Euphoniums 1-2 BC or TC, Tubas 1-2
Composer James Grant says, “Endgame was intended to be the third and final movement of tba4tet, a work commissioned by a consortium of 48 participants made up of individuals and tuba-euphonium quartets. This music stands on its own as a three-and-a-half minute virtuoso romp for tuba-euphonium quartet – a piece that is probably best put at the end, not at the beginning of the program. Endgame, marked ‘Giving it all you’ve got’, is a tour de force display of syncopation, somewhat eccentric meters, frantic double-tonguing, and a brief episode of pagan raunch (whatever that is), all supported by a brutally relentless second tuba bass line that views oxygen to be of no importance whatsoever.