Serge Koussevitsky: Two Salon Pieces for double bass & piano (Op. 2 & 4)

About the Pieces

Koussevitsky’s Salon Pieces remain at the heart of the double bass repertoire today and Recital Music’s new digital publication returns to the original Russian printed editions to create new and exciting versions of these much loved pieces. Each piece is an exquisite and miniature tone poem, typical of salon music at the end of the 19th-century, demonstrating the lyrical and virtuosic potential of the double bass throughout its solo register.

Chanson Triste Op. 2

It is a beautiful and intensely passionate piece that exploits the entire range of the double bass. The solo writing is simple and darkly expressive, demonstrating the sonorous and cantabile qualities of the instrument, contrasting a brighter and hopeful middle section, which increases in intensity before descending to the lowest note of the double bass. From the depths, the music rises towards the highest register before a final recapitulation of the opening section ending with a sense of hopeless despair.

Humoresque Op. 4

It is a lively and entertaining piece with bright and animated arpeggio musical themes,, which are also played in harmonics. The happy and carefree opening passage contrasts a more romantic and dramatic middle section, abounding with chromatic sidesteps, before the opening music returns. The piece ends simply and with a witty and effective pizzicato final note.

Many bowings and details were inconsistent in the original editions, and a number of editorial decisions have been made to create new versions that hopefully reflect the composer’s original intentions.

The edition includes piano accompaniments for both solo and orchestral tunings.

About the Composer

Serge Koussevitsky was born in Russia in 1871 and was a virtuoso double bassist before becoming the revered conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He studied double bass with Josef Rambousek, joined the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra at the age of 20 and succeeded his teacher as Principal Bass in 1901. He studied conducting in Berlin with Arthur Nikisch, subsequently founding his own orchestra in Moscow and a publishing company to promote and perform the music of many fellow Russian composers. In 1924 Koussevitsky succeeded Pierre Monteux as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, retiring in 1949. He was one of the most important champions of new music during his tenure in Boston, commissioning music from Aaron Copland, Serge Prokofiev, Paul Hindemith, Igor Stravinsky, Albert Roussel, Bohuslav Martinů, Béla Bartók and many more, and in 1922 he commissioned Maurice Ravel to create an orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Serge Koussevitsky died in Boston in 1951.

Select the Salon Pieces Bundle

And you'll also receive Koussevitzky's Opus 1, which includes the Valse Miniature and Adante for Double Bass and Piano.