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Here’s the complete performance of the concerto, with each individual movement being performed by one of the participants in the commission/premiere process. I was recording this on my Flip Mino cam at the very back of the hall (not ideal), so bear with the less than stellar video and enjoy this valuable addition to the double bass repertoire:

• mvt 1: Dennis Trembly (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
• mvt 2: Volkan Orhon (Universiy of Iowa – click here for his perf. at U of Iowa)
• mvt 3: Scott Best (Memphis Symphony)

(Video Download Link 146 MB)

By the way, the piano reduction and bass part for this work are available if you’re interested in performing it on a recital!

We’ll also be featuring a video detailing the commissioning process, and we’ve got an interview with Scott Best (who performed the third movement on this video) coming up. Stay tuned!

Dean did an hour-long performance at the 2007 ISB Convention featuring music from Captain Tobias Hume. This year’s performance is titled “Ode to Per Questa.” Enough said–check it out (approx. 45 minutes):

Video Download Link (276 MB)

I have another half-dozen or so videos of Dean that I recorded on another occasion during this past convention, and I’ll be putting them out over the next few weeks as well.

The complete audio version of this video is available through the media player at contrabasssconversations.com (at the top of this post) and through the podcast feed for subscribers. You can watch the complete video below (1 hr 40 min) or download it through the following link:

• An Afternoon With Gary Karr – Barry Lieberman and Friends – download (667 MB)

This video is a magnificent tribute to Gary Karr. University of Washington bass professor Barry Lieberman interviews Gary as they listen (along with an enthusiastic audience) to recordings from various stages of Barry’s career. The video concludes with a performance from Gary and pianist Harmon Lewis, a rare treat from this retired duo.

Lear more about Gary Karr at his website garykarr.com, and learn more about Barry Lieberman and his project featuring arrangements of great chamber music that include the double bass at theamericanstringproject.com. We’ll also be releasing this complete video in segments on YouTube, so feel free to search for it there as well. Enjoy, and stay tuned next week for the first segment of our interview with Barry Lieberman, which will feature performances from The American String Project.

We’re also featuring listener feedback, bass news, a link of the week, and much more. Enjoy!

Video not working? Click here to view it or download it.

Guy Tuneh bio:

Guy Tuneh has been studying in Germany and performing internationally. He is noted for his intense musical involvement and phenomenal performances, combining virtuosity and musicality. Mr. Tuneh has been active as a solo performer, chamber musician, orchestra and opera bassist. Having begun as a violin student at the age of 6, he was drawn to the tone color of the double bass, joining Prof. Michael Klinghoffer’s bass studio at the S. Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. Later, he continued his bass studies under Prof. Barbara Sanderling at the Hochschule Für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin, he is now working towards a Solo Artist Diploma with Prof. Wolfgang Güttler at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel. Additionally, he took master classes with Yoan Goilav, Gary Karr and Miloslav Gajdos. His orchestra performances included engagements as a principle bassist with the Berliner Kammeroper, Ensemble “Echo” in the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Theater Erfurt, and most recently with the Solistes Européens Luxembourg. As an orchestra bassist Mr. Tuneh performed under such distinguished conductors as Kurt Sanderling, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Nicolas Harnoncourt and Christian Thielemann. Winner of a Villa Musica Scholarship, Guy Tuneh has performed all over Germany as a chamber musician and a soloist to great acclaim, and participated in chamber music and solo performances recorded by the SWR (Southwest German Radio). These performances included collaborations with Ulf Rodenhäuser, Guy Braunstein, Christian Altenburger, Wen-Sinn Yang, Martin Ostertag, Hermann Bäumer, and other distinguished musicians.The “Allgemeine Zeitung” described his performance as youthful and exuberant.

Link of the Week:

www.guytuneh.com

Music Provided by:

Eric Hochberg -www.erichochberg.com

Guy Tuneh – www.guytuneh.com

Special thanks to Daniel Chmielinski for technical assistance – www.carsleuth.net

Show Notes:

Release Date: 7/19/08

Length:13:27

listen by phone: +1 (360) 227-5632

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Theme song by Eric Hochberg:www.erichochberg.com

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The outstanding double bassist Guy Tuneh (www.guytuneh.com) performs an excerpt of the fourth movement from Mendelssohn’s Sextet in D Major with Villa Musica. Listen to Guy Tuneh in interview on his Contrabass Conversations page, and check out more videos from him here.

The outstanding double bassist Guy Tuneh (www.guytuneh.com) performs the third movement Sextet in D Major with Villa Musica. Listen to Guy Tuneh in interview to his Contrabass Conversations page, and check out more videos from him here.

Jason thanks readers, listeners, and viewers for being a part of the Bass Blog and Contrabass Conversations in 2007, and double bass virtuoso Guy Tuneh (www.guytuneh.com) plays excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations.

Jason chats about a very entertaining stand partner he works with, plus offers some advice for keeping relations with your colleagues cordial in the orchestral environment.

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Iowa City double bass luthier Chris Thelkreld-Wiegend recently brought a new bass he had completed to Chicago for folks to check out. It’s a small bass–more like a 5/8 size than a 3/4 size, which is an interesting departure for Chris. I share my thoughts on this new bass in this short clip (1 min 40 sec).

Learn more about Chris and his basses by visiting www.heartlandsbs.com.

The outstanding double bassist Guy Tuneh (www.guytuneh.com) performs the second movement Sextet in D Major with Villa Musica. Listen to Guy Tuneh in interview to his Contrabass Conversations page, and check out more videos from him here.

This is likely to be the first time most people have ever hear Angel of Dusk, Einojuhani Rautavaara’s double bass concerto. Special thanks to double bassist Phillip Serna for securing the distribution rights to this piece.

This piece is approximately 26 minutes long. Two technical issues are worth noting:

1. The video footage is lost for the first couple of minutes. This happened during the original taping, and there’s nothing we can do about it. You’ll be seeing some background information about the piece, but don’t worry–the video will start up after the titles finish.
2. There are some synchronization problems between the audio and video. Again, this was a problem from the original recording, so don’t be surprised if some of Phillip’s motions don’t seem to line up with what you’re seeing.

This piece is so cool that these two issues shouldn’t mar your enjoyment of it. I’m excited to be able to spread the word about this piece!

Click here for complete recital information plus individual videos for each movement of the concerto

Phillip W. Serna Doctoral Recital from 2002 at Northwestern University

Angel of Dusk, Concerto for Double Bass (1980/1993) by Einojuhani Rautavaara (b.1928)
For Double Bass, Two Pianos and Percussion

His First Appearance
His Monologue
His Last Appearance

Dr. Phillip W. Serna, Double Bass
Joseph Francavilla, Piano
J. David tech, Piano
Robert Dillon, Percussion

For more information, visit Dr. Phillip W. Serna at http://www.phillipwserna.com/.

You can check out the first part of Ranaan’s interview here, and click here to watch Ranaan play the Czardas on double bass. The video below is from a recital that Ranaan performed in 2007. In addition to the high-resolution version below, you can check this video out on YouTube or in the bass blog video player in the upper-left-hand corner of the blog.

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