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Bertold Hummel's Sinfonia piccola In US Premiere at Penn State University

Jun. 04, 2009

Bertold Hummel's Sinfonia piccola for eight string basses is the centerpiece of the Hummel Bass Ensemble Project 2008-2011. Conceived by Professor Forian Pertzborn, the four year project is an attempt at presenting this excitingly virtuosic work for bass ensemble to a global audience. This past season the work was featured on prominent string bass festivals and concerts in France, Germany, Portugal and as recently as May 17 at a performance in Rotterdam, Netherlands by the Rotterdam Bass Ensemble. So far the Hummel Bass Ensemble Project has brought together some 63 bassists worldwide. Performances are still being planned through the end of 2011.

The unique work travels to the US this month for its US premiere performance on June 12 by the Penn State Double Bass Ensemble as part of the International Society of Bassists Conference at Penn State University. The ensemble consists of professional bassists from Brazil, England, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, and the United States.

Composed in 1978, this four-movement piece was composed as a double quartet and, as the title implies, is like a little symphony. The varied sound is the result of harmonics, glissandos, pizzicatos, fingerboard and instrument body tapping, solo and ensemble playing. The musical palette ranges from lyrical to jazz, from pathos to absurdity.

For more information on Bertold Hummel, Sinfonia piccola or the Hummel Bass Project 2008 - 2011, please click here.

For more on the life and work of Bertold Hummel, visit www.schott-music.com and www.bertoldhummel.de.

Bertold Hummel
Sinfonia piccola (1978)
for 8 double basses
23'

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