Review: Book 2 by Hans Sturm, 2004
Keith Hartley has expanded and revised two of his popular double bass books published by Oxford Music.
Double Bass Solo 2 is a revised edition of sixty pieces from orchestral repertoire. Here, as in Double Bass Solo 1, the selections come from a variety of sources. A number of opera excerpts are present including famous passages from Wagner’s
Die Meistersinger and Verdi’s
Otello and
Rigoletto. Challenging overture passages are included such as Smetana’s
Bartered Bride and Dvorák’s
Carnival. And a few of the major excerpts are present as well including the Recitative from
Beethoven 9, the Scherzo and Trio from
Beethoven 5, and the Minuetto melody from
Mozart 40. However, it is the
inclusion of numerous excerpts that are difficult to find in a single
source that makes this particular collection a rare gem and an invaluable
addition to a serious bass collection. Here in one volume one can find the
oft asked solos from Britten’s
Young Person’s Guide, Stravinsky’s
Pulcinella Suite, Prokofieff’s
Lieutenant Kije Suite, as well as six of the Haydn violone solos from Symphonies including
no. 6 Le Matin, no. 7 Le Midi, no. 8 Le Soir, no. 45 Farewell, no. 72, and no. 31 Horn Signal. Other more obscure excerpts include passages from the violin concertos of
Bach, Shostakovich, and Prokofieff, three Elgar symphonic works, and ballet scores by Delius and Delibes.
Accompaniments for Double Bass Solo is available for 26 pieces from both volumes.