Mr. Tuba

15. Carnegie Hall Recitals

352 For several years, some of my colleagues, both composers and performers, suggested that I do a Carnegie Hall recital. I resisted the temptation because I felt my teacher, William J. Bell, should present one first. In 1961, Roger Bobo, a tubist wunderkind, on his graduationfromtheEastmanSchoolofMusic ,presentedthefirstsolotubarecital in New York City’s Carnegie Hall. I was unable to attend Roger’s concert but I know it was excellent from our mutual friend Alec Wilder. Alec not onlyattendedtheconcertbutwrote“EncoreforTuba”especiallyforRoger Bobo’s recital. William Bell passed away on August 7, 1971, without ever having performed a solo recital in Carnegie Hall. IdidnotgetaroundtoperformingasolotubarecitaluntilJanuary1975. That month, I presented five recitals in nine days in Carnegie Recital Hall, sponsored by the Carnegie Hall Corporation. My purpose in doing five recitals was to illustrate the growing repertoire and acceptance of the tuba as a solo instrument. A number of colleagues assisted the performances, but none of the professional players, with whom I worked consistently, would acceptpayment.Preparationfortheninedaysconsumedsixty-sevenhours of rehearsal, some in Boston. One started at midnight with the New York Saxophone Quartet; it was the only time everybody could get together. Carnegie Hall Recitals CHAPTER FIFTEEN 353 Carnegie Hall Recitals One was in Bloomington with IU School of Music Dean Charles Webb, who was my piano accompanist on one of the five recitals. If the tuba was going to become a solo instrument, we needed repertoire and artists who could sustain it. I had worked with many composers over the years and encouraged hundreds of pieces for the instrument. (But I never tried to tell a composer what to write.) I had a grand scheme in mind that the tuba could be established—not just tolerated—as a solo instrument. How important would the string quartet be if its repertoire, for the first hundred years of its existence, had to suffer the same quality and scarcity of repertoire imposed on the tuba? By the 1970s, we were not playing tuba music; we were playing music on the tuba. I wanted to include a total of thirty-nine works, including eighteen premieres, over those nine days. I wanted to establish an awareness of repertoire in the eyes and ears of my fellow musicians and the critical press. The recitals did that. Atevery recital,I would recognize eachcomposer ifhewas inthe audience . Alec came to every recital and, feigning shyness, would always tell me not to recognize him after I played his piece. He said, “I don’t want to bow. Don’t make me bow, please.” However, after playing one of his compositions , I would announce Alec’s presence to the audience and, with the usualgesture,askhimtostand.Onhearinghisnameashewasrecognized, hewouldbeuponthestageinaflash,grinningfromeartoear.Iknewthere was enough child in him never to turn down a bow. Whitney Balliett of the New Yorker was with me at every New York rehearsal, and every taxi ride from rehearsal to concert and rehearsal to rehearsal, for the five solo recitals in Carnegie Hall. In all the time we spent together, I never saw Whitney take a note or record anything. He became a buddy who was with me everywhere I went, and he helped me with my tuba, briefcase, or music as I prepared for the January 5–12, 1975, marathon in Carnegie Recital Hall. His recollection of our conversations in his eventual profile of me was absolutely amazing. The last concert in the series took place on Sunday, January 12, 1975. After it ended, I went to the Roosevelt Hotel with the Composers String Quartet and played a command performance of David Baker’s Sonata for Tuba and String Quartet for the Charles Colin New York Brass Conference 354 Mr. Tuba for Scholarships. We had just premiered the sonata at Carnegie Recital Hall. The next day, I was scheduled to be at the New England Conservatory in Boston to record the Ralph Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto and Gunther Schuller’s Capriccio for Solo Tuba and Chamber Orchestra. The recording was scheduled at the conservatory to convenience the student orchestra, all of whom resided in the Boston area. The time reserved was from 7 to 10 pm. Unfortunately, January 13 suffered a blizzard from New York to Boston. We left early. Carol and a student, Ronald Lee Spencer, tried driving but couldn’t deal with the icy roads, so I drove. What should havebeenafour-hourdriveturnedouttotakeeighthours,eventhoughwe were starting from our recital series headquarters at Carol’s sister Elsie’s home in...