Ideal for a popular school or informal concert. Programme note by Rodney Slatford 2008:Jack Snow Hester was born on 2 March 1907 in Chorlton Lancashire and joined the music profession as a double bass player when he was seventeen. His father Arthur Darrell Hester appears on his birth certificate as 'Manufacturer (chemicals)'; his mother was Minnie Frances Hester formerly Stamp and the family lived in South Manchester. During the 1930s as Norman Hester he worked at Daly's Theatre the Piccadilly Theatre the Palace Theatre and other London variety houses in West End productions. He married Isabella Dawson Davidson on 1 July 1940 in Worcester and shedied in 1973. He died in 2001 after a long period of ill health.During the 1960s Norman was an active freelance player working as an extra bass player with the London symphony orchestras including the BBC. Quite when The Bull Steps Out was written isn't certain but Norman sent me a copy to consider for republishing – it is assumed that the original publication appeared sometime during or just after the war. It was a 'one off' that he probably played for light music evenings in the theatres.The piece has been very popular and has been used for examinations on various syllabuses around Grade 7 level.An unpublished manuscript copy of a double bass 'method' is on file that Norman Hester wrote when he retired but it is mainly a compilation of various scales and exercises similar to many that were published in the early 20th century. A photograph of him as a young man is held at the Royal Society of Musicians in London which he joined in 1930 and of which he was a loyal supporter until he died.

SOLO TUNING See RM722 for Orchestral Tuning The 'Dragonetti Concerto' was first published in 1925 by Alphonse Leduc in Paris as No.23 of Edouard Nanny's 'Les Classiques de la Contrebasse'. For many years no one questioned its authenticity, but as more research into Dragonetti's original works for double bass was made, concerns began to arise. Many of Dragonetti manuscripts survive in the British Library, thanks to Vincent Novello who donated them in 1849, three years after Dragonetti's death and on Novello's retirement to Italy, but there is no original manuscript for this work. As bassists began to edit and perform a wide range of Dragonetti's works it became clear that this concerto bore little resemblance to any of his other pieces. The work does, however, have many similarities to Nanny's Concerto for double bass, also to his other solo works and even studies from his Method. Eventually most people came to the conclusion that this work is not an original work by the great Venetian bassist but is by Edouard Nanny, and in the style of the late 18th-century. Having said that, this is still a charming and evocative work which has much player and audience appeal and is very easy on the ears. Many of the challenges for the soloist are technical and, almost a century after its first publication, it is still as popular as ever. Published in 1925, the first movement was performed at London's Wigmore Hall on 15 April the following year by Victor Watson (double bass) and Sidney Crooke (piano), and was described a 'Contrabass Concerto by Dragonetti-Nanny. ERRATA: Piano part: page 8 (1st movement), bar 87 - final chord of bar in right hand should be D/E/G# - a dominant 7th chord in A major Edouard Nanny was an important French double bassist and teacher, also composing and transcribing many works for double bass. He was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 24 March 1872 and he studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Professor Verrimst, also teaching there from 1920-1940. He performed often as a soloist, also working as an orchestral bassist with many orchestras such as the Paris Symphony Orchestra, Concerts Lamoureux and the Orchestra de l'Opera Comique, and in 1901 he founded the Henry Casadeus Society of Old Instruments, chaired by Camille Saint-Saens, and intended to revive the works from the past centuries. Nanny's Method for double bass is still in print, over 90 years since its first publication and both volumes contain a wealth of excellent technical studies and exercises which are as relevant today as they were in the 1920s. His other volumes of studies are mostly out of print and Recital Music plan to reprint some of his orginal works for double bass, transcriptions and educational music to keep alive the name of Edouard Nanny into the 21st-century. Edouard Nanny died in Paris in 1942.

Par HERTL FRANTISEK. The renowned Czech double bass player, composer, conductor and teacher František Hertl (1906–1973) wrote many concert and teaching pieces for his instrument. An outstanding virtuoso, he had a consummate mastery of his instrument’s expressive potential and sound qualities. These four pieces for double bass comprising a Prelude, Burlesque, Nocturne and Tarantella were composed in 1968. They have remained very popular among double bass players to the present day while being extremely challenging to play. Our edition adopts the musical text from the Supraphon edition of 1969. The double bass part and the Foreword have been revised by Stefan Schäfer, the solo double bassist of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra./ Répertoire / Contrebasse et Piano

Piano reduction-Following Dittersdorf (HN 759) and Hoffmeister (HN 721) Johann Baptist Vanhal and his sole Double-Bass concerto add a further highlight to the classical Bass literature in the Henle catalogue. The virtuosowork was transmitted only in a copy of a part owned by the famous Double-Bass player Johannes Sperger (1750 1812) and found in his estate which raises a few questions on account of the many later additions in the solo part(especially concerning the octave transpositions). In this Urtext edition Tobias Glöckler proposes a solution to this dilemma with a musical text that is outstandingly well-prepared for the performing artist. ThePiano reduction is printed in two keys (C and D major) which allows for performances in the solo and orchestral tuning or at will. Moreover an additional part written in fingering notation has been specially designed for usewith the 'Viennese tuning' customary in Vanhal's days. It allows players to use this resonant historical tuning immediately without tedious retraining.

for Double Bass and Piano-The renowned Czech bass player composer and conductor Franti?ek Hertl (1906 1973) led the Double Bass section of the Czech Philharmonic during the Václav Talich era and later taught at the Conservatory and the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague. An outstanding virtuoso he had a consummate mastery of his instrument?s expressive potential and sound qualities. He also wrote successful concert and teaching pieces for his instrument.Composed in 1946 Hertl?s only Sonata For Double Bass And Piano in three movements is a work of artistic and technical challenges that has maintained its place in the Double Bass repertoire to the presentday.New edition of a major repertoire piece for Double Bass.Foreword (Cz/Eng/Ger) by Hertl?s last pupil Jan Balcar

The complete resource for the Grade 1 double bassist. Par . La série Grade By Grade (De degré par degré) tire sa substance du catalogue classique, contemporain et pédagogique riche et varié de Boosey

The ?Easy Concert Pieces? series offers a wide spectrum of pieces from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern eras. The repertoire enriches the daily exercises and double bass tutor and is suited for all kinds of auditions. It contains original works for double bass solo as well as orchestral excerpts and arrangements of famous classical masterpieces. Volume 1 (easy) contains pieces in half and first position, with easy rhythms and melodies. It includes easy strokes and articulations such as portato, staccato and legato. Some pieces contain easy Flageolets. This volume offers a broad selection of classical masterpieces in easy arrangements.Volume 2 (easy to intermediate) contains pieces up to the 3rd position. As some new double bass tutors have a different approach in introducing position changes, volume 2 offers several pieces which reach the 2nd position, some pieces using only 1st and 3rd positions and some more difficult pieces which encompass all positions from half to third position. This volume consists of more original works.Volume 3 (intermediate) increases the repertoire up to the 6th position and requires a good control of the lower positions. It makes higher demands on expressive playing and interpretation, velocity and rhythm, as well as bowing techniques with articulation and phrasing./ Recueil / Contrebasse et Piano

A short three-movement 'characteristic' sonatina composed for Double Bass 2000 and premiered at Wells Cathedral School. Aimed at the intermediate bassist this is a work full of lyrical episodes and utilises the medium-high range of the instrument. The composer writes: 'My Sonatina a brief frivolous piece was partly written to exploit the range of the double bass both its lower and upper reaches. The first movement is in strict sonata form - exposition repeat and all. The second movement is tongue-in-cheek 18th-century form; the sonatina is a very 19th-century form. Its main theme turns up again as the middle section of the final movement a tinywaltz. Other snatches of material are common to all three movements.' 

Zingaresca A czardas-influenced work which is full of the fire and passion of the typical Gipsy idiom. Zingaresca offers much for the advanced bassist and would be ideal for conservatoire or university students who are confident playing throughout the solo range of the instrument. A slow and lyrical introduction leads into a rhythmic and lively czardas these with opportunities to demonstrate both musical and technical prowess in equal measure. Ideal as the final work in a recital and performed many times by the composer. The edition includes piano accompaniments for both solo and orchestral tunings. Performance Level: Advanced Miloslav Gajdos is one of Europe's most active and inventive bassist-composers. He was born in northern Moravia in 1948 and initially learned violin before transferring to the double bass, studying with Alois Kriz, Jiri Bortlicek and Ludwig Streicher. He has been Professor of Double Bass at the Vejvenovsky Conseravtoire in Kromeriz (Czech Republic) since 1971, and was a member of the Olomouc Symphony Orchestra for a number of years. He is Director of the Gregora International Double Bass Competition, founded in 1979 and held every two years in Kromeriz, and has been a juror at many competitions in Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic. Miloslav Gajdos is a prolific composer and arranger and, for almost 40 years, has produced a vast body of original works and transcriptions for double bass which are performed worldwide. His original works combine Czech lyricism and melody with brilliant technical demands, and music from one to sixteen double basses. He writes in a traditional and accessible style, producing music for every level of performer, particularly for the advanced bassist, and his many works for unaccompanied double bass are frequently chosen as international competition repertoire. Miloslav Gajdos was Recital Music's Featured Composer in 2007 and has recently revised a number of earlier works for the intermediate bassist which will be published by Recital Music.intermediate bassist which will be published by Recital Music.

The complete resource for the Grade 5 double bassist. Par . / Niveau : Moyen / Date parution : 2024-01-06/ Recueil / Contrebasse et Piano

This new publication replaces the old Latham edition (now out of print) - popular title on both ABRSM and TG double bass syllabuses (grade 7).Dennis Leogrande writes:I began writing the melody first although every piece begins differently. I wanted to begin with a sound that for me is very characteristic of the bass that being the ½ step slide from G# to A. Looking throughout the piece you will notice other slides ie. bars 1 3 5 7 12 14 16 18 38 58 114 116 18 120 123 125 and 127. Please don't forget to notice the grace note slide in measure 100. These are the melodic motifs that give the piece its character and act as hooks(memorable ideas) for the listener to latch on to. Once I began writing the melody it just grew organically from the original idea. I hope you feel the same organic growth. The shifting harmonic tonalities (between D major and D minor) seem to ask the question 'May I?' and keep the listener involved in trying to answer the question. The jazz style keeps the 'question' light hearted a little 'tongue in cheek.' However playing this piece requires attention to these details and a great deal of musicianship. It's the fine musician who understands both the music and the instrument who can make a difficult and complicated piece sound easy light and fun. Oh and yes please enjoy!

This Piano accompaniment book ideally compliments the Suzuki Bass School Volume 4 Bass Part book catalogue number ALF28359.The Suzuki Method® of Talent Education is based on Dr. Shinichi Suzuki's view that every child is born with ability and that man is the son of his environment. According to Dr. Suzuki a world-renowned violinist and teacher the greatest joy an adult can know comes from developing a child's potential so he/she can express all that is harmonious and best in human beings. Students are taught using the 'mother-tongue' approach.