Encounters II (1966). William Kraft /biggie/

Image via Wikipedia

I'm not sure I've ever blogged about tuba music before. Maybe this is why, from My Fickle Ears Dig It:

There are very few pieces in the solo tuba repertoire that are any good. There are even fewer pieces in the solo tuba repertoire that are any good that are not transcriptions. There are fewer pieces yet in the solo tuba repertoire that are any good that are not transcriptions and are written in post-tonal or "modernist" idioms. And there are even fewer pieces yet in the solo tuba repertoire that are any good, that are not transcriptions, that are written in post-tonal or "modernist" idioms, and that are for unaccompanied tuba rather than tuba with piano or large ensemble. In fact, I can only think of one, and that's William Kraft's Encounters II.

Related, see also Alex Shapiro's Music for Two Big Instruments. And here's William Kraft on YouTube talking about his Encounters series: