Divertimento concertante for double bass and orchestra (1968 – 1973)

The Divertimento concertante was written between 1968 and 1973    for the Italian virtuoso bassist Franco Petracchi. A concerto in all but name, it begins with a substantial Allegro based on three main themes all of which    – the purposeful opening statement in A major on violins and woodwind, the genial second subject in E major on clarinets over pizzicato cellos, the gavotte-like third theme also in E major on strings and woodwind – are introduced before the first solo entry. Reminding us that it has an extraordinarily wide pitch range, the double bass covers nearly four octaves as it offers its own version of each theme in turn. Harmonics extend its upper range even further as it accompanies a woodwind version of the second subject. That theme is adopted by the double bass for a thoughtful (Poco sostenuto) soliloquy in its upper register before the orchestra restores the original Allegro tempo and encourages the soloist to embark on a dramatic cadenza. The movement ends with a recall of the gavotte and a last review of the opening theme on double bass.

The second movement is a cheerful burlesque march in A major featuring mainly the tune heard first on clarinet and then on double bass. The soloist lacks neither the initiative to    propose a new idea of its own nor the flexibility to keep up with the woodwind, still less the sense of humour to share the joke. In the Aria in F major the double bass has a more lyrical role. It introduces the eloquent main theme which it then passes to woodwind, generously supplying a sonorous pizzicato accompaniment. After taking part in a strange episode with woodwind scoring that might almost come from a Tchaikovsky ballet, the soloist retreats before a passionate full-orchestral statement of the main theme. Unexpectedly, at a point just under half-way through the movement a new melody is heard on solo oboe. It does not come too late, however, to attract the sympathetic interest of the soloist or, indeed, to be recalled in eerily high double-bass harmonics in the closing bars.

The Finale opens with a sprightly little tune that inspires the double bass to challenge the woodwind not only in terms of agility but also in terms of high-pitched brilliance. It is more at ease in a slower interlude with an expressive violin melody which it welcomes at this stage and which it also recalls in another extended cadenza just before the Vivacissimo coda.