nothing I have read that would indicate the motives of Bell and Smith in using F tubas, but I would love to know how it evolved. I think we'd know a lot more about the sounds that were expected in historical orchestras if we knew more about their isntrument selections. We still, for example, can only speculate as to when the first orchestral players used CC tubas, and when those performers started using front-action piston CC tubas. That usage goes back at least to the 20's, but it's a black hole before that.

Rick "always interested in history" Denney


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