#bottesini

The Double Bass with Zoe Johnson / Day 3.

Concerto for Double Bass in B Minor by Giovanni Bottesini

Though all these bass solos are quite beautiful, I feel obligated to include how solo bass can function in an orchestra. Bass solos are rare in an orchestral setting (I bet the only bass solo you can think of is L’Elephant, admit it) and bass has only been treated seriously as a solo instrument in the past couple centuries or so. The reason for this is simply because it’s difficult to write melodies in a lower register - they don’t stick out quite as clearly as a violin’s shrill song might. Despite this, it’s still possible to write lower-register melodies that work with the music ​and​ are distinctive from accompaniment - and Bottesini’s Concerto for Double Bass in B Minor shows how this isn’t only possible, but a beautiful thing. Rinat Ibragimov’s performance here is my personal favorite recording of the piece, and though he plays it with piano accompaniment, there are many recordings of the piece performed with an orchestra that work just as beautifully.

BOTTESINI, Concerto in B (1.mov) | Božo Paradžik & Budapesti Vonósok

Deux concerts à venir au Conservatoire

Deux concerts à venir au Conservatoire de Perpignan : samedi 5 février 2022 à 18h30, “Bottesini et l’école catalane de contrebasse”, et mardi 8 février 2022 à 18h30, dans le cadre des mardis musicaux du Conservatoire, “Romantisme et lied allemand”. L’école catalane de la contrebasse a casa ! (Une) Samedi 5 février à 18h30, au sein de l’auditorium John Cage du Conservatoire, 1 rue des Jotglars à…