Masters of Bass

Duncan McTier

Winner of the 1982 Isle of Man International Double Bass Competition, Duncan McTier is recognised as one of the world’s foremost double bass soloists and teachers. He has given in excess of 400 solo performances worldwide and inspired a host of superlatives from critics.

Duncan McTier has appeared as soloist in more than twenty countries, with many leading orchestras, including the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, English and Scottish Chamber Orchestras, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, RTVE Symphony Orchestra, Musikkollegium Winterthur and Lausanne Chamber Orchestras. He has made more than fifty solo recordings for radio, television and CD and his Tarantella CD, with pianist Kathron Sturrock, was described in The Strad as containing “some of the most refined bass playing you are ever likely to hear”. Two more CDs, Capriccio and Sonata, were later released to much critical acclaim.

Born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, Duncan McTier graduated from Bristol University with an Honours degree in Mathematical Sciences before joining the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the age of 20. Two years later he became principal bass of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, where he remained for seven years before returning to England to concentrate on a career as soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Composers who have written works especially for him include Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Robin Holloway, John Casken, John Hawkins, Gavin Bryars and Derek Bourgeois.

Duncan McTier is a former Professor of Double Bass at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste and is currently Professor at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid. He has given masterclasses all over the world and was for many years a member of the Nash Ensemble and the Fibonacci Sequence. Honours awarded him include Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music and Fellowship of the Royal Northern College of Music.

Peter Sonntag

Described by the rororo-Jazzlexikon as ”musician of impressive virtuosity, technical brilliance and enormous imagination, who also created his own musical world full of magic”, Peter Sonntag studied classical double bass (Prof. H. Albert) and new music (among others with Wolfgang Meyer -Tormin) at the Cologne University of Music. He works as a composer, producer, soloist, teacher, book author and endorser of international companies. His textbook “Basscraft” is one of the most successful German bass textbooks, which critics titled “A milestone among bass textbooks” (Bassprofessor) and “The Bible of All Bassists” (Nightflight). Concerts, tours, TV and radio appearances and engagements at international festivals have led him to to China, USA, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Hungary, Poland, Italy, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland.

… excerpt from the “Jazzpodium Magazin”: “Peter Sonntag is the most complete bassist our Jazzwriter has listened to” (Hifi & Music, Sweden) – “… a modern Leonardo da Vinci” (Fachblatt Musik) – “… a voice that demands to be heard” (Milo Fine, USA). “

The Bassmonsters

Since the release of the second album UNIO” in March 2019, “The Bassmonsters” is gladdened by the international renown: Serious press reviews from the Bavarian Radio, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, various music magazines and artists from all over the world praise the recording of the “Bassmonsters” in the highest tones – it is the result of a brilliant and cross-genre musical novelty. In the live performance, The Bassmonsters cause their audience to catch their breath, astonish the amazed listeners when the numbers on the bass controls are turned up, and the mood barometer climbs on sunshine. Founded by the internationally renowned bassist Claus Freudenstein, “The Bassmonsters” creates a highly virtuoso mix of different styles – and that only on double basses. The quartet – Claus Freudenstein, Ricardo Tapadinhas, Thomas Hille and Luzia Vieira create a unique synthesis of rock music and classical music making by adopting the music of Deep Purple, AC / DC, Steppenwolf, Michael Jackson or Guns ´n Roses without “stealing the lard” from the originals. With or without bow… the Bassmonsters make every piece become a unique sound experience.