(With the Joseph Panormo Double Bass)
Keith Hartley, retired from the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in 2019, after 32 years as sub-principal double bass. He was presented with the ROH Long Service Medal in 2013.
Earlier in his career, he had been a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Northern & BBC Concert Orchestras. Particularly during the thirteen years (1974-87) as a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Keith toured and recorded extensively with maestros such as Antal Dorati, Yehudi Menuhin, André Previn.
For many years, Keith was also the bass player with the London Harpsichord Ensemble, and can be heard on the Albinoni, Telemann and Handel oboe concerto CDs with soloist, Sarah Francis. (These recordings were awarded 3 and 4 stars in the Penquin Guide.)
Since 1983, Keith has been the owner of the Joseph Panormo (1768-1837) Double Bass, which was featured in “The Strad” magazine of January 1999, and more recently in “The English Double Bass” book (2018). Click on the link above to read the instrument’s fascinating history dating back to c.1820.
On the educational front, Oxford University Press started publishing the “Double Bass Solo” series in 1980. These books are still going strong, with Double Bass Solo Book 1 now in it’s third edition (2019). Bartholomew Music also publish Subterranean Solos - 9 Concert Pieces for Double Bass & Piano.
Bass Clef Duets & Double Bass Solo Plus, although no longer available in the shops, can still be ordered online via the links below.