The Wagner tuba is a brass instrument with four valves that was created and named after Richard Wagner. It shares design elements with both standard tubas and French horns. However, it is more similar to the French horn and is typically played by musicians who play the French horn. Wagner asked for the instrument to be made for his four-part opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Its purpose was to connect the sound and texture of the French horn and trombone.

The sound of the Wagner tuba has been described as "smoky," "metallic," "unearthly," and "majestic." In German, the instrument is sometimes called Tenortuben, Basstuben, Wagnertuben, Waldhorntuben, Bayreuth-tuben, Ring-tuben, or Horn-tuben. However, in English, it is most commonly called the Wagner tuba. In Wagner’s written music, he often used the plural word "Tuben" to refer to these instruments. Sometimes, he used the singular word "Tuba."

History

The Wagner tuba was first made for Richard Wagner's opera series Der Ring des Nibelungen, which is based on stories from Nordic mythology. Wagner wanted to create a musical theme called the Valhalla leitmotif. This was the first time he tried to plan the music's pitch, rhythm, and instruments all at once. At first, he planned to use trombones for the theme, but he decided to invent new instruments instead. He named them "Tuben." He intended to use four groups of horn players, with the last two groups also playing the new instruments. Two groups would play in F (bass Tuben) and two in B♭ (tenor Tuben). Wagner wanted the instruments to sound like the lur, an ancient Nordic horn. In 1797, archaeologists found lurs that were still playable. This helped Wagner understand the sound he wanted, but the lurs could not play all notes in a scale. Wagner needed instruments with the flexibility of saxhorns, which have valves that allow playing all notes.

In 1853, Wagner visited Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone and saxhorn. The saxhorn had a larger, more cylindrical shape and a mouthpiece that gave it a brassy sound, which was not what Wagner wanted. Instead, he preferred a conical shape like a horn and a mouthpiece similar to a horn's. With the help of the C. W. Moritz company in Berlin, Wagner created the final design. Victor-Charles Mahillon, a Belgian writer and musician, also played a key role. He designed the Wagner tuba to be played by trombonists, unlike Sax's version, which was meant for horn players.

Since its creation, other composers have used the Wagner tuba. Anton Bruckner included four in his Symphony No. 7, which honors Wagner. Richard Strauss also used the instrument in works like his Alpine Symphony. Today, companies like Paxman Musical Instruments, Engelbert Schmid, Hans Hoyer, Wessex, and Alexander continue to make Wagner tubas in F and B♭.

Design

The Wagner tuba is made with rotary valves, which are operated with the left hand, similar to those on the horn. Horn players often play both the horn and the Wagner tuba because the mouthpiece and finger positions are the same. However, the Wagner tuba has a bore size that is between that of a euphonium and a horn. Its bore size is similar to that of a cornophone, which creates a sound that is also similar.

The Wagner tuba is usually available in two sizes: the tenor in B♭ and the bass in F. Its range is similar to that of horns in the same pitches, but it is less capable of playing very high notes. Some manufacturers in the 20th century and later created a double Wagner tuba, which can be easily adjusted to play in either B♭ or F.

Wagner tubas are typically written as transposing instruments, but the notation used varies widely, leading to confusion. Wagner himself used three different and incompatible notations in his Ring cycle, and these systems, along with others, have been used by later composers.

Another source of confusion is that orchestral scores often refer to Wagner tubas simply as "tubas," which can make it unclear whether the score means true bass tubas or Wagner tubas. For example, some orchestras may assume that the two tenor tubas in Janáček’s Sinfonietta are Wagner tubas, but the score actually refers to euphoniums.

The name "Wagner tuba" is considered questionable by many theorists. Kent Kennan notes that the instrument is poorly named, as it is more accurately described as a modified horn rather than a true tuba.

Impact

Composers like Wagner used the Wagner tuba, and this influenced later composers to write music for it as well. The Wagner tuba appears in the works of composers such as Richard Strauss, Anton Bruckner, Béla Bartók, and others. Anton Bruckner included Wagner tubas in his Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Symphonies. In these symphonies, four Wagner tubas are played by musicians who also play the horn. These musicians alternate between the horn and Wagner tuba, just as Wagner did in his Ring operas. This is easier because the horn and Wagner tuba use the same mouthpiece and fingerings.

Over time, including Wagner tubas in concerts became a repeated challenge. In the 20th century, composers like Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky used the instrument only occasionally, while others tried to write for it in the 1960s. These composers faced the same problems as earlier musicians, which eventually caused many to stop writing for the instrument.

Rued Langgaard, who greatly admired Bruckner, wrote for eight horns in his First Symphony (1908–11). Four of these parts were meant for tenor and bass Wagner tubas. When the symphony was first performed, the orchestra chose to use horns instead of Wagner tubas. This decision frustrated Langgaard, leading him to avoid using Wagner tubas in his future compositions.

Repertoire

Wagner tubas are usually played by musicians who also play the horn. In an orchestral score, the music lines for the Wagner tubas are placed below the horn lines and above the standard tuba lines. If different musicians play the Wagner tubas, the music lines are placed below the trombone lines and above the regular tuba, which is called a "contrabass tuba."

These composers have written for the instrument: