Peedu Kass calls contrabass a tender-hearted giant

Contrabass player Peedu Kass discussed the instrument’s character and unusual history in the “Musician and instrument” segment of ETV’s culture programme “OP”, ERR reported.

“It is very large. Its character is more that of a tender-hearted giant. It has many weak points,” Kass said, explaining that the contrabass is played with both the fingers and a bow. When played with a bow, it can sound more like a cello on a good day, he added.

Kass said the instrument’s appearance can give the misleading impression that it is a large violin or belongs to the violin family. In fact, he said, the contrabass comes from the viola da gamba group. Instruments in the group later began to be made in a violin shape to give them a more familiar appearance and perhaps more elegant forms, he explained.

Kass also recalled an incident when a contrabass string broke on the Austria-Germany border. Although such strings are thick and strong steel objects, he said, the tension he applies to one is about 30 kilograms. The string has broken only once or twice in his life, he said, and on that occasion it happened in the middle of a concert tour.

With a concert scheduled that evening and no music shop open over the weekend, Kass had to find a way to perform the learned repertoire without one string. He described the situation as being like having to speak while avoiding the letters L or S, while keeping the meaning of what he said unchanged.

“OP” airs on ETV on Thursdays at 8 p.m.