23 DUOS

Preface Béla Bártok wrote 44 Duos for Two Violins in 1931-32, dedicating them to the Freiburg violin teacher Erich Doflein. In 1947, Doflein became professor and founding director of the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (University os Music Freiburg). An arragement for two violas and two violoncellos has existed for a long time. And now, finally, the opportunity has come for us double bassists to encounter these pieces. I have played them very often, noting time and again the simplicity of the musical text and the enormous depth of this music. For a long time, these pieces were actually only used as études. And herea bon mot applies which has so often been said about simple pieces throughout music history: Too easy for children, too difficult for adults. Double bassists are always on the lookout for more musical literature for their instruments, and it gives me great pleasure to make a contribution. My special thanks go to Song Choi (Head of the Pädagogische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kontrabass Baden-Württemberg) and to Wolfram Widmer, who have been involved in the notation process from the beginning all the way to proofreading and were a great help to me. Michinori Bunya