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Born in Cape Town in 1961, Bosch was denied permission to study law under the apartheid regime, but after applying to the University of Cape Town's Music Faculty in what he at the time thought of as a “light-hearted prank,” he was accepted and destiny had seemingly taken its course.
Under the guidance of Zoltan Kovats, the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra's principal double bassist, his first instrument quickly changed from cello to double bass. He was soon asked to perform his first concerto with the CTSO and completed his music degree with the highest mark ever awarded in a performance exam.
Leon remembers that the American double bass virtuoso Gary Karr had a profound impact on him during his student days. “I had never heard the double bass sing in such a mellifluous manner and with such unbridled virtuosity.” He was determined to emulate Gary Karr's achievements on the instrument and began to practise for around ten hours a day, seven days a week from then onwards. “By the time I performed my final recital at The University of Cape Town,” he remembers, “Pierre de Groote, then Head of Strings at the University, flatteringly began to refer to me as the ‘South African Gary Karr.'”
With such exceptional ability, Leon needed to further hone his skills abroad. Again running against the laws of the time, which only granted scholarships to white musicians, Leon nevertheless managed to secure private funding to continue studies under Rodney Slatford at the Royal Northern College of Music, setting another record by achieving the first ever distinction awarded to a double bassist in that college's history.
Since then his professional career has seen him performing with most of the major British orchestras, including the BBC Philharmonic, Halle, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, as well as with famed string quartets like the Brodsky, Lindsay and Emperor Quartets. Currently he holds the position as co-principal double bassist of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and principal with the London Mozart Players.
Leon has now made a home in Tring in Hertfordshire, where he lives with his wife and two lively sons. “Tring is a small market town of about 12 000 inhabitants, and dates back to about 1365. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, approximately 35 miles from the centre of London and is perfect for commuting into the city, where I do the majority of my work. A normal day roughly consists of a 70-mile commute to the city and an average of about 6 hours playing,” explains Leon.
With the violin normally stealing the show when it comes to stringed instruments, I couldn't resist the opportunity to find out more about the double bass and its particular technical difficulties. “The most common image of the double bass is that of a lumbering and ungrateful beast, beset with problems of intonation; growling around in subterranean registers, with an inability to even consider the complex art of phrasing. The double bass, in short, does not often inspire confidence,” Leon teases, but explains that “the successful virtuoso has to overcome these negative perceptions and must be able to persuade an audience that they ARE indeed listening to a musical instrument.” He believes that conquering the physical challenges of the instrument is a task that is first and foremost something to be accomplished within the mind of the player. “The instrument must additionally become almost a natural extension of one's personality and only then can the sincerest form of expression become possible.”
Leon acquired his current instrument in 1995 from a retired musician who was looking to pass the instrument on to a worthy young player, and after meeting Leon, sold it to him for a nominal fee. Recent restoration on the instrument suggests that it may be the work of the famed string maker Nicolo Gagliano, although it was previously believed to come from the hands of Carlo Giuseppe Testore.
When it comes to bowing, there are many different schools a player can follow and Leon prefers the German style of bowing. He clarifies that “the French and German style of bowing developed primarily in the geographic regions implicit in their names, but each has attracted devotees worldwide, almost in equal numbers, on account of their perceived advantages. The French bow utilises the over handed hold (often misrepresented as a grip), whilst the German bow uses the underhanded method, where the frog of the bow rests in the palm of the hand.” He doesn't believe that either would improve a performer's playing and jokingly adds that “bad workmen invariably blame their tools and much the same is true of the German versus French bow argument!”
Leon has performed across a wide variety of styles, but also has a passion for digging up lesser known but worthy compositions that would not normally be heard in the concert hall. As far as favourite composers go, he singles out Bottesini as occupying a “particularly special place” in his soul. “As a young student at The University of Cape Town I spent innumerable hours learning as many of his compositions as possible, it was a real voyage of discovery and one that I shall treasure forever. I seemed to have a natural affinity for his bel canto style and the virtuosity so integral to his compositions. Before long I felt like Giovanni Bottesini and I shared a special relationship, a bond that continues to this day.” For his final year performance examination in 1981, he performed 10 of Bottesini's virtuoso pieces for double bass and piano and in June this year will record this very programme on CD for Meridian Records.
Leon admits that being a successful musician these days means much more than being able to play your instrument well. Versatility and flexibility must form the backbone of any serious attempt to develop a durable career. “The world is a much more competitive place nowadays and for each musician in work in the UK today for example, there must be at least a couple of dozen unemployed and desperate. Maintaining a competitive advantage is therefore critical and the successful musician has to develop all the skills necessary for running a flourishing small business, but without the luxury of specialised and dedicated staff.” As soon as a normal working day has lapsed, there are still all the administrative tasks to be attended to, practice still has to be done and last but by no means least, family matters have to be attended to.
His career as a double bassist encompasses solo performances, film and pop session work, chamber orchestra's concerts, chamber performances, symphony orchestra concerts, community work, teaching and examining. In addition to all of this he is also involved with program planning for the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and reviews classical music CDs for Music Web.
Touring takes up a lot of his time, especially with The Academy of St Martin in the Fields. “I have spent inordinate amounts of time living out of a suitcase, staring at the walls of my hotel bedroom or watching CNN television,” he laughingly admits. “By the time one has visited the USA 35 times, eaten in all the best restaurants in Germany, trudged – having almost irredeemably gone astray – through the back streets of Istanbul and lost your baggage in Spain or Italy yet again, the attraction of touring naturally evaporates… Nowadays, I only go on tours that visit countries I have not seen before, or countries I love and choose to visit yet again. The criteria I now apply in making decisions about touring are limited to two major considerations: musical satisfaction and personal comfort (sunshine, good food and good company).”
With such a busy schedule I wonder if there is ever time to relax. Leon admits that while he hasn't ever really excelled at the art of relaxation, “it is something I am determined to remedy! Activities that help me relax include reading, walking, technological gadgetry and surprisingly…listening to music. My wife has also tried to persuade me to take an interest in the cinema, but a dark and peaceful environment is my cue to fall asleep!”
His political experiences as a child in South Africa have also contributed to an absorbing interest in International Relations. This interest was transformed recently into a Master's Degree in Intelligence and International Relations, which means that ‘reading for relaxation' is a far cry from fiction! He does confess that he's of a bit of an expert at Tetris, and has to guard against this hobby “stealing huge chunks of my time, as every techno-junkie will know!
Leon Bosch was feature in an article in Classic Feel, Classic FM South Africa's Magazine,
in February 2004. http://www.classicfeel.co.za/
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