Giovanni Bottesini: Andante Sostenuto for string sextet (2 vln, vla, 2 vcl, db) for string orchestra

About the Composition and Arrangement

Andante Sostenuto is scored for string sextet (2 violins, viola, 2 violoncellos, double bass) or string orchestra, was completed in Naples on 13 April 1885 and is dedicated to Giulio Ricordi (1840-1912), Bottesini’s publisher and a member of the Ricordi family of publishers.

In one movement and lasting almost seven minutes, Andante Sostenuto is a beautifully original work contrasting tender and evocative music, with dramatic and vibrant episodes, in a colorful and atmospheric soundscape ideally suited to any audience or occasion. It remained unpublished until 2002 and is a forgotten jewel of the late 19th-century string chamber ensemble (or orchestra) repertoire and demonstrates Bottesini at the height of his compositional powers.

About the Composer

Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) is remembered today for his virtuosic double bass music but he was also a prolific composer of operas, songs, chamber music, and orchestral works. He spent much of his life in the opera house, as conductor and composer, and toured throughout the world as the leading double bass virtuoso of his generation.

2021 marked the 200th anniversary of Bottesini’s birth and there has been an amazing resurgence of interest in his music over the past fifty years. Recital Music has published many works by Bottesini and has plans to publish more over the coming years.