Bottesini: Elegy in D

Reviewing Joel Quarrington’s debut recital for the International Society of Bassists’ in 2007, the Double Bassist magazine declared “his performance was mesmerizing…..impeccable articulation, a rich tonal palette, absolute control and crystal-line clarity.” He is one of today’s leading double bassists and here he performs works by Korngold, Bottesini, Bach, Glière and Weinberg.

Giovanni Bottesini enjoyed a globe-trotting career as “the Paganini of the double bass” but was also an accomplished and respected conductor in Europe.

When conducting operas Bottesini would often perform fantasies on the evening’s entertainment during the intermission. Two such fantasies, ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ and ‘Beatrice di Tenda’, are virtuosic tours de force in which the complex double bass figurations mimic the coloratura vocal writing of the day.

In keeping with this vocal style, this recording also includes the song Une bouche aimée with double bass obbligato, most likely performed on one of Bottesini’s frequent concert tours with various leading sopranos of the day.

Known to his contemporaries as the Paganini of the double bass, Giovanni Bottesini significantly extended the technical possibilities of the instrument both as a composer and virtuoso soloist.

After the Prelude to Ero e Leandro, Bottesini's greatest operatic masterpiece, this disc continues with the most popular of his compositions for the instrument among bassists today, the Concertino in C minor. In this work virtuosity is always at the service of musical ends.

The rarely performed Duo Concertante for Cello and Double Bass on Themes from Bellini’s I Puritani makes considerable technical demands of the soloists.