In 1932, the first principal bassist of Berliner Philarmonic went to ask a good composer, Bernhard Alt, (who played the Violin in the same orchestra) to write some music for the double bass. Together with four romantic, short pieces, for piano and double bass, he composed a very charming quartet after a melody of Edward Grieg, called “Kobold”; it inspired four bassists of the Philarmonic to go ahead with playing in a quartet formation. So, few months later, Alt wrote, with an excellent knowledge of the basses applicatures, a “Suite für Vier Kontrabässe”, which was played with incredible success in recitals parties and at least in a Philarmonic Concert, during a concert conducted by Arthur Nikisch. This got a good resonance, and one year later, in 1933, another leading Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig lost his prominent soloist, the cellist Julius Klengel, and their solo doublebassist, Theodor Albin Findesein took chance to write a quartet for four basses, whose Präludium they played for the first time in Klengel’s funeral. Like the “Quartettsuite” by B. Alt in Berlin, Findeisen’s quartet was published immediately, but in a very small amount of copies, so these first editions are very rare relicts today. Performances of both works were occasionally done, but much more times of Alt’s piece. Still, in 1942, that Suite was well known and indicated, a new work was written by the great swiss composer Joseph Lauber, and dedicated to the Quartet of Berlin Philarmonic Orchestra. Before it had its premiere, the famous soloist Hans Fryba took care and wrote the score, which he presented to his collagues in Berlin. During the years until 1947, these pieces were the only repertoire for such group. It’s known, four leading bassists of Berliner Staatsoper went to play in a Quartet formation around 1950.

In 1947, the young american composer Gunther Schuller, composed a bass quartet of progressive manner and not easy to realize, as it commands a few “scordaturas” during performances. In a correspondance with me, Maestro Schuller told me a delicate story about his quartet, he showed its score in the beginning of 1950 to Arnold Schoenberg while visiting him. Schoenberg went surprised and appreciated this uncommon instrumental combination, which he read with attention. But he did not discover, the first chord of this quartet is identical with the last chord in his own Piano Concert, he had written in 1930. It was not really a “flop” to Schuller, as after he explained it to the great Schoenberg, he earned a smile for this clear dedication he had written in deep admiration to the great maestro. The quartet by Gunther Schulller had worldwide performings and is still one of few really rich compositions we keep in repertoire. Once, it was played during a double bass event in East Berlin in 1973. In Year 1968, four bassists of the Berlin Philarmonic, Klaus Stoll ( myself !!!), Erich Hartmann, Manfred Dupak and Wolfang Kohly, recognized to this small history and started reharsing everything available, and offered their result to the Berlin radio station SFB, who recorded and broadcasted it. Again, we asked to the other radio station, the R.I.A.S.-Berlin, to do a recording too: they accepted, and the Tone master of the session, Helge Jörns, went exited about that very special world of sounds. Spontaneously, he composed a new quartet, a short dramatic piece, called “Mobile Pepetuum”. Our Philarmonic quartet always carried in programm this piece, and we gave it more and more frequently after 1970. That work is acclaimed positively all time, but did not find a publisher yet. Of course, never it was easy to sell tickets for a “all-basses” concert, but we enjoyed to be invited to play in large hall, like the Waseda Hall in Tokio, or in the Wigmore Hall in London, where we performed in an ad-hoc formation with Barry Guy and Rodney Slatford, who’s merit is enormous. He comissioned works for M.° Angel Pena. Its first performances, with Daryl Runswick’s “America Basses”, we (R. Slatford, B. Guy, E. Gartmann and I) premiered on a trip into Great Britain, in London, Manchester and the Aldeburgh Festival in 1974. That is not all-story, available in two albums, but only a part of an immortal tradition: other quartets were in Alaska (Anchorage), Tokio (Acanthus), Belgium (Maurice Aerts Quartet), Bucarest (excellent bassists from the “Joan Cheptea” School). They all are available on recording, even if just only in analogue discs. Only the quartets who had Japanese producers or coproducers were lucky to revival in CDs now. In the 90’s, a couple of very well intercontinental groups documented their standards in recordings: the first touring quartet brought a fame to this unique kind of ensemble, the Bass Gang, living in Italy and playing on all continents... I hope they will not stop before they are 360 years ols (it means, 80 each). I love them !!!!