Jazz Police - Master of the Double Bass: Francois Rabbath in the Twin Cities, April 12-15

Master of the Double Bass: Francois Rabbath in the Twin Cities, April 12-15

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Wednesday, 11 April 2012

One of the most influential double bassists of modern music teaches and performs in the Twin Cities this week through a collaboration among the University of Minnesota, MacPhail Center for Music, and McNally Smith College of Music. Francois Rabbath will conduct master classes, a public clinic, and concert during his residency, April 12-15. Classes and clinics are free and open to the public; tickets are available for the April 14th concert in Antonello Hall at MacPhail.

About Francois Rabbath

Francois Rabbath

One of nine children in a musical family in Aleppo, Syria, Francois Rabbath was first exposed to the double bass through his brother. After the family moved to Beruit, Rabbath taught himself to play the bass, using a technique book by Eduoard Nanny. The fact that Rabbath could not read music or French did not discourage his self-directed studies! He spent nine years working in Beruit to earn the money to travel to the Paris Conservatory where he hoped to study with Nanny. Discovering Nanny had died some years earlier, Rabbath instead auditioned for the Conservatory on three days notice, finishing as the top applicant. He only stayed at the Conservatory briefly when it became apparent that his skills were beyond those of both students and faculty. Remaining in Paris, he accompanied such artists as Jacque Brel, Charles Aznavour, Gilbert Becaud, and Michel Legrand. In 1963 he made his first of many solo albums, Bass Ball which would become one of the most influential albums of its time.

From 1964, as well as composing music for movies and the theater, Rabbath launched his career as a soloist, first in France, then throughout Europe. He played his Carnegie Hall debut in 1975. A few years later he met American composer/double bassist Frank Proto, who would compose three works for him—a Concerto for Bass and Orchestra commissioned by the Cincinnatti Symphony, a Fantasy for Double Bass and Orchestra commissioned by the Houston Symphony, and the piano/bass duet, Carmen Fantasy, which premiered in Cincinatti in 1991. Their most recent collaboration has been on Proto's Four Scenes after Picasso - Concerto No. 3 for Double Bass and Orchestra.

A dazzling virtuoso who accepts no limits or labels, the music of Francois Rabbath crosses classical, jazz, and global traditions. He is credited with bringing more attention to the double bass as a serious solo instrument as well as evolving a revolutionary technique in the use of the left hand and bow arm. For Rabbath, the entire fingerboard is divided into only six positions, defined by the location of natural harmonics on the strings; he also developed the “Crab Technique,” in which the hand movement resembles a crab's sideways walking.

Francois Rabbath in the Twin Cities

Francios Rabbath

The schedule this week for Francois Rabbath:

 Thursday April 12, 5:00 - 7:30 pm, Master class at the U of M, Ferguson Hall room 280 (2106 S. Fourth Street, Minneapolis).

 Friday April 13, 2:00 - 4:00 pm, Master class at McNally Smith College of Music, Room 70 (19 Exchange St East, St Paul)

 Saturday April 14, 8:00 pm, Concert in Antonello Hall at MacPhail Center for Music (501 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis); tickets $20 / $15 students & seniors

 Sunday April 15, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, public clinic at McNally Smith College of Music, MSCM Auditorium

 Sunday April 15, 1:00 - 2:00 pm, reception in MSCM Soundbite Café

Classes and clinics are free of charge. Because McNally Smith College of Music is a secure campus, interested individuals should email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it in order to be placed on the attendance list.

Rabbath’s residency in the Twin Cities is funded, in part, by appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund, and its Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created by a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008. The concert at MacPhail is sponsored by House of Note, with additional funding for the weekend’s events provided by McNally Smith College of Music, University of Minnesota, MacPhail Center for Music, All Strings Attached, John and Lynne Bulger, Chris Brown Bow Brokers, Quinn Violins and Brian, Peggy and Ben Willet.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites