# Music for Double Bass?



## 1stbassman

Hi,

I'm looking for interesting recordings of double bass music. I find the Bottesini repertoire kind of uninteresting and have yet to listen to Vanhal. I have listened to the Edgar Meyer Bach recording and the Joel Quarrington CDs on Naxos. I have also heard a bit of Gary Karr's work. I really enjoy the Albert Roussel Duo for Bassoon and Double Bass, the harmony is very intriguing, lots of chromaticism. There must be some 20th music written for this somewhere. Suggestions?

Thanks!


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## World Violist

Rautavaara's "Angel of Dusk" is a really excellent double bass concerto.


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## Yagan Kiely

'_Failing - A difficult work for solo double bass_' by Tom Johnson.


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## PostMinimalist

Knut Geutler has recorded a lot of 20thC music for bass including his own. Leon Bosh recorded a CD of English bass music recently which includes the Jacob concerto. Duncan Mctier must have discography of recent commissions.
Are these just for listening or do you intend to learn some 20thC repertoire? Yorke edition publishes a huge amount of quality Bass music in orchestral tuning and UE do a lot of 'Avant Garde' music in both solo and orchesrtral tuning. The Hungarian Lajos Montag has written a lot of really intersting but difficult bass music. I don't know if he has released it yet but Bohoslav Furtok is definitely planning a recording of his work. 
The Fryba 'Suite in Alten Styl' is recorded by Niederhammer along with some other interesting bass music. He has a big sound but is very 'German'. 
If you want to laugh your head of at some Bottesini you should have a look at this:




Compare this with Furtok's somewhat slower but infinitely more music version! here:





Cheers,
FC


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## 1stbassman

Thanks for the info post-minimalist ...
This would be merely a jazz bass player's continued listening foray into the unknown. My arco seems to attract yaks in heat, as well as cause bats to fly into trees and dolphins to beach themselves.


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## PostMinimalist

Those are quite remarkable attributes!


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## Yagan Kiely

Indeed I felt like posting something about them, but I didn't quite know what exactly to say about them


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## PostMinimalist

I have started to wonder if my playing has these effects now! No sign of Yaks yet but I'm too far from the beach to check for dolphins. I hope I'm not causing some ecological disaster!?!


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## 1stbassman

beware the yak, it is extremely stealthy for all its ungainly size!


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## Yagan Kiely

Your euphemisms/analogies/metaphors are a delight. Just keep talking, I don't care what you say.


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## 1stbassman

post-minimalist said:


> Compare this with Furtok's somewhat slower but infinitely more music version! here:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> FC


Indeed the Furtok is far more musical, intonation more solid, and it is always nice to see someone kick *** whilst standing. It almost looks like he is dancing with the bass.

The yak was in the back row, yearning for greener pastures.


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## PostMinimalist

Yeah, Furtok doesn't attract too many Yaks! But with Alper, they were queing up round the block!


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## PostMinimalist

On a more serious note (G#) here is a link to the Bassshoppe in England where they sell Leon Bosch's CD that I mentioned earlier. He'll be dead chuffed that I'm plugging his CD!
http://www.contrabass.co.uk/the_british_double_bass_cd.htm


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## Guest

post-minimalist said:


> He'll be dead chuffed that I'm plugging his CD!


Why? ..........


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## PostMinimalist

He is a friend. At the moment he's got just back from touring with the ASMF in Europe. 
We go back a few years - I was at his Ida Carol Foundation recital in 1984!

Another friend in high places (who should be congratulated) is the new principal bass wirth the Royal Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Dominic Seldis. Dominic was in his second year at the RAM when I was doing my post grad year there. He was the only player really going places! We played together in the Amati Ensemble with Janice Graham and Phillip Duke. We also did a few gigs with the City of London Chamber Orchestra when they need 4 players.

Also, I will run into Sally Morgan and Jullian Atkinson, bassists in the CBSO next wednesday since they will be on tour here. Sally and I were class mates at the RSAMD in Scotland, and I know Jullian from the audition circuits in the 80s.

Bassits tend to be more freindly with each other compared with other string instruments. I guess it's the shared problems that come with the territory that allow us to laugh at ourselves a little that breaks the ice.


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## PostMinimalist

Just found a great site for double bass recordings. try this out:
http://www.doublebass-solo.com/BassCD.html


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## 1stbassman

Ah yes, the ol' Amazon link... Some interesting stuff. I have the Romantic DB set buried in a box somewhere, I'll have to dig it out. 
Once in a while Joel Quarrington stops by the shop I work in, and in 2006 I got a chance to see him perform Mieczyslaw Weinberg's (or Moisei Samuilovich Vainberg) Sonata for Double Bass. I don't know if you know Joel's playing, but sitting 10 ft from his bass while he performed was amazing!

The Roussel duet that got me on this kick for newer music is on the budget label Brilliant Classics... The Complete Chamber Music of Albert Roussel

While searching for an archive of the above sonata on CBC Radio I came across this live recording of Joel playing Raymond Luedeke's DB concerto. So far the Andante is my favourite (out of 2 movements). 
http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/concerts/20080207luede 
The tuning gets a little *spicy* once in a while, but I do like that a lot of the writing is in the "meat n' potatoes" range of the bass. He tunes in 5ths, which jumps out once in a while. Check it out, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but interesting to say the least.

Now my favourite is the Cadenza, too bad the segue to the Allegro is interrupted by the end of the file...


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## JSK

The Dragonetti concerto is dreadful. The Koussevitsky is pretty good. I've never heard the Tubin concerto, but one of my bassist friends is a big fan of it.


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## Guest

Scodanibbio. Both a bassist and a composer.
Dumitrescu and Avram have both written some wicked good pieces for double bass.

Yagan, I saw Bert Turetzky play the Johnson live. Very entertaining piece indeed. (Bert's the dean of bassists. Look at the list of pieces he's commissioned and you'll have a list of some very prominent 20th century folks.)


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## sah

I like double bass very much and I'm so happy to find this thread. Useful information indeed.
Some more works:

Piazolla: Contrabajeando, Contrabajísimo, Kicho.
Hindemith: Sonata for double bass and piano.


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## humanbean

How about the Dittersdorf Double Bass Concerto in E major? It's quite catchy, starting from just the first few seconds.


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## Taneyev

If you want to find pieces for the bass, you should begin with Bottesini, the top composer for it.


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## suffolkcoastal

I'll certainly 2nd the Tubin Concerto, this really is a superb work by Estonia's greatest composer. It's a pity that Holmboe didn't composer a concerto though there is a work for solo Double Bass. There is also of course the Richard Rodney Bennett concerto and more recently the Gavin Bryars Concerto, the latter really is awful and dull though. 

I used to play double bass but it has sat in the loft for 7 years now. There is no call in my area for a bass player as a couple of people have the monopoly on everything these days.


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## Igneous01

I have heard Schuberts Arpegionne sonata performed on double bass. Sounded very good.


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## mnsCA

J.K. Vaňhal's double bass concerto in D Major:


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## TudorMihai

Another Double Bass concerto worth checking out is Thomas Goss' Double Bass Concerto in E minor (2004).


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## RonP

If you haven't heard of this CD before, give it a try:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Double-Bass-Robert-Friends/dp/B000M06NNG


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## Matthewv789

There is Arni Egilsson's European Memories:




 (1st movement out of 3)

Also Frank Proto's Carmen Fantasy:
[video=facebook_share;928557247210836]https://www.facebook.com/mikyung.soung/videos/928557247210836[/video] (Michaela's Air, practice)

And before you write off Bottesini completely, make sure you listen to (Mikyung Sung) play some:


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## Rogerx

Sonata for Piano & Violincello in E Minor, Op. 38: I. Allegro non troppo
Check out : Niek de Groot


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## erki

Ödön Racz - Sergei Koussevitzky.


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## mrdoc

You guys will have to excuse me but I played jazz bass way back in the 50s in the UK had a wonderful time and met many fine jazz men so I post this video with tongue in cheek but it is rather catchy and fun music...


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern

Yagan Kiely said:


> '_Failing - A difficult work for solo double bass_' by Tom Johnson.


Ha! That video is not only hilarious but freakishly impressive. Instrumental prowess and virtuosity is one thing: that piece is the peak of high level multitasking.


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