Volume 13, August 2021
Sperger's Cadenzas for his Contrabass Concertos: A Study of Compositional Techniques and Improvisational Strategies for Creating Cadenzas

by Renaud Boucher-Browning

About the Author

Renaud Boucher-Browning holds a doctorate in double bass performance from McGill University, bachelor's and master's degrees from Rice University, and diplomas from bass soloist François Rabbath. Renaud's doctoral thesis investigated the manuscript fermata embellishments by Johannes Sperger (1750-1812) for his contrabass concertos. As grand prize recipient in the student division of the 2020 Research Competition of the International Society of Bassists, Renaud's article on Sperger's cadenzas is published in the Online Journal of Bass Research. Renaud is the editor of a new solo tuning and Viennese tuning edition of Sperger's Concerto No. 2 in D major (1778) with Sperger's cadenzas and lead-ins for Paladino Editions (PM0085). Renaud has participated twice in the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in Germany, and he has appeared as soloist in the Vanhal concerto with the Boise Baroque Orchestra in his hometown of Boise, Idaho.