Leon Bosch is a double bassist known for his expressive bel canto style.^[1][2] He was principal double bass of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields,^[3] from 1995 until 2014^[4] but is also known as a chamber musician, recitalist, concerto soloist, teacher, conductor and program consultant.^[3] He is artistic director of the chamber music ensemble I Musicanti.^[5]

Career

Born in Cape Town, though now a British citizen, Bosch graduated from the University of Cape Town before continuing his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.^[3] Since his 1984 London solo debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Bosch has appeared as a concerto soloist with many distinguished musicians, including Pinchas Zukerman, Sir Charles Groves and Nicholas Kraemer.^[2]

Highlights of his chamber music partnerships have included engagements with the Lindsay, Belcea and Brodsky String Quartets, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, I Musicanti, and the Moscow Virtuosi. He has worked with such pianists as Maria João Pires, Mikhail Rudy, Vladimir Ovchinikov, Peter Donohoe, Martin Roscoe and, most recently on CD,^[6] the Vienna-based Korean pianist Sung-Suk Kang.^[7][8]

Bosch has played a significant part in, and received acclaim for, the exploration of challenging and little-known music for double bass both in live performance and on disc.^[9][10] He has been responsible for a number of important first performances including "Pueblo", a commission from John McCabe, several works by Allan Stephenson,^[9] and music by the South African composers Hendrik Hofmeyr and Paul Hanmer.^[3]

As a teacher, Leon Bosch holds a professorship at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London ^[11] and is on the teaching staff at The Purcell School for young musicians ^[12]

Bosch's experiences under South Africa's apartheid^[3] regime have ensured he has a keen interest in social and political issues; he holds a master's degree in Intelligence and International Relations from the University of Salford.^[3]

Discography^[13]

With Sung-Suk Kang (piano)

The Music of Rankl, Sprongl and Hindemith

Josep Cervera-Bret: The Catalan Virtuoso

Pedro Valls: Music for Double Bass and Piano

The Hungarian Double Bass

Virtuoso Double Bass, vols 1 & 2

The Russian Double Bass

The British Double Bass

With the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Complete Works for Solo Double Bass

References