Of Bow And Touch
Alex Shapiro
About this work:
Winner of a 2001 award from The International Society of Bassists, Of Bow and Touch is a passionate and exciting piece for a double bass and piano duo, and offers an adventurous bassist a broad range of music to explore within a single movement. At the suggestion of my friend and colleague Adrienne Albert, and with a nod to my bassist pal Steve Wolf who enlightened me when I took the instrument into the range usually reserved for the, uh, piccolo, I wrote this adaptation of my 1999 bassoon and piano work, Of Breath and Touch. In its new incarnation, the piece presents challenging recital literature for bassists that I hope will also enthuse audiences.
Being a firm believer in the "more bang for the buck" theory of creative work, I also made an adaptation of this piece for cello and piano, titled Of Wood and Touch.
Year composed: 2000
Duration: 00:10:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Keyboard plus One Instrument
Instrumentation: 1 Piano, 1 Double bass