331: Artem Chirkov on solo careers, borrowed basses, and musical family - a podcast by Jason Heath

from 2017-04-06T09:00

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Artem Chirkov is the principal bassist of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and was the winner of the 2010 Bradetich International Double Bass Competition.

I got a chance to hear Artem play a wonderful recital while he was in San Francisco this March. Here's a great shot of Artem and San Francisco Opera principal bassist Joe Lescher as they performed Passione Amorosa together.

I headed over to San Francisco Opera bassist and former podcast guest Shinji Eshima's place the next day to chat with Artem.  

We had a great and wide-ranging conversation, covering topics like:

  • the origins of Bassiona Amorosa, the group that Artem has been a part of for the past two decades
  • the fact that Artem always plays on a borrowed bass
    • how he does this and how it actually connects us together as bassists to do that
    • the routine that Artem goes through to acquaint him with new basses
  • how the bass as a solo instrument has evolved and challenges still facing the bass as a solo instrument
  • learning how to feel the freedom in your playing
  • music and its connection to culture
  • bass not as religion but as relation (this is a great topic that happens near the end of our chat)

Links to Check Out:

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