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Article: From the Double Bass, a Singular Sensation
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 27, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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It is the physics of the double bass that makes it problematic as
a solo instrument. Built for resonant low notes, its long thick
strings and huge resonating air chamber support a spectrum of high
overtones so limited that its sound, which can give an ensemble such
richness when used as bass support, seems pallid and lusterless when
exposed in a melodic role.
Richard Fredrickson, whose double bass recital at the Corcoran on
Saturday was part of the Washington Chamber Symphony's Recitalist
Series, was able to coax astonishing lyricism from his instrument,
particularly in music written with the double bass in mind, but it
was the feat of overcoming the physics rather than the musical ...