Bottessini Bass Concerto
Bottessini Bass Concerto Program Notes
Bottessini Bass Concerto Giovanni Bottessini came from a modest family in a small town near Cremona, Italy. Although he began playing violin, he was accepted to the Milan Conservatory as a scholarship student, on the double bass! This was a fruitful choice – a diligent student, he became one of the most famous double bassists ever, traveling internationally as a soloist, and personally advancing the understanding of that instrument’s lyricism and demonstrating its technical versatility. This concerto is one of the most frequently performed works for solo double bass, and is an exemplary product of mid-1800s Italy (the world of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi) with technical pyrotechnics and bel canto style. Giovanni Bottesini Born: December 22, 1821, Crema, Italy Died: July 7, 1889, Parma, ItalyThe Double Bass Concerto No. 2 in B minor is one of the most celebrated works in the double bass repertoire, composed by Italian virtuoso Giovanni Bottessini. It showcases the full expressive and technical range of the instrument.
Bottessini composed the concerto in the mid-nineteenth century, likely around the 1850s-1860s, performing it himself as part of his extensive concert tours across Europe and the Americas.
A typical performance lasts approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
Listen for the surprisingly singing, almost operatic quality of the solo bass line, which Bottessini coaxes into a lyrical range far above what most listeners expect from the instrument. The finale is particularly dazzling in its technical fireworks.
Bottessini was so revered on the double bass that he was nicknamed the Paganini of the double bass. He was also a successful opera conductor and composer, premiering several of his own operas to considerable acclaim.
