Richard Fredrickson

Hailed as a “virtuoso” by Donal Henahan of the New York Times, “an extraordinary musician” by The Washington Post, “stupefying” by L’Est Vaudois (Switzerland) and “one of America’s outstanding virtuoso double bass players,” with “eloquent playing, reinforced by his marked beauty of tone” by The Strad (magazine), Richard Fredrickson made his Carnegie Recital Hall debut at the age of 24 after winning the Concert Artists Guild award. This marked the first time the award had ever been presented to a double bassist.

Fredrickson has been a guest artist with such orchestras as the Seattle, Omaha, Virginia, and Baton Rouge Symphonies, the Slovak Radio Orchestra, the New York Chamber Symphony, and the Washington Chamber Symphony. He has toured twice in Italy as soloist with the Orchestra of the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he also taught in the summer program. He has toured in Europe and appeared several times at the Kennedy Center, to great critical acclaim, with the Handel Festival Orchestra (now known as the Washington Chamber Symphony). He also toured in the United States with Mitch Miller and his orchestra performing the Paganini Moses Fantasy.

In recital, he has been heard in such venues and cities as the 92nd Street Y and Merkin Hall in New York, both the National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC; Winston-Salem NC; Seattle WA; a recital and master class at Southwestern University in Austin TX; and in Italy. For several seasons he was a member of Newman and Friends with harpsichordist/organist Anthony Newman at Alice Tully Hall, also recording the Bach Brandenburg Concerti amongst other works for Columbia Records with the group. His festival engagements include the New Hampshire White Mountain Festival, Aspen, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and the Fredericksburg Festival of the Arts.

Chamber music has always been a special passion of Fredrickson’s. He has appeared with such groups and artists as the Philadelphia String Quartet, “For the Love of Music,” the Copenhagen String Trio, the Muir String Quartet, the Lyric Piano Quartet, Bargemusic, Glenn Dicterow, Carol Wincenc, Heidi Lehwalder, Christopher O’Riley, Anton Nel, Anne-Marie McDermott, and Michelle Levin.

Ever seeking to expand the solo double bass repertoire, this artist has been the inspiration for such compositions as a Sonata and a Suite by Kenneth Benshoof, sonatas by Paul Tufts and Jan Bach, and a Concerto by Alvin Brehm. He also commissioned both John Carbon and William Thomas McKinley to write works for him, both of which are heard on this album. In May, 2005 he performed a new work written for him by McKinley for clarinet, double bass, and orchestra, and recorded the Bottesini Duetto both with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and the Slovak Radio Orchestra.