The Paganini of the Double Bass: Bottesini in Britain

by Chris West

The achievements of Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) as a solo performer on the double bass tower above those of any other player before or since. In fact it’s hard to think of any other field of human endeavour where one person has gone so far beyond everybody else. For nearly fifty years he astonished and delighted audiences on four continents. This new biography The Paganini of the Double Bottesini in Britain tells the complete life story of this remarkable man. He visited Britain over twenty times and performed in around 800 concerts including thirteen lengthy national tours. His many appearances in London throughout the Victorian era took place in a changing musical scene, as rival opera companies went to war, and concert promoters experimented with different ways of presenting music to the public. Bottesini, almost uniquely, was an outstanding success at the most serious philharmonic concerts and the rowdiest popular events. He was particularly associated with the Proms. He appeared over 200 times between 1851 and 1887, and even shared conducting duties with Johann Strauss II for the 1867 season, but he did not quite live long enough to see the era of Henry Wood. Although this book covers Bottesini’s career in Britain in most detail, it describes his entire The inclusion of around 20 letters to his closest friend, most of them not in any previous book about Bottesini, allows us to see the great double bass player’s life from his own perspective — his domestic quarrels, his financial pressures and his professional rivalries.

293 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2021

About the author

I grew up in a country village north of London. As a boy I filled endless notebooks with stories - not all of them finished! As a young man I played in various (unsuccessful) bands, then worked in the City of London. I studied philosophy and economics as a 'mature' student (though I wasn't very mature). After leaving uni I went backpacking in China, and wrote a book about that adventure which came out in 1991. Since then, writing has (along with family) been at the heart of my life, though I've had other jobs, too, largely in Marketing and PR, working with small businesses. In 2008, I found an old stamp album in the attic of my parents' old house, and became fascinated by the contents and the way they seemed to mirror history. Each stamp was a tiny, rectangular time machine! In the end, I had to write a book along these lines: A History of Britain in 36 Postage Stamps was the result. I have now done the same for the USA - a fascinating journey into American history (and a great pleasure to collect the nation's stamps). I live in North Hertfordshire with my wife and daughter.

a.k.a Christopher West|6453491].

Reviews

[Vincent Osborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book might be mostly for double bass players, Chris West has produced a biography of one of the greatest musicians of the 19th century. He has introduced numerous concert reviews that give proof of the superstar that Bottesini was. The music of Giovanni Bottesini is well-known to virtually every double bassist in the world. His oeuvre includes numerous works for solo bass that are simply beautiful works of music. Many of his works are fiendishly difficult for even the most seasoned professionals and they show off the possibilities of the double bass as a solo instrument. Until West’s book, little has been known about the life of this great musician. It should be required reading of all music students, especially students of the double bass.

This is not the same Chris West that Goodreads shows as the author. From the back cover: Chris West is Professor of Double Bass at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London.