Wind: Mahler Medley for Bass Quartet

About the piece:

While I was studying classical bass at the Music Conservatory of Cologne, Germany, I got to play three of Gustav Mahler’s ten amazing symphonies.

The first was Symphony No. 1, “The Titan,” with the State Youth Orchestra of Schleswig-Holstein. As section leader, I got to play the famous “Frere Jacques” bass solo a couple of times. It is not that difficult to play but it was still nerve-wracking when the timpanist started the introduction of the third movement.

The second was Symphony No. 4 with the Hamburg State Youth Orchestra. The sold-out concert at the gorgeous concert hall “Musikhalle Hamburg” was memorable because of the spectacular ending with ten bass players playing an open E string at triple pianissimo.

The performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” on the first anniversary of the passing of Leonard Bernstein was one of the most profound musical experiences I’ve ever experienced. Christoph Eschenbach conducted the orchestra of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and the soloists were Christa Ludwig and Arleen Auger. Being part of that massive sound is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Gustav Mahler is one of the great composers of all time and he strikes me as a particularly adventurous writer of bass parts, which is why I wanted to share his music with my students. And somebody has to play the melody, right?

About the composer:

Martin Wind was born in Flensburg, Germany in 1968. He studied classical contrabass with Professor Wolfgang Guettler in Cologne and earned his master’s degree in jazz performance and composition at New York University in 1997.

Martin has performed all over the world with artists such as Mstislav Rostropovitch, Pat Metheny, Guidon Kremer, Lalo Schifrin, Sting, Hank Jones, Michael Brecker, Johnny Mandel and Bill Mays. He leads his own groups and has released more than 20 CDs as a leader or co-leader. As part of the Kennedy Center Honors Orchestra, he’s played for major artists such as James Taylor, Renee Fleming and Aretha Franklin.

Martin has been on the faculty at New York University since 1997 and at Hofstra University since 2011.