[이탈리아,더블베이스의 파가니니]Giovanni Bottesini

Giovanni Bottesini

(22 December 1821 – 7 July 1889),

was an Italian Romantic composer, conductor, and a double bass virtuoso

더블베이스의 뛰어난 연주와 더불어 더블베이스 기법에 대한 공헌으로 유명하다.

기초 음악훈련은 유년시절에 작곡가이자 클라리넷 연주자였던 아버지에게 받았다. 1835년 밀라노 음악원에 장학생으로 입학하기 위해서 더블베이스를 전공악기로 택했다(그가 지원할 즈음에는 장학금을 지급할 수 있는 전공악기로 더블베이스와 다른 악기 하나만이 남은 상태였음). 그는 몇 주 만에 장학금을 받을 수 있을 정도로 충분히 이 악기 연주법을 익혔다.

1839년 이 음악원을 떠나 미국·유럽에서 순회공연했으며, 그가 작곡한 첫 오페라 〈크리스토포로 콜롬보 Cristoforo Colombo〉는 1847년 아바나에서 초연되었다. 베네치아 순회공연에서 주세페 베르디를 만나 평생 동안 절친한 친구가 되었다. 1849년 영국을 처음 방문하여 이후 수차례 영국에서 연주를 했으며, 뛰어난 기교적 연주로 수년 동안 영국에서 인기를 누렸다. 유럽에서는 지휘자로도 알려졌다.

1871년 카이로에서 베르디의 〈아이다 Aida〉를 초연 지휘했고 1870년경부터 점차 작곡에 몰두하기 시작해 수많은 오페라·종교곡·관현악곡·더블베이스곡 등을 작곡했다.[다음백과]

[작품 연주 모음]

Biography

Born in Crema, Lombardy, he was taught the rudiments of music by his father, an accomplished clarinetist and composer, at a young age and had played timpani in Crema with the Teatro Sociale before the age of eleven. He studied violin with Carlo Cogliati, and probably would have continued on this instrument except for a unique turn of events. His father sought a place for him in the Milan Conservatory, but due to the Bottesini family's lack of money, Bottesini needed a scholarship.

Only two positions were available: double bass and bassoon. He prepared a successful audition for the double bass scholarship in a matter of weeks. At the conservatory, he studied with Luigi Rossi, to whom he would later dedicate his Tre grandi duetti per contrabasso. only four years later, a surprisingly short time by the standards of the day, he left with a prize of 300 francs for solo playing. This money financed the acquisition of an instrument of Carlo Giuseppe Testore, and a globe-trotting career as "the Paganini of the Double Bass" was launched.

On leaving Milan, he spent some time in America and also occupied the position of principal double-bass in the Italian opera at Havana, where he later became director. Here his first opera, Cristoforo Colombo, was produced in 1847. In 1849 he made his first appearance in England, playing double bass solos at one of the Musical Union concerts. After this he made frequent visits to England, and his extraordinary command of his unwieldy instrument gained him great popularity in London and the provinces.

Apart from his triumphs as a performer, Bottesini was a conductor of European reputation, and was conductor at the Théâtre des Italiens in Paris from 1855 to 1857 where his second opera, L'Assedio di Firenze, was produced in 1856. In 1861 and 1862 he conducted in Palermo, supervising the production of his opera Marion Delorme in 1862, and in 1863 in Barcelona. During these years he diversified the toils of conducting by repeated concert tours through Europe. In 1871 he conducted a season of Italian opera at the Lyceum theatre in London, during which his opera Ali Babà was produced, and he was chosen by Verdi to conduct the first performance of Aida, which took place at Cairo on 27 December 1871.

When conducting opera, Bottesini would frequently bring his double bass on stage during the intermission to play fantasies on the evening's opera. His fantasies on Lucia di Lammermoor, I puritani and Beatrice di Tenda are virtuosic tours de force that are still popular with those who are highly accomplished on the instrument.

Bottesini wrote three operas besides those previously mentioned: Il Diavolo della Notte (Milan, 1859); Vinciguerra (Paris, 1870); and Ero e Leandro (Turin, 1880), the last named to a libretto by Arrigo Boito, which was subsequently set by Luigi Mancinelli. He also wrote The Garden of Olivet, a devotional oratorio (libretto by Joseph Bennett), which was produced at the Norwich festival in 1887, eleven string quartets, a

quintet for string quartet and double bass, and many works for the double bass, including two concertos for solo double bass, the Gran Duo Concertante (originally) for two double basses, Passione Amorosa for two double basses, and numerous pieces for double bass and piano.

Shortly before his death, in 1888 he was appointed director of Parma Conservatory on Verdi's recommendation. Bottesini died in Parma on 7 July 1889. His solo works remain standard repertoire for accomplished double bassists to this day. Bottesini was a freemason, initiated June 20, 1849, in the Bank of England Lodge No. 263, London.

The Paganini of the double bass

Bottesini with his Testore bass around 1865

Bottesini was widely acclaimed, and his virtuosic skill in the bass paralleled that of Paganini himself on

the violin. Because of the contributions of Bottesini (along with those of Sperger and Dragonetti) to bass technique, many have come to view the double bass as a diverse and versatile instrument. Most notably there are many virtuoso bass players who draw inspiration from the early renaissance of the double bass.

Bottesini's bass was said to be a unique instrument with a remarkable sound. It was built by Carlo Giuseppe Testore in 1716. The instrument was owned by several unknown bass players. It nearly met its end in the 1830s as it sat backstage in a marionette theater in Milan. Bottesini purchased the Testore in 1838 for 900 lire. The Testore bass was later converted back to a four-stringed instrument, and then to a three.

Eventually, it was changed back to a four-string configuration and is now in the possession of a private collector in Japan. Bottesini was also one of the first performers to adopt the French-style bow grip for the double bass. This style was previously used solely by violinists, violists and cellists.

List of selected works

Main article: List of compositions by Giovanni Bottesini