With its deep, roaring lows, the double bass has served as the backbone of the orchestra for centuries, but its supporting role has led to it being overlooked as a solo instrument. While the bass’s solo repertoire remains slim compared to the violin and cello, composer Serge Koussevitzky‘s Double Bass Concerto has stood as a testament to the instrument’s power, intimacy, and richness. More than a hundred years after its premiere, it stands as a defining work that showcases the bass’s lyrical nature.
Serge Koussevitzky: From Bolshoi Bassist to Boston Symphony Conductor
Koussevitzky was a conductor, composer, and double-bassist born in Russia in 1874. He is probably best known for his tenure as the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949. Author and lecturer Harlow Robinson writes on the BSO website that he began as an accomplished cellist before switching to bass in order to receive a full scholarship to the Music Drama School of Moscow Philharmonic Society. With passion and commitment, they write, he mastered the instrument and rose through the ranks “from first chair double bassist at the Bolshoi Theatre to acclaimed soloist.”
“In the first decade of the 20th century, Koussevitzky became a highly successful touring double bass virtuoso, and his primary goal was to expand its limited solo repertoire,” they share. “Composing also helped him to understand music ‘from the inside,’ a useful skill as he worked to advance his career as a conductor.”
Why the Koussevitzky Bass Concerto Was Revolutionary
Koussevitzky began writing the concerto in 1902 and completed it in 1905, premiering it on February 12th that same year with the Moscow Philharmonic. The piece is a product of its time, drawing heavily on the Russian late-Romantic sound. This aligned with the practice of writing concertos for piano, violin, and cello at the time.
“His concerto was clearly influenced by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, and the main theme recalls that of Dvořák’s 9th symphony,” Ricordi writes. “In Koussevitzky’s concerto, this theme is played by a horn, which also evokes Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto.” As such, it elicits intense emotion from dramatic, expressive melodies, which are often played in the higher register of the bass for better projection and lyrical articulation.
How Thumb Position and Solo Tuning Let the Bass Sing
The upper register of the bass is called the thumb position, and requires a different playing technique in which the thumb is used to stop the strings like other fingers. Although quite common now, the technique was rarely used by average bassists in the 19th century.
Koussevitzky further ensured the bass would stick out from the orchestra by writing it for “solo tuning” (F#-B-E-A), which is a whole step higher than standard bass tuning (E-A-D-G). Solo tuning strings have a higher tension and produce a brighter singing quality.
By using familiar motifs, virtuosic technique, and tuning techniques, Koussevitzky’s Double Bass Concerto legitimized the bass as a solo instrument. It helped demonstrate the bass’s untapped technical and lyrical possibilities, showing it can sing as well as it can roar. The piece became standard repertoire and is still commonly played today.
Case in point: watch bassist Marc André perform the concerto with the Junge Philharmonie Zentralschweiz in 2021:
