Meeting Koussevitsky's old Double Bass

The other day I got to visit the orchestra at Konserthuset with my little bag of tricks. A new bass had just arrived and the bridge and sound post needed to be put back into place. Luckily that was simply done and I was able to spend a good long time admiring it together with its proud new owner.

This is no ordinary bass. It was once the property of the virtuoso Sergei Koussevitsky. Not to be confused with Gary Karr's alleged "Amati" which he got from Koussevitsky's widow, this "Tononi" is a much smaller instrument (string length 97cm, though you would never guess from looking at it). According to the seller there is no proof that it was in fact made by Tononi but it does in all likelihood come from Bologna around 1720. It certainly is a magnificent instrument and it has the most wonderful form and full arching which is not evident in this picture. Accompanying the instrument is some interesting documentation and I hope that its present owner will be able to piece together and bring to light a considerably more exciting story than what is presently available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Koussevitzky

It was certainly a great privilege for me to be present when the first notes were played and I'm looking forward to making a new bridge for it in the new year.