Double Bass Picking a Concerto

[bassmastan]

So, I am currently trying to pick a concerto to learn for this coming up fall/spring year.
In the fall I am also working on Vivaldi Sonata 5 Mov I & II

Koussevitzky Movement I: (I worked on the first movement already, however I need to work on the double stop portion)

Cimador: Never played it, but I've heard it and seems tricky, yet educational

Cappuzi: I've taken a look at it, and like it, it seems difficult but I dont know which key it is played in most often

Bryers: Worked on Farewell To St. Petersburg, it's fun but didnt finish it, made a cut off because it was so long

Dragonetti: my least favorite... I really don't like this concerto!

Nanni: (not dragonetti) I really like this one but have only found 1 recording and no sheetmusic

Dittersdorf/Vanhal: Looks pretty good, however they might be a little too hard, (looks like there is a lot going on...)

Thanks!

 

[korotkov]

Of the two, vanhal seems more difficult if you play the 4th tuning versions. Cimador is great cause it wasn't really meant for vienese tuning. There's a lot of fun with scales and arpeggios. I played this concerto this spring and I'm absolutely happy. I'm on my storch concerto(piece) which I don't really enjoy as much. Dragonetti is not nearly as cool (to me) cause the phrasing is way different. There's a lot of scales there and it might also be useful. Capuzzi is much easier, to me, along with pichl concerto which is very playable and also fun.

 

[bassmastan]

Of the two, vanhal seems more difficult if you play the 4th tuning versions. Cimador is great cause it wasn't really meant for vienese tuning. There's a lot of fun with scales and arpeggios. I played this concerto this spring and I'm absolutely happy. I'm on my storch concerto(piece) which I don't really enjoy as much. Dragonetti is not nearly as cool (to me) cause the phrasing is way different. There's a lot of scales there and it might also be useful. Capuzzi is much easier, to me, along with pichl concerto which is very playable and also fun.

I do play in a 4th's tuning, but the Cimador, I haven't had any luck locating a copy like an IMC version (I know it gets a lot of hate but I like them).
Cappuzi seems very easy, and pretty fun and easy.

Is the Cimador on the same wave-length as the Cappuzi?

I agree with you on the Dragonetti

I just looked up the pichl concerto, it's very interesting!

 

[The Dominus]

I have never played the Cimador, so take this with a grain of salt. Looking at the recording, the Cimador looks much harder than the Capuzzi. The Capuzzi (at least in the common arr. in F) very rarely goes up to thumb position range, and has easier rhythms than the Cimador. I played the Capuzzi in my third year of playing bass (which was only the second year of taking private lessons). And I am by no means a fantastic player or a fast learner, it was just not all that difficult. For that reason you might want to look for something more difficult, depending on your reason of learning a concerto. The Dittersdorf is not quite as hard as it looks, and is incredibly fun to play. I highly suggest it, if you are up to a bit more of a challenge.

 

[icanjam]

Capuzzi's I think are really good for learning thumb position when played an octave higher. I learned the D Major Concerto mostly to help myself get used to playing more than just a few notes at a time. Played at the written pitch it's really not too difficult (I believe it was written for bass I may be wrong). I can't give you much advice towards double stops, I started on Viola and it never gave me much of a problem transferring to bass.

 

[bassmastan]

I actually ended up going with the Sperger Concerto no 18. It's a good challenge somewhere on between koussevitzky and bottesini just from endurance and range. In the Sperger he asks you play tutti parts and soli parts, memorization becomes much more difficult. That with the massive jumps is fun. It's funny because contrasting this I'm working on an F# locrian contemporary etude... world's of difference