Solissimo V Op. 105 for Solo Tuba

I chose Solissimo as a general title for a series of works for unaccompanied instruments.

The composition of Solissimo V started at the suggestion of my publisher, Jean-Pierre Mathez, who pointed out that the tuba, which was formerly used to augment and reinforce the basses of the orchestra, is accepted in the music world of today as a bona fide solo instrument in its own right.

This piece, of about seven minutes in duration, just as the other works in the complete series of the same name, is intended to show the technical and expressive resources of a particular solo instrument, in this instance, the tuba. It opens with a cadenza where violence alternates with serenity. The middle section presents a melody in a romantic mood. A second cadenza leads to the finale which was deliberately written in a jazzy style since today's ochestral musicians are familiar with the style that led to the glory of Louis Armstrong.

Daniel Schadeli, the dedicatee, played the first performance on March 21, 2010, in the Kultur-Casino in Bern at a concert of chamber music organized by the Bern Symphony Orchestra entitled "Jazz meets Classical - The Music of Daniel Schnyder, Julien-Francois Zbinden and George Gershwin.

-Julien-Francois Zbinden