| There is an insufficient amount of music written for the double bass. While nearly all of the great composers have written countless volumes of music with parts for the double bass, few pieces showcase the double bassist in the role of soloist. Joseph Haydn allegedly wrote a concerto for the double bass among his early days as vice-kapellmeister for the Esterhazy court, but it has been lost. Mozart and Beethoven neglected the instrument as have countless others. While concertos do exist for the double bass, the number pales in comparison to the vast number of pieces written for the violin, violoncello, and piano, and virtually none of them were written by the canonic composers of western music.;This dissertation is a concerto for double bass and string orchestra. The size of the accompanying string orchestra can be either 14 first violins, 12 second violins, 10 violas, 8 violoncellos, and 6 double basses, or 5 first violins, 4 second violins, 3 violas, 2 violoncellos, and 1 double bass. It is in three movements that last approximately 25 minutes total, and employs tonal gravity around three primary centers: C, Ab, and E. The concerto was composed between July 2009 and March 2010. |
