| Instruments of the Night, The Strad |
 |
On 16th February 2016 Robert Smissen and Leon Bosch will perform the world premiere of John Woolrich's "To the Silver Bow", a concerto for viola double bass and strings, followed by a second performance on 17th February 2016 at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds.
Full Review (PDF). |
|
The Strad
|
| Josep Cervera-Bret, The Catalan Virtuoso |
|
Leon Bosch selects ten of the 62 surviving Cevera compositions and packages them here with illuminating liner notes that paint a vivid picture of Cevera's time & career, bringing his music to a much wider audience.
Reviews by:
|
|
| The British Double Bass (PDF) |
|
| Anthologies of this kind are inevitably going to reflect a plethora of different idioms and approaches, but perhaps that is all to the good. With the proviso that you should not listen straight through at a sitting, when for instance the sequence found here of Bush/McCabe/Lutyens/Reynolds might leave you marginally bewildered stylistically, the present collection can otherwise be wholeheartedly recommended. Full Review (PDF). |
|
| International Record |
The British Double Bass
Review by Jonathan Woolf |
|
| If you run from Gordon Jacob to Elizabeth Lutyens you’re going to cover quite some stylistic ground. Add the fact that all these works feature that apparently cumbersome beast, the double bass, and you might reasonably wonder what you’ve let yourself in for. Two very good counter arguments eagerly present themselves; firstly Leon Bosch, the double bass player, whose feats of virtuosity would have made the shades of Koussevitzky and Eugene Cruft positively blanch in astonishment. Full Review. |
|
|
www.musicweb-international.com
|
The British Double Bass
Review by Rob Barnett |
|
| I can recall the two key works that won me round to the music of Gordon Jacob. Both were heard via Radio 3 broadcasts. The first was the devil-may-care and touching Viola Concerto with Frederick Riddle. The second was the swashbuckling Rhapsody played by Valerie Tryon with the GUS Band conducted by Geoffrey Brand. Jacob’s Little Concerto was written during the days when my musical horizons were broadening; not that I ever heard it until now. It has all the touching artistry and excitement of those other two concertos. It’s eager and bright-eyed in the outer movements with some salty percussion contributions to add to the string textures. The central Largo is a lovely and sensitive romance worthy in its different way to put alongside RVW’s Romance in the Tuba Concerto. Jacob’s famed fluency with so many instruments rewards both the adventurous Leon Bosch and the sympathetic and enquiring listener. Full Review. |
|
|
www.musicweb-international.com
|
Virtuoso Double Bass
Review by Rob Barnett |
|
| These days Bottesini manages a footnote as an almost forgotten double-bassist. It's hard being on the edge of oblivion as a virtuoso of one of the least glamorous and most buffoonish of instruments. The instrument’s nobility, rather like that of the tuba, is often left in the shadows in favour of its buffoon image. As for the composer, Bottesini conducted the premiere of Aida and was also an accomplished writer; so we are reminded by Andrew Green's very personal liner note. This note moves enthrallingly between Bottesini and Bosch - who once wrote for this site - and the story of how this CD came to be made.Full Review. |
|
|
www.musicweb-international.com
|
| CD Review by Kai Horsthemke, April 2008 (PDF) |
|
|
For lovers of 'classical double bass' and of 20th century music, this album offers a double treat. Western Cape-born bassist Leon Bosch presents a set of recordings here that feature compositions for double bass by 20th century British composers whose names aren't exactly ordinary household knowledge. And what an aural feast this compilation yields! Full Review (PDF).
|
|
| CD Review by Robin Stowell in Double Bassist Magazine (PDF) |
|
|
The British Double Bass - This CD is a significant release for the British bassist fraternity. Its programme claims nine premiere recordings and comprises works by ten distinguished 20th Century British composers. Fittingly, Leon Bosh ditches his Gagliano for an English instrument by Lockey Hill (c. 1750); but he retains his renowned mellow tone, deciseive characterisation and sensitive musicianship... Full Review (PDF).
|
|
| Review of Virtuoso Double Bass CD (PDF) |
|
|
Leon Bosch demonstrates a natural affinity with the origins, aims and virtuosity of Bottesini's music. He finds an admirable partner in pianist Sung-Suk Kang, who moulds her contribution faithfully and sensitively to his lead. Bosch's programme particularly highlights his sonorous, lyrical playing style and musicicanship, as demonstrated in his performances of the Meditazione (Aria de Bach), the quasi-operatic Elegy, the Romanza Patetica (Mélodie), with its telling phrasing and crystal clear harmonics, and the contemplative Rêverie.Full Review (PDF).
|
|
|
 |
Website designed, developed & hosted by
Henley Web Development
|
