Tuba

with Piano

“Miniatures for Tuba and Piano (2001) was written while Patrick was pursuing graduate work at Arizona State University. His intent was to create a new and exciting recital work for tuba. All four movements are linked by a set of common intervals used to construct both melodic lines and harmonies (minor seconds, minor thirds, tritones, and their inversions). The first movement, “Driving; barbaric” uses two contrasting ideas, one loud, intense, and powerful and the other softer and more lyrical, to introduce many of the ideas used in subsequent movements. “Playful, with intensity” is a scherzo-like amusement that demands precise rhythmic interplay between the tuba and piano. “Somber; crystalline” builds to a violent climax and takes the remainder of the movement to wind down to a soft and delicate ending. The final movement, “Primal; machine-like,” is a relentlessly driving romp that makes use of effects like rips, glissandi, and funk fhythms to propel the work to a banging close.

–Patrick Schulz