EDGAR MEYER AND HIS BASS ELEVATE FRESNO AUDIENCE

Philharmonic joins with master of the bass for a subdued show of virtuosity.

Bassist Edgar Meyer joined the Fresno Philharmonic at Saroyan Theatre Sunday for an unusual and enjoyable concert. When was the last time you heard the bass as a solo instrument featured in a concerto?

The concert began with Mozart’s "Prague" Symphony, No. 38 in D major, K. 504, and there was an extra bassist on the stage. Rather than sitting in the green room waiting his entrance, Meyer joined the orchestra for the opening number. I like to see that—the soloist playing other pieces on the program just for the fun of it.

Under the baton of Theodore Kuchar, the orchestra played the Mozart with a lot of expression, and the small orchestra filled the hall with rich tone. The music invited the listener to relax and not worry about the musicians missing anything.

Edgar Meyer played two concertos for the bass: first, the Double Bass Concerto No. 2 in B minor by Giovanni Bottesini, himself a bass player during the mid 19th century; then his own Double Bass Concerto in D following the intermission.

The Bottesini has only strings in the orchestra, and wisely so. Meyer’s bass had to be amplified for such a large hall, and the strings played at their quietest when the soloist was playing with them, which was most of the time.

Meyer is very enjoyable to watch and to hear. His instrument is very large and awkward, but he plays it as easily as can be. There is no straining visible at all, and his fingers seem to glide over the fingerboard without effort. The result of this technique is a tone that sounds full and natural.

The range of Meyer’s playing was particularly on display in his own composition. One expects to hear the extreme lows, but Meyer also played extreme highs, reaching the upper end of the violin’s range. Much of the time, he played in the upper range, and when he went to the highest notes, he had to reach far down to the bottom of the fingerboard. Both hands draped over the instrument, and he seemed to stand on tiptoes to reach as far over as possible.

The composition by Meyer was not a foray into modern experiments with music. Instead, he created an entertaining work that used the blue notes, gestures from banjo music, and a keen sense of melody. The orchestra struggled a bit with its sparse part in the first movement, but when the musicians had a chance at an extended passage, they played very well. The music mainly served as a vehicle for the musician to show his chops and the audience to enjoy the surprising flexibility of the instrument.