BOTTESINI, GIOVANNI

born Dec. 22, 1821, Crema, Austrian Empire [now in Italy] died July 7, 1899, Parma, Italy Italian double bassist, composer, and conductor, best known for his facility with the double bass and for his contribution to double bass technique. Bottesini received basic training in music at an early age from his father, a composer and clarinetist. His choice of the double bass as his specialty came about because, upon his application to the Milan Conservatory (1835), it was one of only two remaining scholarships. He learned within weeks to play the instrument adequately enough to be accepted for the scholarship. He left the conservatory in 1839 and toured throughout the United States and Europe. Bottesini's first opera, Cristoforo Colombo, was first performed in Havana in 1847. On one of his tours, he met Giuseppe Verdi in Venice, and they became lifelong friends. In 1849 Bottesini made the first of many appearances in England, where he enjoyed great popularity for many years because of his extraordinary skill as a double bass virtuoso. He was also known throughout Europe as a conductor. He directed the first performance of Verdi's Aida at Cairo in 1871. From about 1870 he devoted an increasing amount of time to composition, turning out a number of operas, sacred works, orchestral pieces, and works for the double bass.