Double Bass Concerto in F♯ minor, Op. 3

Koussevitzky's Double Bass Concerto Op. 3 (1902) is the central concerto of the Romantic double bass repertoire — arguably the most important concerto ever written for the instrument. Koussevitzky himself was one of the greatest bass virtuosos of his era, and the work exploits the instrument's full potential: broad cantabile singing in the slow movement, brilliant passagework and harmonics in the outer movements, and a sense of orchestral grandeur rarely associated with the bass. Though the solo part is transposed up (to accommodate the instrument's register) and often performed with piano or reduced orchestra, the concerto has become the gateway to professional-level double bass performance worldwide.