Gran Concerto (No. 3) in F# Minor for bass and piano (solo tuning); Giovanni Bottesini

Gran Concerto (No. 3) in F-sharp minor for bass and piano by Giovanni Bottesini

• Edited by Thomas Martin. Published by International Edition

Giovanni Bottesini (1821-89) was one of the most remarkable virtuosos of the 19th century. He was the Romantic era's foremost double bass soloist and composer for the instrument, responsible for greatly extending its technical and expressive possibilities thru concertos, bravura works, and salon pieces, much as Paganini did for the violin. He was also a respected conductor of Italian opera, known for playing virtuosic fantasies on popular opera themes on his bass during intermissions.

Bottesini composed his third bass concerto, the ''Gran Concerto'' in F-sharp minor, while on tour in St. Petersburg with Henryk Wieniawski, but was abandoned until his tours in London. It is a masterpiece of Bottesini's late period and undoubtedly his most accomplished and adventurous concerto, with some of the most challenging and exciting virtuosic music of his career. Presented in solo tuning. Edited by Thomas Martin. Master level, grade 6