Volume 9, September 2017
Koussevitzky's Double Bass Repertoire: A Reassessment

by Andrew Kohn, Ph.D.

7. Other Transcriptions Associated With Koussevitzky, But Probably Not Performed

Certain other transcriptions seem less likely to have been performed by Koussevitzky. These include items listed in previous secondary documents but that are otherwise undocumented, as well as music that Koussevitzky owned, now in BPL and the Library of Congress, that bear no indications of use and for which we have no record of performance. This list therefore can be seen as a combination of unconfirmed citations and a supplementary catalog of Koussevitzky's personal library of solo bass music, including many presentation copies. Technical studies such as etudes, some of which are in BPL, are not included here.

• Ludwig van Beethoven, variations on "Bei Männern" and "Judas Makkabäus."  Although Koussevitzky's copies are in BPL, they are completely clean of any marking, suggesting that they were never used.

• Vincenzo Bellini, Fantasy. Although Stiles, on the strength of an email from Yuzefovich, includes this piece, no such piece apparently exists. This presumably refers to Bottesini's "Fantasia 'La Sonnambula'," after Bellini's opera, a known item of Koussevitzky's repertoire.

• Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne, op. 9, no. 2 (transcribed by Franz Simandl). This is another of the works from Simandl's Hohe Schule, vol. 4. Koussevitzky's copy, in BPL, is completely clean of any marking, suggesting it was never used.

• Franz Joseph Haydn, Cello Concerto no. 1, Hob. VIIb:1. No trace of this transcription, listed by Smith, has survived. It is possible that Smith spoke with Vladimir Dubinsky who, as noted in the discussion of the Saint-Saëns concerto, recalled in print that he and Koussevitzky practiced unspecified cello concerti together. But perhaps he meant the Hegner transcription that follows?

• Ludvig Hegner, "Andante con Variazioni." Franz Simandl published this transcription of the slow movement of Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony, produced by his former student Hegner, who was by this point the solo bassist in Copenhagen's Royal Theater Orchestra, as part of the Hohe Schule, vol. 4.⁵⁴ Koussevitzky's copy, in BPL, is completely clean of any marking, suggesting it was never used. However, it is possible that this is the piece identified by Smith as the Haydn Cello Concerto.

• Max Henning, Romanze, op. 107 (1936). This rarity was composed for a high-tuned bass (top to bottom: C-G-D-A) and organ. Koussevitzky's copy in BPL appears never to have been used. By 1936 Koussevitzky had long given up performing in public.

• Nestor Higuet, Fantasie (1936). This work was a Morceau de Concert at the Paris Conservatory. The score bears a dedication to Édouard Nanny, the bass professor in Paris; Higuet was a composition professor in Brussels. Again, by 1936 Koussevitzky had given up performing in public. His copy in BPL is completely clean of any marking, suggesting it was never used.

• Werner Josten, Canzona Seria for low strings (1940). Josten (1885-1963), born in Germany, emigrated to the U.S. in 1920 or 1921 and taught at Smith College. Scored for Viola I & II, Cello I & II and Contra-Bass, the divisi of gli altri celli in mm. 202-3 (out of 273) and the indications that mm. 203-36 is for four solo players show that this is an orchestral work. This is a presentation copy.⁵⁵

• Filip Lazăr, "Bagatelle" (Universal, 1925).⁵⁶ An important Romanian composer and pianist of his generation, Lazăr (1894-1936) dedicated this piece to Joseph Prunner (1886-1969), the great Austrian bassist who taught in Bucharest in the early 20th century. The copy in BPL is presumably, therefore, a presentation copy.

• Adolf Míšek, Sonatas. Míšek (1875-1955) studied with Simandl, succeeded him as professor at the Vienna Conservatory, and moved to Prague after World War II. The BPL holds copies of the publications of Sonatas 1 and 2 (composed 1905, published in 1909 and 1910, respectively), specifically identified as presentation copies given to Alois Vondrák (a bassist in the Boston Symphony, 1925-1940), and a manuscript copy of the 3rd Sonata. These sonatas by an important Czech bassist have all become staples of the bass repertoire. However, even if Vondrák immediately gifted them to Koussevitzky upon arrival in Boston, Koussevitzky did not include them in his subsequent recitals.

• Adolf Moissl, Konzert-Stück. Moissl studied alongside Simandl with Josef Hrabě in Prague and later worked in Wiesbaden. Koussevitzky's copy of this work, part of Simandl's Hohe Schule, Vol. 4, included in BPL, is completely clean and apparently was never used.

• Herman Sandby, "Solostykke" (1944). This lovely piece by the former solo cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, included in BPL but composed well after Koussevitzky ceased performing as a bassist and devoid of any indications of use, is surely a presentation copy given when the piece was published by Wilhelm Hansen.

• Karoly Trautsch, Moment de Valse. Trautsch (1830-1910) was another Hrabě student; he later worked in Budapest. Koussevitzky's copy of this work, part of Simandl's Hohe Schule, Vol. 4, included in BPL, is completely clean and apparently was never used.