Double Bass Concerto No. 2 in B minor

Bottesini's Concerto No. 2 in B minor (c. 1876) is the supreme showpiece for double bass from the 19th century, written by a man whom Berlioz called "the Paganini of the double bass" for his seemingly impossible feats of virtuosity on an instrument regarded as unsuitable for concerto playing. The concerto moves between soaring operatic cantilena in the Italian manner — Bottesini was a close friend of Verdi and conducted the world premiere of Aida — and passage-work of breathtaking brilliance ascending into the highest harmonics of the instrument. The slow movement Andante is a melody of such beauty and naturalness that one forgets the physical difficulty of producing it on the double bass, and the finale's driven allegro provides a spectacular conclusion.