Giovanni Bottesini (22 December 1821 – 7 July 1889) was an ItalianRomantic composer, conductor, and adouble bass virtuoso.
_-_Archivio_Storico_Ricordi_ICON010460_B.jpg)
Born inCrema, Lombardy, he was taught the rudiments of music by his father, an accomplishedclarinetist and composer,[1] at a young age and had playedtimpani in Crema with the Teatro Sociale before the age of eleven. He studiedviolin with Carlo Cogliati, and probably would have continued on this instrument except for a unique turn of events. His father sought a place for him in theMilan Conservatory in 1835, but due to the Bottesini family's lack of money, Bottesini needed a scholarship. Only two positions were available: double bass and bassoon. He prepared a successful audition for the double bass scholarship in a matter of weeks. Only four years later, a surprisingly short time by the standards of the day, he left with a prize of 300francs for solo playing. This money financed the acquisition of an instrument ofCarlo Giuseppe Testore, and a globe-trotting career as "thePaganini of the Double Bass" was launched.[1]
On leaving Milan, he spent some time in America and also occupied the position of principal double-bass in the Italian opera at Havana, where he later became director. Here his first opera,Cristoforo Colombo, was produced in 1847. In 1849 he made his first appearance in England, playing double bass solos at one of the Musical Union concerts. After this he made frequent visits to England, and his extraordinary command of his unwieldy instrument gained him great popularity in London and the provinces.
Apart from his triumphs as a performer, Bottesini was a conductor of European reputation, and was conductor at the Théâtre des Italiens in Paris from 1855 to 1857 where his second opera,L'Assedio di Firenze, was produced in 1856. In 1861 and 1862 he conducted in Palermo, supervising the production of his operaMarion Delorme in 1862, and in 1863 inBarcelona. During these years he diversified the toils of conducting by repeated concert tours through Europe. In 1871 he conducted a season of Italian opera at the Lyceum theatre in London, during which his operaAli Babà was produced, and he was chosen byVerdi to conduct the first performance ofAida, which took place atCairo on 24 December 1871.
During this period it was common to programme concerts between the acts of operas. Bottesini would frequently perform solos and duos in these concerts and they were very popular.[2] His fantasies onLucia di Lammermoor,I puritani,Beatrice di Tenda and especiallyLa sonnambula are virtuosic tours de force that are still popular with those who are highly accomplished on the instrument.
_-_Archivio_Storico_Ricordi_ICON007902.jpg)
Bottesini wrote three operas besides those previously mentioned:Il Diavolo della Notte (Milan, 1859);Vinciguerra (Paris, 1870); andEro e Leandro (Turin, 1880), the last named to alibretto byArrigo Boito, which was subsequently set byLuigi Mancinelli. He also wroteThe Garden of Olivet, a devotionaloratorio (libretto by Joseph Bennett), which was produced at the Norwich festival in 1887, eleven string quartets, a quintet for string quartet and double bass, and many works for the double bass, including twoconcertos for solo double bass, theGran Duo Concertante (originally) for two double basses, Passione Amorosa for two double basses, numerous pieces for double bass and piano, and an instructional book ("Complete Method for Double Bass").
Shortly before his death, in 1888 he was appointed director ofParma Conservatory on Verdi's recommendation. Bottesini died in Parma on 7 July 1889. His solo works remain standard repertoire for accomplished double bassists to this day. Bottesini was afreemason, initiated 20 June 1849, in the Bank of England Lodge No. 263, London.
Bottesini married twice. Firstly, on 23 August 1849 he married the Italian dancer Teresa Revelani at the Sardinian Chapel in London. Secondly, on 14 October 1878, after a 26 year long relationship, he married the Anglo-Spanish opera singer Claudina Fiorentini whose real name was Florentine Williams. Together they had one adopted daughter, Provvidenza.[3]
Bottesini was widely acclaimed, and his virtuosic skill in the bass paralleled that of Paganini himself on the violin. Because of the contributions of Bottesini (along with those ofSperger andDragonetti) to bass technique, many have come to view the double bass as a diverse and versatile instrument. Most notably there are many virtuoso bass players who draw inspiration from the early renaissance of the double bass.
Bottesini's bass was said to be a unique instrument with a remarkable sound. It was built byCarlo Antonio Testore in 1716. The instrument was owned by several unknown bass players. It nearly met its end in the 1830s as it sat backstage in a marionette theater in Milan. Bottesini purchased the Testore in 1838 for 900 lire. The Testore bass was later converted back to a four-stringed instrument, and then to a three. Eventually, it was changed back to a four-string configuration and is now in the possession of a private collector in Japan.
 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bottesini, Giovanni".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
