Program Notes

Concert Piece for Tuba and Piano is Libby Larsen's first composition for tuba. It was written at the request of Mark Nelson after several discussions with her about the role of the tuba in a Vermont Symphony orchestra performance of one of Larsen's orchestral works. It was premiered by Nelson on tuba and Ron YaDeau on piano at a faculty recital at Millikin University in Illinois on Sept. 2, 1993.

The composition is basically tonal, with an extended harmonic vocabulary, in a modified A-B-A form. There are many brilliantly scored passages for a medium not all that idiomatic for the tuba. Larsen is not afraid to explore all but the lowest tessitura of the instrument, but always in a musical fashion. In the slower "B" section, a polychoral texture of sustained notes in the piano is created to support a lyrical tuba melody that is eventually traded with the piano. Each supports the other with rhythmic and harmonic tension relieved only when the recapitulation to the "A" theme occurs.

Return to Darrell's Web Page