Scan 133
Voice and violin : sketches, anecdotes, and reminiscences, 1898
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 113. See the scan on archive.org.
1BOTTESINI AND HIS LAST CONCERT 113
3Concerto for contra-basso and his Tarantella are among the most remarkable works ever written; in his hands they invariably produced an immense effect. He published also a Méthode Complète de Contre-basse. For Guido Papini he wrote his celebrated Duo pour Violon et Contre-basse. These two distinguished men were on the point of organising a monster tour together, when death carried off the illustrious Bottesini, at the age of sixty-six years, in 1889, not long after he had been appointed Principal of the Academy of Music at Parma. "It was in that ancient city that he died, a city always noted for its love of music, and whose opera-house is capable of holding 1200 people. He left, unfinished, a grand oratorio."
5The last concert he gave in England was one of the finest on record. It was a double concert, where the chief attraction was the double-bass, and took place on the morning and evening of the 17th June 1884, at Princes Hall, Piccadilly. On this occasion he announced himself as "Signor Bottesini, Composer and Solo Contra-basso." Some songs of his were sung at these two concerts; the programme included the wonderful duet for violin and double-bass, and he played his Tarantella and Carnevale with immense success, besides several other pieces.
7How prophetic is the announcement on the first page of the programme! "… His only appearance this season before his final departure…"
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