World’s Leading Bassist Joins RV Symphony

Gary Karr

 Time Magazine called Gary Karr the “world’s leading solo bassist.”  Mr. Karr will be performing two bass masterpieces with the Rogue Valley Symphony for their season finale concert in a very successful season on April 20-22.  Martin Majkut, Music Director, says of Karr, “the best double bass virtuoso of our times, a genius of his instrument.”  Rossini’s Overture to “The Thieving Magpie” and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 will round out the orchestra’s season with audience favorites.

Concerts:

Saturday, April 21, Medford, 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 22, Grants Pass, 3:00 pm
All are invited to a FREE pre-concert talk one hour before each performance.

Double bass sounds like chocolate

The double bass may not be the most often heard solo instrument, but Gary Karr is the first solo double bassist to make that his full time career.  Karr says of his instrument, “If chocolate could sing, it would sound like a double bass….  If it weren’t for the double bass I’d weigh 500 pounds- I get my chocolate fix by playing a note.”  The Koussevitzky Concerto for Bass which Mr. Karr will be performing with the Rogue Valley Symphony certainly has a connection to Karr’s own career.  The 1611 Amati double bass that Karr used for his 40 year solo career was given to him after his town Hall debut by Serge Koussevitzky’s widow.  Karr will also perform a technical showstopper, Paganini’s Moses Fantasy, which is played entirely on one string.  Both the Koussevitzky and the Paganini will be Rogue Valley Symphony premieres.

Karr’s career debuted with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1962 and has included solo performances on six continents with orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Jerusalem Symphony.  Karr has a Bronze Medal from the Rosa Ponselle Foundation (an organization which normally recognizes operatic talent) recognizing him as an outstanding lyrical musician, is the proud holder of the 1997 Artist/Teacher of the Year Award from the American String Teacher’s Association, and has had a rose named in his honor to commemorate his forty years on the international concert stage.  Karr has officially retired from the concert stage, but still has active studio work and teaching at his summer Karr Kamp.

Double Bass in a Corvette?

Gary Karr also seems to have a penchant for small cars.  “Whenever Karr has gone to buy a car, he has had to take the bass along to make sure it would fit.  His dream since childhood has been to have a Corvette,” interviewer Rosemary Phillips wrote in 2001.  Gary himself said later the next year that “I still yearn for a Corvette, but I got distracted by my old fascination with Rolls Royces.  We have two…  At least with these cars we can still carry our two dogs wherever we go.”  Indeed Karr’s dogs will be travelling with him to Southern Oregon when he performs this month.  Gary jokes that he “could write a book- 40 years traveling (schlepping) with the double bass.”

Orchestra features audience favorite Sibelius symphony

Music Director Martin Majkut says, “Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 has been one of the most requested pieces by the audience and the orchestra members alike since I moved here.”  Majkut feels that this Sibelius symphony is a “haunting Romantic” work.  He comments that “the full-blooded symphony with the dramatic arch worthy of Beethoven and Brahms should be a strong closing statement for the Rogue Valley Symphony’s 2011-12 season.”  The orchestra will also be performing Rossini’s Overture to “The Thieving Magpie” to round out the program.  Majkut notes that Rossini’s overtures “build an explosion tension until the whole world seems to be spinning out of control.”

TICKET INFO:

Symphony box office: 541-552-6398. Online: http://www.rvsymphony.org

Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater:
541-779-3000 (tickets for Medford concerts)

Economy seats for $10 for regular symphony series concerts in Grants Pass and Medford are available two weeks prior to each concert date. $10 economy seats in Medford are available 10 days prior to each concert and can be purchased by calling Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater at 779-3000. Tickets for special concerts are available only through the symphony box office.

Attached are Gary Karr’s bio and photo.  No photo credit for Gary Karr’s photo.