Victor Wooten
Victor Wooten may well be the Paganini of the electric bass, a miraculous musician who can do the seemingly impossible on his four-string baritone instrument. But until recently, he didn't think of himself as a Paganini-style classical artist. He didn't, that is, until Nashville composer Conni Ellisor approached him with an intriguing idea.
Ellisor was planning to write an electric bass concerto for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Would Wooten be interested in performing it? "My first thought was no," Wooten says. "I didn't feel like it was time for me to work on a concerto. Maybe in another five years. But then I thought I might be interested in co-writing it. Conni agreed to collaborate."
The product of their joint venture is The Bass Whisperer, a new concerto for electric bass and orchestra that Wooten will premiere Sept. 18-20 with Giancarlo Guerrero and the NSO at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The work certainly boasts an apt moniker. Rolling Stone magazine, after all, named Wooten as one of the 10 greatest bass players of all time, placing him in the same august company as John Entwistle, Paul McCartney and Geddy Lee.
After agreeing to the project, the first thing Wooten did was record some of his ideas, which gave Ellisor insights into his virtuoso style. "Victor's technique is unbelievable," says Ellisor. "He can play fast harmonics and can even bow his electric bass. One of his greatest abilities is in improvisation, and we've included places in the concerto for him to improvise."
Ellisor and Wooten followed the classical model, composing a concerto in three discrete movements. Wooten says the entire piece lasts about 25 minutes. "The exact length depends on how much I improvise," says Wooten. "What I can say for sure is that this concerto will shine a spotlight on the basses and other instruments that make up the low-end of the orchestra, something most classical pieces don't do."
The Bass Whisperer is the third concerto in as many seasons that the NSO has commissioned from a Nashville musical icon. Banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck and rocker Ben Folds both premiered works with the orchestra. "Musicians like Béla, Ben and Victor are extraordinary resources for our city," says Guerrero. "It would be crazy for our orchestra not to work with them."
DON'T MISS:
Sept. 15: Gateway Chamber Orchestra
A terrific new ensemble from Clarksville, GCO will perform Mozart's last and arguably greatest instrumental work, the Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622. Charles Neidich, one of the world's foremost clarinetists, will solo. The program will also include John Corigliano's Voyage and Louise Farrenc's Symphony No. 3. 7:30 p.m. at Downtown Presbyterian Church
Sept. 25: Pianist Vadym Kholodenko
Winner of the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Kholodenko is a dazzling virtuoso who plays such dauntingly difficult pieces as Horowitz's Carmen Fantasy. He's presenting Belmont University's Woods Piano Concert Series. 7:30 p.m. at McAfee Concert Hall
Sept. 27: Susan Graham
The noted opera star, who sings everything from Elizabethan songs to Broadway show tunes, appears in recital with pianist Bradley Moore. 8 p.m. at Ingram Hall
Sept. 30: Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile
Bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer joins mandolin great Chris Thile on a new album, Bass & Mandolin, released this week on the Nonesuch label. The disc features 10 new compositions, which the duo will sample at the Blair School of Music. 8 p.m. at Ingram Hall
Oct. 1: Yo-Yo Ma with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra
The famed cellist returns to Nashville to play Elgar's Cello Concerto. Giancarlo Guerrero will also conduct the Brahms Symphony No. 1. 7 p.m. at the Schermerhorn
Oct. 3-4: Nashville Symphony plays Rachmaninoff
Cliburn Competition gold medalist Olga Kern is the star of this all-Rachmaninoff concert that will feature her performance of the composer's Piano Concerto No. 1. Giancarlo Guerrero will also conduct the composer's arch-romantic Symphony No. 2. 8 p.m. Oct. 3-4 at the Schermerhorn
Oct. 4: Blair String Quartet
Stephen Miahky makes his official debut as the Blair String Quartet's new first violinist. The quartet will play a stylistically varied program of classical (Mozart), romantic (Mendelssohn) and modern (Janáek) music. 8 p.m. at Ingram Hall
Oct. 10: Blakemore Trio
The trio will introduce Nashville to the music of Tigran Mansurian, an Armenian composer known in Europe both for his film and concert music. Works by Haydn and Smetana are also on the program. 8 p.m. at Ingram Hall
Oct. 24-25: Nashville Symphony plays Strauss
Strauss' prismatic Alpine Symphony and Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 (with violinist Simone Porter) will provide the fireworks on this program, while Tobias Picker's Old and Lost Rivers will supply the serenity. 8 p.m. Oct. 24-25 at the Schermerhorn
Oct. 26: Music City Baroque
Nashville's terrific period-instrument ensemble plays the music of Bach Bach's way, on valveless horns and gut-string violins. Violinist Allison Edberg will direct the opening concert of the group's 10th anniversary season. 3 p.m. at St. George's Episcopal Church
Oct. 26: Nies and Huebl play Mozart
Pianist Craig Nies and violinist Caroline Huebl continue their survey of the complete Mozart violin sonatas, performing the Sonata in E-flat, K. 302, Sonata in F, K. 377, Sonata in G major, K. 301, and Sonata in E-flat, K. 481. 8 p.m. at Ingram Hall
Oct. 27: Gateway Chamber Orchestra
GCO returns to town to show off its wind section, performing music by Dvoák, Enescu and Wilder. 7:30 p.m. at the Downtown Presbyterian Church
Nov. 2: Itzhak Perlman
The popular violinist returns to Nashville to perform a solo recital featuring the music of Vivaldi, Schumann, Beethoven and Ravel. Pianist Rohan de Silva will accompany. 7 p.m. at the Schermerhorn
Nov. 7-8: Nashville Symphony plays Bartok
Guest conductor Hans Graf leads the NSO in Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, a piece that puts extreme demands on every section of the orchestra. Pianist Jeffrey Kahane also joins the NSO for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25. 8 p.m. Nov. 7-8 at the Schermerhorn
Nov. 12: Alias Chamber Orchestra
Nashville's über-hip chamber ensemble presents another adventurous program that includes the music of Toru Takemitsu, Kevin Volans and Steven Snowden. 8 p.m. at Blair School of Music's Turner Recital Hall
Nov. 20-22: Nashville Symphony plays Brahms
Piano phenom Jonathan Biss returns to Nashville to perform Brahms' monumental Piano Concerto No. 2. The program also includes Duruflé's Requiem. 7 p.m. Nov. 20 and 8 p.m. Nov. 21-22 at the Schermerhorn
Email arts@nashvillescene.com.
