Rossini: Duetto for Cello & Double Bass Andante molto
Rossini: Duetto for Cello & Double Bass - Allegro
Oppelt: Pas De Deux for Flute & Double Bass
Debussy: Danses Sacree Et Profane
Dragonetti: Waltz 1 for Double Bass
Dragonetti: Waltz 2 for Double Bass
Dragonetti: Waltz 3 for Double Bass
Dragonetti: Waltz 4 for Double Bass
Dragonetti: Waltz 5 for Double Bass
Dragonetti: Waltz 6 for Double Bass
Schuller: Quartet for Double Basses - Allegro
Schuller: Quartet for Double Basses - Scherzando
Schuller: Quartet for Double Basses - Adagio
Barnett: Serenade for Double Bass, Harp & String Qt
Barnett: Serenade for Double Bass, Harp & String Qt
Barnett: Serenade for Double Bass, Harp & String Qt
This CD features a new recording of Gunther Schuller s remarkable Quartet for Double Basses (performed by the world-class NSO bassists) and the premier recording of Charlie Barnett s popular Serenade for Double Bass. Drag... more »onetti s unaccompanied Waltzes invite a more personal encounter with the rich sound of the bass. * * * Robert Oppelt joined the National Symphony Orchestra bass section in 1982 at the invitation of Music Director Mstislav Rostropovich. He was promoted to Assistant Principal Bass in 1984 and in 1996, under Music Director Leonard Slatkin, was appointed Principal Bass. Mr. Oppelt has appeared as soloist with the NSO in performances of Mozart s Per Queste Bella Mano, Paganini s Moses Fantasy, and Koussevitsky s Concerto for Double Bass. Chamber music collaborations include performances with Yo-Yo Ma, Hillary Hahn, and Joseph Kalichstein.« less
This CD features a new recording of Gunther Schuller s remarkable Quartet for Double Basses (performed by the world-class NSO bassists) and the premier recording of Charlie Barnett s popular Serenade for Double Bass. Dragonetti s unaccompanied Waltzes invite a more personal encounter with the rich sound of the bass. * * * Robert Oppelt joined the National Symphony Orchestra bass section in 1982 at the invitation of Music Director Mstislav Rostropovich. He was promoted to Assistant Principal Bass in 1984 and in 1996, under Music Director Leonard Slatkin, was appointed Principal Bass. Mr. Oppelt has appeared as soloist with the NSO in performances of Mozart s Per Queste Bella Mano, Paganini s Moses Fantasy, and Koussevitsky s Concerto for Double Bass. Chamber music collaborations include performances with Yo-Yo Ma, Hillary Hahn, and Joseph Kalichstein.
"Robert Oppelt performs with great sensitivity and produces a wonderfully lush sound from his Double Bass. He collaborates with a fine group of artists from the National Symphony and the results are fantastic. I especially enjoyed the Schuller Quartet which is in my opinion the definitive recording of this work."
A real tour de force
A. Bettelheim | Olney, MD | 02/07/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Robert Oppelt's CD is a great introduction to the charms and capabilities of the double bass. Classical devotees and casual listeners will both find much to enjoy and admire."
Extraordinary, soulful recording (5 star)
James R. Wilson | Washington, DC | 01/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rob Oppelt and his colleagues have recorded an extraordinary collection of classical music for the double bass. The album is at once precise, elegiac and uplifting. When I first unwrapped my CD, I listened to it straight through, over and over, for four hours. Each listening deepened my appreciation for this wonderful work, spanning Rossini, Debussy, Dragonetti, Barnett and an original composition by Oppelt.
More, it is nice that Oppelt's CD notes provide an overview on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a disease that struck his family, and funds from each sale are given to ALS research."
A rich, bouyant portrait of the double bass
truth, please! | USA | 08/25/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One Saturday morning while driving on an errand, I turned on my local classical station just in time to catch Bob Oppelt playing "Serenade for Double Bass" by Charlie Barnett. It was lyrical, lovely, exuberant and irresistible. Five minutes after I got home, I had ordered a copy of the CD. :) Since then, Oppelt's "The Double Bass" has become a favorite.
Classical music lovers are used to thinking of the bass members of the orchestra--the bassoon, the tuba, and the double bass, for sure--as something of the "class clowns." Most solos seem to be amusing little interludes that we hear in between the more "serious" contributions of instruments playing in a higher register. This CD will go a long way towards changing that impression.
The double bass repertoire actually includes a rich variety of lesser known works. In the hands of a master like Oppelt, the instrument is capable of expressing a surprising range of moods and ideas. It is a revelation to hear the double bass pairing with the harp so naturally, as in Barnett's "Serenade" and as in Oppelt's own composition, "Pas De Deux for Flute & Double Bass." Those have in fact become my favorite works on this recording.
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1
