Koussevitzky and Karr

Gary Karr is, by common consent, "the world's leading solo bassist" (Time Magazine). In fact, the first solo doublebassist in history to make that pursuit a full-time career. It is a career that adds new luster to his already lustrous 1611 Amati doublebass which was given to him by the widow of Serge Koussevitzky.

Was it mere coincidence that Gary Karr, a boy of nine living in Los Angeles, began his formal study of the doublebass the week when Serge Koussevitzky, this century's first master of the instrument, died in Arizona at age 77 ?

After Karr established his own career in 1962 with an acclaimed recital in New York followed by a triumphant Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein, what prompted Koussevitzky's widow Olga to present him with her husband's most cherished instrument, a 1611 Amati?

In subsequent years, what scientific logic can explain why certain members of Karr's worldwide audiences have described an "aura," the figure of a formally attired gentleman in frock coat and white gloves, that each had perceived hovering over Karr as he played? Could they all know that such garb was Koussevitzky's customary concert dress?

Whatever psychic phenomena link Koussevitzky to Karr, it is not just the spirit of the Russian virtuoso that has possessed his American successor-who is also of Russian ancestry-for so many years, but the same spirit of musical adventure.

Although Koussevitzky spent 11 years-first as a pit player then as principal-with the Bolshoi Imperial Orchestra, his musical gifts and penchant for self-promotion attracted Moscow' cultural elite, who invited him to perform in their fashionable salon concerts. For these programs he composed the charming, melodic gems like Valse Miniature, Chanson Triste, Humoresque. For his later debut as soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic in 1905, Koussevitzky also composed the Concerto in F-sharp minor, which Karr has recorded twice and performed with orchestras around the world for over 30 years.

It was at the palatial home of the wealthy Ushkov family-tea importers-that Koussevitzky met his second wife Natlya Konstantinovna Ushkova, an enlightened heiress schooled in languages, literature and music. For her he dedicated his "Andante," Op.1. She, in turn, dedicated her life and fortune to the advancement of her husband's career.

By 1903 Koussevitzky's fame as a doublebass virtuoso had spread beyond Russia. Making his first European appearance in Berlin, he played a recital program that included his own compositions. This engagement also marked the first occasion that he used the Amati doublebass, which was purchased in Paris.

After Marrying Natalya in 1905(he had divorced his first wife, the Bolshoi ballerina Nadezhna Galat), Koussevitzky settled in Berlin for five years and began developing yet another aspect of his musical genius: conducting.

Under the guidance of Artur Nikisch, whom he had first encountered in Moscow, Koussevitzky began learning orchestral scores and studying the baton techniques of conductors such as Mahler, Weingartner, Mottl-and Nikisch. For his own conducting debut in 1908, he engaged the Berlin Philharmonic and presented a concert of new Russian works, featuring Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 with the composer as soloist. Following the critical success of that event, he then conducted a standard symphonic program that included Beethoven's Egmont Overture and Symphony No.7. Amazingly, although he accepted many invitations to conduct other major orchestras, he also maintained a full schedule as a doublebass soloist, performing over twenty times each season in Europe, England and Russia.

According to the enthusiastic correspondent for Century Magazine, what characterized Koussevitzky's playing was his bright, singing tone: "He was not only playing a stringed instrument, he was singing through the voice of the doublebass." It is no accident that Koussevitzky created his lyrical style from association with tenor Leonid Sobinov, who was a classmate at the Moscow Philharmonic School and later the Bolshoi's leading star. Professionally, they often collaborated in duo-recitals. While playing with the Bolshoi Imperial Orchestra, Koussevitzky would certainly have heard the other great singers of his day who appeared at the Bolshoi.

Apart from Gary Karr's technical virtuosity and tonal brilliance, it is his ability to make the doublebass sing so expressively that has also characterized his peroformance style. Coincidentally, Karr's early mentor was mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel with whom he collaborated in concerts and recordings. During his apprentice years in New York, Karr even played with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra where he remembers how soprano Zinka Milanov would float her voice "like a fine instrument."

World War I prevented Koussevitzky from making a planned recital tour of America. Remaining in Russia, he continued to conduct the new orchestra he had formed and to champion the music of young compatriots such as Scriabin, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev-not only by performing their works but also by issuing their scores from the publishing house he established. In retrospect, one must wonder why he never commissioned any one of these Titans to compose a score for the doublebass, since he was still actively performing.

When the Bolshvik Revolution made life in Russia impossible (the new government appropriated his personal fortune; the Ushkov assets, fortunately, were safely deposited in foreign banks), Koussevitzky emigrated to Paris with Natalya and her niece Olga Naumoff, who would become the third Madame Koussevitzky in 1947, five years after her aunt's death. Koussevitzky's continued success in Europe as a conductor soon prompted the Boston Symphony Orchestra to offer him directorship of the orchestra, a position he held from 1924-1949.

His duties, which included conducting, established the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, and commissioning many new works by young American composers such as Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, Howard Hanson, Roy Harris, William Schuman and Samuel Barber-to cite just a few-made it difficult to continue practicing and performing the doublebass. As a result, he rarely appeared as soloist after coming to the United States.

He performed once in 1926 at Brown University when he received an honorary degree. The following year he presented a recital program, which included his own compositions, for the benefit of indigent Russian students at Symphony Hall in Boston and repeated it in Carnegie Hall. After another solo appearance at Symphony Hall in 1929, he never played the doublebass in public again. Fortunately, between 1927 and 1929, he recorded selections from his recital repertoire for RCA Victor.

It is Gary Karr who has kept the Koussevitzky legacy alive with performances of the master's music on the master's favorite instrument. How prophetic it now seems that Leonard Bernstein, Koussevitzky's most celebrated protege from the Berkshire Music center, should have invited Gary Karr to share the Carnegie Hall stage with him for that historic 1962 concert. More than a catalyst for Karr's career, Bernstein represents a living link with the Koussevitzky tradition. It is Gary Karr who embodies the spirit of Koussevitzky's legendary genius as a performing artist.

(from CD: The Spirit of Koussevitzky; Author: Anthony Angarano)