Concerto in A major

The ‘Dragonetti Concerto’ was first published in 1925 by Alphonse Leduc in Paris as No.23 of Edouard Nanny’s ‘Les Classiques de la Contrebasse’. For many years’ no one questioned its authenticity, but as more research into Dragonetti’s original works for double bass was made, concerns began to arise. Many of Dragonetti’s manuscripts survive in the British Library, thanks to Vincent Novello who donated them in 1849, three years after Dragonetti’s death and on Novello’s retirement to Italy, but there is no original manuscript for this work.

As bassists began to edit and perform a wide range of Dragonetti’s music it became clear that this concerto bore little resemblance to any of his other pieces. The work does, however, have many similarities to Nanny’s Concerto for double bass, also to his other solo works and even studies from his Method. Eventually, most people came to the conclusion that this work is not an original work by the great Venetian bassist but is by Edouard Nanny, but in the style of the late 18th-century.

With that in mind, this is still a charming and evocative work that has player and audience appeal and is very easy on the ears. Many of the challenges for the soloist are technical and, almost a century after its first publication, it is still as popular as ever. Published in 1925, the first movement was performed at London’s Wigmore Hall on 15 April the following year by Victor Watson (double bass) and Sidney Crooke (piano) and was described as a ‘Contrabass Concerto by Dragonetti-Nanny.

This edition includes a piano accompaniment for solo tuning.