Double Bass and Piano

It is most likely that many of the stories and anecdotes surrounding the Venetian double bassist Domenico Dragonetti (1763-1846) are apocryphal. For instance, his alleged participation as an 82-year old in the Bonn Beethoven Festival of 1845, where he was said to have led a group of 13 double bassists, could not be proven. The reason behind the creation of such tales is found in Dragonetti's exceptional position among the musicians of that time as a result of his spectacular performances. His capabilites were also correspondingly rewarded; for almost thirty years, while he was principal double bassist of the London "Philharmonic Society", he always belonged to the the top earners of the orchestra. His income was as much as six times more than that of his double bass section colleagues. Therefore, it is understandable that Dragonetti's testament reads like the inventory of a musical instrument museum, with valuable violins, violas, celli and double basses by Stradivari, Amati, da Salo, and other master luthiers. Dragonetti's compositions were written spontaneously. According to contemporary reports, he was a master of improvisation. With this in mind, the quantity of works left behind is fairly slender. Incidentally, the popular A major concerto does not belong to these works, as it was obviously composed by Edouard Nanny (1872-1943). Dragonetti's compositions comprise of mostly smaller pieces for solo double bass with string accompaniment. For some of them, Simon Sechter (1788-1867), a music-theorist and composition teacher, wrote piano versions. The "Andante and Rondo" presented here also has both piano and string accompaniments. Matthias Petersen arranged the piano score and combined the best elements of both versions. For example, the rondo theme from measures 71-78 and 172-186 has been transferred from the double bass to the piano to allow the soloist a few bars of rest. I have edited the solo part with phrasing and articulation markings, as well as logical dynamic markings, according to a historically informed musical perspective.