Double Bass Lev Rakov

[Pablojmz]

I use the Rakov book as a method for studying the DB. It's got nice melodies and cool excerpts from things like Bartok to Beethoven. However, i don't know much about Lev Rakov, the guy who wrote it! All i've heard is from my teacher (who's teacher's teacher studied with Rakov). Apparently he was a long time section player in the former USSR/modern russia and held a teaching position at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. Other than that, i've found through google that the guy died in 2007 and some teaching credentials; not much information or recordings. This piqued my interest.
Has anyone on TB heard of him or used the Rakov book? Does anybody know information about his life or have any recordings of Mr. Rakov?

 

[NMasters]

I know nothing about him, but have seen his name come up quite a bit researching solo sonata's. Looks like he was editor of many of the soviet era works published by Klaus Schruff's Low Note Musikverlag. So presumably he was also active in commissioning works, but I cannot say for sure.

 

[VictorW126]

I use the Rakov book as a method for studying the DB. It's got nice melodies and cool excerpts from things like Bartok to Beethoven. However, i don't know much about Lev Rakov, the guy who wrote it! All i've heard is from my teacher (who's teacher's teacher studied with Rakov). Apparently he was a long time section player in the former USSR/modern russia and held a teaching position at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. Other than that, i've found through google that the guy died in 2007 and some teaching credentials; not much information or recordings. This piqued my interest.
Has anyone on TB heard of him or used the Rakov book? Does anybody know information about his life or have any recordings of Mr. Rakov? View attachment 4203420

Lev Rakov is the most famous teacher and popularizer of the double bass in Russia. He wrote several fundamental works, including The History of the Art of Double Bass and several musical anthologies. I read these books - he really did a great and difficult job. He is the founder of the bass school and a highly respected bass player. He searched between convenience and performance capabilities.
His contribution to the development of the double bass is very great. He was born in 1926 and died in 2019.