Giovanni Bottesini was the leading double bass virtuoso of the 19th century, and his solo compositions form the center of the instrument's repertoire. Less familiar perhaps to players and followers of double bass music are the works for two double basses and piano that Bottesini composed as a student at the Milan Conservatory. These early works exhibit much of the same attention to technique and extended effects that his later solo writing does. Bottesini's music is light and flamboyant, with a flavor that was derived from ...
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Giovanni Bottesini was the leading double bass virtuoso of the 19th century, and his solo compositions form the center of the instrument's repertoire. Less familiar perhaps to players and followers of double bass music are the works for two double basses and piano that Bottesini composed as a student at the Milan Conservatory. These early works exhibit much of the same attention to technique and extended effects that his later solo writing does. Bottesini's music is light and flamboyant, with a flavor that was derived from the operatic world of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, with special instrumental adaptations of the bel canto style of singing. Indeed, the selections on this 2010 Naxos CD are all of a piece in their exuberance and showiness, and even though the slightly dark Gran Duetto No. 2 lacks a piano part, it still shares the flashy character of the Fantasia on Themes of Rossini, Passioni amorose, and the Concerto a due Contrabbassi. This disc is Vol. 5 in the Bottesini Collection, and the...
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