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Double Bass The Swan

Bernstein Century - Children's Classics: Prokofiev, Saint Saens, Britten.
Conducted by Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic. (Sony, Classical.) 1962, re-mastered 1998.

*Gary Karr plays the Swan in the Carnival of Animals
 
well, a piece will naturally sound better on the instrument it was written for, and especially in this case since Saint-Saens was a good composer for cello, but that does not mean that it cannot sound beautiful on another instrument. Think of the Eccles Sonata. I actually think this sounds much better on double bass than it does on violin. I've heard the first movement on violin and I understood why it has gone through the stringed instruments to become a big bass piece.

EDIT: Although, it does sound very nice on Viola, I recently heard a recording of this. The player added very nice ornamentation and such. I would argue that it is more the player though, a piece can sound beautiful on nearly any instrument in the hands of the correct player.
 

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