The Double Bass in the Orchestra from Haydn to Stravinsky

Alberto Bocini è docente di contrabbasso alla Haute école de musique de Genève (Geneva HEM). Primo Contrabbasso per cinque anni nell’ Orchestra Nazionale dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia e per quindici  anni nell’Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; ha collaborato con lo stesso ruolo con numerose altre orchestre, fra le quali Teatro alla Scala di Milano, I Solisti Veneti, la London Symphony Orchestra. Ideatore dell'etichetta discografica/editoriale dedicata al contrabbasso NBBrecords. Membro fondatore del quartetto di contrabbassi The Bass Gang, presente nel catalogo NBBrecords con gli albums Evasioni e Fughe, La Contrabbassata e The Chianti Concert. Nel 2012 ha lasciato l’orchestra per dedicarsi con più intensità all’attività cameristica, solistica, all’insegnamento e alla composizione per il proprio strumento. Numerosi sono i suoi brani per contrabbasso solo, fino al recentissimo primo lavoro per contrabbasso e orchestra “XUITE-0, suite modulare per contrabbasso e orchestra” eseguita per la prima volta con l’Orchestra Sinfonica di Porto Alegre, in Brasile.   Alberto Bocini is double bass teacher at the Haute école de musique de Genève (Geneva HEM). He was principal Double Bass for 5 years in the Orchestra Nazionale dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia and for 15 years he had the same position on the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra; he has collaborated in the same role with numerous other orchestras, such as Teatro alla Scala di Milano, I Solisti Veneti, the London Symphony Orchestra. Founder of the record label NBBrecords, dedicated to the double bass world. Founding member of the bass band quartet The Bass Gang, included in NBBrecords catalogue with the albums Evasioni e Fughe, La Contrabbassata e The Chianti Concert. In 2012 he left the orchestra to devote himself more intensely to the chamber, solo, teaching and composition for his instrument. There are many of his pieces for double bass solo, until the very recent first work for double bass anche orchestra "XUITE-0, modular suite for double bass and orchestra" performed for the first time with the Symphony Orchestra of Porto Alegre, in Brazil.

Massimo Pinca started his professional activity as an electric bass player in 1997. In 1998, aged 20, he started to play the double bass. Since then his career developed along multiple strands ranging from baroque music on period instruments, to modern and contemporary orchestra playing, world music, jazz and free improvisation, composition, music pedagogy and research. A glance at his discography http://massimopinca.ch/discography will give a good idea of this eclecticism.
As far as classical double bass playing is concerned, Alberto Bocini has been his main teacher. Under Bocini’s guidance he got a double bass diploma at the Florence Conservatory (2004) as well as two Master of arts at the Geneva University of Music (Performance in 2011 and Pedagogy in 2013). At the Geneva University of Music he also worked as assistant researcher from 2011 to 2014.
He has been solo double bassist with Geneva Camerata from its founding in 2013 to 2017, and since 2012 he is a member of the composers-improvisers collective “Fanfareduloup Orchestra”. In 2011 he became classical double bass professor at Conservatoire Populaire in Geneva and leads his own Tarka Ensemble since 2015.