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UPDATE: Playing the Wagner Tuba is now available in a second edition in print and Kindle formats — more information may be found at www.hornnotes.com
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I will be presenting and performing on the Wagner tuba at the 2009 Southeast Horn Workshop, which will be held on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, March 6–8. The presentation will be a revised version of a session on the same topic that I was honored to present at the International Horn Symposium in Denver in July of 2008, but this time with more audience participation as the host has arranged for a set of four Wagner tubas to be at the workshop. Additionally I will also perform at the event, including performing the Telemann concerto on descant horn.
One thing I have always tried to look for when considering presentation topics are subjects for which I had unique qualifications and experiences. I have been blessed in my career with quite a variety experiences, including having performed Wagner tuba a number of times professionally. Perhaps never at a major European opera house, that is an experience I will never have, but certainly enough orchestral experiences to have a firm grip on the topic.
This presentation will be based on materials in my recent publication, Playing the Wagner Tuba. As background, one thing I was excited to see when I joined the faculty at Arizona State was this very nice pair of Mirafone Wagner tubas. Early on I started introducing the instrument to every advanced student, and I developed materials on the Wagner tuba for use by the horn repertoire class. When I was considering development of a publishing venture it was natural to expand those materials for publication. Having used these materials now with a number of students I believe Playing the Wagner Tuba is the ideal introductory method for an advanced student or young professional who needs to quickly get up to speed and actually play the Wagner tuba in a symphonic context.
As of now the book has only been out a bit more than a year, and I believe that it accomplishes what I set out to do. I know from feedback I have received that it has been seen in use on the stages of a number of orchestras in the United States, including majors. The three works featured in the book, the Wagner Trauermusik beim Tode Siegfrieds, Bruckner Symphony No. 7, and Strauss Alpine Symphony are among the most frequently performed in symphonic contexts, and the complete transposed parts for Bruckner 7 in particular are a strong selling point of the volume—they do greatly simplify (at least for the occasional Wagner tubist) performance of this master work. I also include a clear fingering chart and hopefully take the mystery out of the use of the fourth valve.
[Note: The below is about as close as I come to ranting in Horn Matters. I do not feel it was a fair review, the reviewer could not seem to find anything positive to say (not even that I used good paper!), and seemed to miss the point of what the target audience was and how it was very focused on what that target audience needed in a Wagner tuba book. Read the book, find the review, see if you agree with me.]
Those few of you who actually read reviews in The Horn Call (February, 2009 issue) might have noticed a review of this publication that I should briefly address.
The reviewer, an older, well-known European player obviously experienced with the instrument, did not like the book. I could do a point by point rebuttal, but I would really rather not, because in the end opinions can vary on some of the points raised. But I would like to clarify four factual topics.
1. I am at present Associate Professor of horn at Arizona State University. In common practice this would be abbreviated to Professor of horn. Somehow the reviewer came up with the rank of “lecturer of horn and Wagner tuba” for my position at ASU and did not note my experience with the Nashville Symphony, which are pretty significant and obvious errors that set the tone for all their following comments.
2. To criticize what is essentially a method/excerpt book for not having enough historical detail is puzzling. This is not a book of Wagner tuba historical facts and is not presented as such. I cover the essentials accurately, stating for example on page 7 “Although scholarship has shown that the idea for an instrument of this general type is not original to Wagner, Wagner assured continued use and longevity through his compositions.” For those interested in more history I also listed in the bibliography everything that William Melton had published on the Wagner tuba at that time. Now he has out a new book, The Wagner Tuba: A History that covers every aspect of Wagner tuba history in great detail. It is a great book! If you want Wagner tuba history, buy it! My publication, on the other hand, is focused on the practical topic of how to actually play one. One other note on this topic; actually, the reviewer strongly implies at least that Wagner was involved with developing or even inventing this instrument. Melton covers this topic in great detail in his Chapter I. Several instruments of the same general type were manufactured before the fair copy of the score of Das Rheingold was completed in 1854; in particular Cerveny had produced an instrument by 1844, the “Cornon.” We can safely say that the idea that Wagner actually invented the instrument is a myth.
3. Contrary to the review, I believe that I do in fact cover the topic of notations pretty thoroughly. It is spread out with the music. For example I make the confusing notations in Alpine Symphony very clear. Also, for the record, I do endorse reading the parts in the original notations. On page 16 I clearly state “The following section presents the complete Wagner tuba parts for Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7, along with alternate transposed parts to F for the Bb tenors. Try to use the Bb parts if you can; they are mental challenges that can be won with practice, much like reading horn in H in the works of Brahms.” One other item related to notations is that of Stravinsky and The Rite of Spring. The reviewer takes a strong stance for reading the part in B-flat alto. I stand by my statement (p. 58) that recordings may be found in alto and in basso, and I personally would rather play it in basso. Melton has a very thorough discussion for those interested in more background on this controversy, and notes on page 110 of his book that Stravinsky himself “gave conflicting answers when questioned about the proper octave for the tenor tuba line over the course of decades.” So, in this case, this notation question is one that ultimately has no clear answer.
4. Finally, on instrument holding positions, the holding position that was soundly criticized in the review is actually one that was mentioned to me very favorably by someone who has played Wagner tuba a number of times with a major American orchestra. As stated in my text they did it to improve high range stability but also I note that it is awkward to hold the Wagner tuba that way. While it may not be a standard European method, there is logic behind it because certainly the [French] horn is less stable in the high range with no hand in the bell. The fact is, right or wrong, this method is in at least occasional use in some corners of the United States. And as to advocating holding the instrument resting on the tuning slide, I don’t see how the reviewer inferred that from anything I say in the text.
In conclusion, I hope this post if nothing else has provoked a bit more interest in the Wagner tuba. I don’t advocate for it becoming yet another band instrument but I do advocate for it being studied and played more frequently outside the orchestra. I have more information on the instrument in Horn Articles Online. Of course I also have the book for sale at Horn Notes Edition, and if you are attending the 2009 Southeast Horn Workshop please be sure to check out my session on a great instrument that should be heard more often.
One other final teaser for the Southeast Horn Workshop this year, Wagner tubas will be used in the ensemble performing Bohemian Rhapsody in the full London Horn Sound arrangement! If you are not familiar with this recording, or better still if you are, check out the links below for more interesting versions of this classic rock song:
- Mnozil Brass plays Bohemian Rhapsody
- Queen plays Bohemian Rhapsody
- Bohemian Polka by Weird Al Yankovic
