The Legendary Moscow Virtuosi: Duets with Double Bass
Melodiya reissues one of the last vinyl records of 1991. Now digitally remastered, it reveals the bright performing potential of the musicians who constituted the initial lineup of Vladimir Spivakov’s orchestra. The soloists of the Moscow Virtuosi – double bass players Grigory and Evgeny Kovalevsky, cellist Mikhail Milman, violinist Boris Garlitsky, and harpsichordist Sergei Bezrodny – recorded the concert duets with double bass by composers of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The recording of the album was initiated by an outstanding dynasty of double bass players, father and son Kovalevsky, who played in the Virtuosi from their first concerts. With the participation of like-minded musicians, Boris Garlitsky and Mikhail Milman, who were concertmasters for the Moscow Virtuosi, and pianist Sergei Bezrodny, who played the harpsichord part, they perform rare compositions for double bass – the Sonata for bass instruments by George Frideric Handel, the “bass” duet by Gioachino Rossini, and a large concert duet for violin and double bass with orchestra by Giovanni Bottesini (with the orchestra conducted by Amayak Durgaryan). The recording was made in 1990.
