Dubravko Palanović: Sonata for Double Bass and Piano

Created in 2018 at the instigation of the composer’s friend and colleague, double bassist Nikša Bobetko, to whom it is dedicated, Dubravko Palanović’s virtuoso Sonata for Double Bass and Piano quickly became an indispensable repertoire achievement of Croatian double bass literature.

According to the composer, the starting point of the composition is to emphasise different aspects of the sound possibilities of the double bass – both solo and in dialogue with the piano – and to question the expressive possibilities of the two instruments. The Sonata for Double Bass and Piano moves through four movements of contrasting characters – from the first, interwoven with a lyrical atmosphere and melodic expressiveness, through the motoric, virtuoso second movement of a scherzoide character and the monological anticipation of the concluding thematic material in the third movement, to the choral melody that experiences dramatic gradation, with a climax at the very end of the composition.

Performed by Nikša Bobetko, on double bass, and Zrinka Ivančić Cikojević, on piano, the composition was recorded on their album Epigrami (Croatia Records, 2018), and then as part of the 20 for 20 project of the Croatian Composers’ Society (2021), designed to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Cantus Ensemble, performed by Nikša Bobetko and Filip Fak.

HDS, Cantus d.o.o., 2025.
Issue number: Can. 388-3619
ISMN ISMN 979-0-801363-61-9