Digital Dragonetti

Domenico Carlo Maria Dragonetti (1763 -1846) is well-known to bassists in the world of classical music. Perhaps the first “rock star” of the double bass, his career had a profound influence on the development of the instrument in terms of technique, repertoire, and status. Inventing his own bow and right-hand method, his approach opened the ears of audiences and composers alike.

Digital Dragonetti explores the life and career of this important musician by highlighting primary source materials contained in the Hans Moldenhauer Collection. Included are collections of letters, manuscripts and other documents addressed to or referring to Domenico Dragonetti, as well as other personal correspondence, papers, and written music. 

Portrait of Domenico Dragonetti

Born in Venice in a working-class family, young Domenico Dragonetti was well-supported in his musical pursuits. Probably self-taught at first on guitar, he eventually took bass lessons from local musicians in his hometown. Perfecting his craft early, Dragonetti was granted the post of principal bassist at the theater of San Marco at the age of 25. This was a short-lived engagement, however, as he relocated to London in 1794, where he remained for the duration of his life.

Dragonetti had a remarkable career as an in-demand soloist and orchestral performer. In a time when musicians—most notably bass players—did not have high profile careers, Dragonetti established a new kind of celebrity. He became financially successful and commanded a leading presence in the English music scene of the early 19^th century. Among the curious aspects of his life, he collected life size dolls and sometimes brought them to his performances, treating them like real humans. Regardless of his personal quirks, Dragonetti established the bass as a solo instrument and created many lasting innovations. His arrangements and compositions stand to this day as an important repertoire for all bassists.

In a tribute published after his death, he was described as the greatest bass player of the time.

Dragonetti was not only the greatest performer of his age on the double bass – possessing the finest instinct of true excellence in all that concerns his art – but he had moral qualities of a high order; a benevolent and generous disposition, and an inclination to friendship, which he exercised with judgment and discrimination in men and things.

The Musical World, May 9 1846.