Brahms 2nd symphony

[Sallen112]

I was looking at his 2nd symphony parts and compared to his other symphony (1, 3-4) why did he write a tuba part but not a contrabassoon part for that symphony? The rest of the symphonies are like his first symphony almost exactly in parts but he has no tuba part for it. I have tried googling this question but can't find much info on it.

[sbeckmesser]

The answer that immediately suggests itself is that he didn't want or need a double-reed sonority in that range to get his musical message across. Although they cover much the same pitch range, a tuba sounds quite different from a contrabassoon and quite neatly fulfills the role of being the lowest instrument of the horn section as well as a nicely blended sound with the trio of trombones. The 2nd Symphony scoring is as a result less "heavy" and "congealed" than that of the other three symphonies. As practical matter, contrabassoons to this day remain rarer instruments in orchestras than tubas and not requiring a contrabassoon would enable a piece to be performed as originally scored by more ensembles. After its premier in Vienna under Hans Richter, Brahms himself took this symphony on tour as conductor to Leipzig, Amsterdam and the Hague.

--Sixtus