The Double Bass
The elephant in the room? No, the Double Bass is much more.
It's huge, it's awkward, it's difficult to play, and while it鈥檚 totally pivotal to the musical spectrum, it's rarely talked about.
It's the epitome of the elephant in the room, and yet we'll discover why it is possibly the most underrated instrument in the orchestra.
Tom Service talks about the history and development of the largest and lowest pitched orchestral string instrument, and hears how it's played today. He's joined by performers Leon Bosch and Daphna Sadeh to discuss why the bass is much, much more than the elephant in the room.
Last on
More episodes
Music Played
-
![]()
John Williams
Jaws
Performer: City of Prague Philharmoinic; The C.B Paul Bateman.- Silva Screen Records Ltd.
- SILCD 1334.
-
![]()
Milt Hinton
Bass Pandemonium
Performer: Milt Hinton.- Jazz-Club Mainstream.
- 845 150-2.
-
![]()
Ray Campi
Rockin' at the Ritz
Performer: Ray Campi.- High Tone Records.
- HMG6603.
-
![]()
Lorne Balfe
Fallout
Conductor: Matt Dunkley. Performer: Studio Orchestra.- Paramount Music.
- NFI.
-
![]()
The Cure
The LoveCats
- UNIVERSAL MUSIC TV.
- 069 814-2.
-
![]()
Camille Saint鈥怱a毛ns
Le Carnaval des animaux
Conductor: Neeme J盲rvi. Performer: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.- Chandos.
- CHSA5162.
-
![]()
Franz Schubert
Quintet in A major D.667 (Trout) for piano, violin, viola, cello & db
Performer: Alois Posch. Performer: Frank Braley. Performer: Gautier Capu莽on. Performer: G茅rard Causs茅. Performer: Renaud Capu莽on.- Virgin.
- 4556326.
-
![]()
Giuseppe Verdi
Otello - dramma lirico in 4 acts
Conductor: Riccardo Muti. Performer: Chicago S O..- CSO.
- 9011301.
-
![]()
Jo毛lle L茅andre
To Day and To Morrow
Performer: Jo毛lle L茅andre.- Hat ART.
- CD 6122.
-
![]()
Giovanni Bottesini
Fantasia (Lucia di Lammermoor) for double bass and piano
Performer: Leon Bosch. Performer: Sung-Suk Kang.- MERIDIAN.
- CDE 84587.
-
![]()
Daphna Sadeh
Born in Parallel
Performer: Daphna Sadeh.- 33Xtreme004.
- 004.
-
![]()
Jean Sibelius
Finlandia Op.26 for orchestra
Conductor: Esa鈥怭ekka Salonen. Performer: Swedish R S O.- Sony.
- SK46668.
-
![]()
Giovanni Paolo Cima
Sonata per il violino e violone
Performer: Roland Wilson. Performer: Musica fiata Koln.- sony classical.
- s2k 66 254.
-
![]()
Henry Purcell
Dido and Aeneas - opera in 3 acts Z.626
Conductor: Anthony Lewis. Performer: Janet Baker. Performer: English Chamber Orchestra.- DECCA.
- 466 387-2.
-
![]()
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony no. 29 in A major K.201
Performer: Trevor Pinnock. Performer: The English Concert.- ARCHIV.
- 471666-2.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony no. 9 in D minor Op.125 (Choral)
Conductor: Claudio Abbado. Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker.- Deutsche Grammophon.
- DG 4690002.
-
![]()
Johann Baptist Vanhal
Concerto in D major for double bass and orchestra
Conductor: Paul Goodwin. Performer: Chi-Chi Nwanoku. Performer: Swedish Chamber Orchestra.- HYPERION.
- CDA-67179.
-
![]()
Jeanne Louise Dumont Farrenc
Quintet no. 1 in A minor Op.30 for string trio, double bass & piano
Performer: Linos Ensemble.- CPO.
- 999194 2.
-
![]()
Gioachino Rossini
Duetto in D major for cello and double-bass
Performer: Alain Meunier. Performer: Franco Petracchi.- decca.
- 482 5103.
-
![]()
Giovanni Bottesini
Concerto no. 2 in B minor for double bass and piano
Conductor: Hugh Wolff. Performer: Edgar Meyer. Performer: Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.- SONY.
- SK-60956.
-
![]()
Giovanni Bottesini
Gran duo concertante vers. for violin, double bass and orchestra
Conductor: Andrew Litton. Performer: Thomas Martin. Performer: English Chamber Orchestra.- ASV.
- CD DCA-563.
-
![]()
Gustav Mahler
Symphony no. 1 in D major vers. original, in 5 mvts.
Conductor: Iv谩n Fischer. Performer: Budapest Festival Orchestra.- Channel.
- CCSSA33112.
-
![]()
Fred Astaire
Slap that Bass
- CBS.
- 46-5598-2.
-
![]()
Duke Ellington & Jimmy Blanton
Mr J B Blues
- RCA.
- NL89 750.
-
![]()
The Big Three Trio & Willie Dixon
88 Boogie
- Columbia.
- CK 46216.
-
![]()
Charles Mingus
Haitian Fight Song
Music Arranger: Sy Johnson.- Rhino/Atlantic.
- R2-75590.
-
![]()
The Police
Every Breath you Take
- NA.
- VTDCD-357.
-
![]()
Hans Zimmer
The Oil
Performer: Studio Orchestra.- Sony Classical.
- 88985461482.
-
![]()
Allan Stephenson
Burlesque for Double Bass and small orchestra
Conductor: Allan Stephenson. Performer: Leon Bosch. Performer: Peter Martens. Performer: Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.- MERIDIAN.
- CDE 84602.
-
![]()
Robin Walker
Turning Towards You
Performer: Leon Bosch. Performer: Min-Jung Kym. -
![]()
Brian Ferneyhough
Trittico per G.S. for double bass solo
Performer: Stefano Scodanibbio (1956).- HARMONIA MUNDI.
- MO-782029.
-
![]()
Peggy Lee
Fever
- VIRGIN.
- VTCD-286.
-
![]()
Giovanni Bottesini
Elegie in D major vers. double bass and pf
Performer: Leon Bosch. Performer: Sung-Suk Kang.- MERIDIAN.
- CDE-84544.
Broadcasts
- Sun 17 Mar 2019 17:00鲍鱼tv Radio 3
- Sun 1 May 2022 17:00鲍鱼tv Radio 3
- Fri 6 May 2022 16:30鲍鱼tv Radio 3
Why do we call it 'classical' music?
Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).
Six of the world's most extreme voices
From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?
How did the number 12 revolutionise music?
How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.
Why are we all addicted to bass?
Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.
Watch the animations
Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.
When does noise become music?
We like to think we can separate 鈥渘oise鈥� from 鈥渕usic鈥�, but is it that simple?
Podcast
-
![]()
The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
