Tomorrow: Lunchtime Concert @ Imperial College I Musicanti present something rare: TWO string quintets with double bass: • Boccherini: Quintet No.3 in D (one of only three for this scoring) • Bottesini: Gran Quintetto in C by the “Paganini of the double bass” www.imperial.ac.uk/events/19621...

Freedom Songs: A day of concerts dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising An evening of orchestral music by South African composers highlighting Shane Woodborne’s Red Ink concerto for double bass and string orchestra (2019). www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/202...

Discover something rare and beautiful! 🎶 I Musicanti perform at Conway Hall (London) on 15 Feb 2026 with Schubert’s Trout Quintet and the rarely performed Piano Quintet by J.B. Cramer -possibly unheard in London since its premiere with Cramer and Dragonetti. www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/eve...

Delighted to see our Schubert & Hummel Piano Quintets so warmly received in BBC Music Magazine ⭐⭐⭐⭐ My sincere thanks and congratulations to my fellow musicians for such inspired performances, and to SOMM Recordings for making this project possible. A very special moment for I Musicanti.

It is an honour to have this wonderful new string quintet - written for me and my ensemble www.imusicanti - by the composer Ivor Hodgson. The string quintet with double bass is one of our core instrumentations and we look forward to recording it on the SOMM Recordings label later this month.

It was an honour to perform alongside my friends and colleagues of the World Orchestra for Peace in the UNESCO Concert for Peace 2025. I was one of 28 artists from 23 countries, and represented the country of my birth, South Africa, and my adopted homeland, the UK. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnMW...

Nearly 50 years after I first performed Schubert's 'Trout' Quintet, it is gratifying finally to have recorded it with my own ensemble, www.imusicanti.co.uk on the SOMM Recordings label. And pairing it with a world premiere recording of Hummel's Piano Quintet Op.114a was an added bonus.

From the Strad magazine: "Pianist Peter Donohoe and the string foursome of I Musicanti, directed by Leon Bosch, have done some serious public service in resurrecting these little-known but thoroughly distinctive British piano quintets from the early 20th century."

It's time to change the laws around streaming services so that musicians get their fair share! Join me in signing to Musicians' Union petition to fix streaming! www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/ch...

"...The performances are so fluent and exactly judged that you’d think these musicians had been playing these works all their lives.....a quite splendid disc, and I would love to hear more of the same...." www.britishmusicsociety.co.uk/2025/08/pian...

It's time to change the laws around streaming services so that musicians get their fair share! Join me in signing to Musicians' Union petition to fix streaming! www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/ch...

Congratulations on your appointment as Assistant Principal Double Bass of the @liverpoolphil.bsky.social Nathan Knight. You were one of my very best students at Trinity Laban, with world class potential. I wish you an enjoyable and accelerated journey fulfilling your musical and human potential.

Another wonderful concert at Wigmore Hall this time with the Ubuntu Ensemble in the The African Concert Series And for those of you who think that my baton has supplanted my double bass, think again. Gagliano and I still relish the thrill of creating sound with my bow.

I Musicanti will be guests of Howdenshire Music on Saturday 12th July, in a programme of Dvorak and Beethoven. Carl Hinde's arrangement of Beethoven's violin concerto for chamber forces is exquisite, and we look forward to Cristian de Sa's performance.

At Maida Vale Studios to hear the BBC Symphony Orchestra this afternoon, conducted by Jonathon Heyward. The concert began with some twaddle by the composer Jost, but that was mercifully followed by Mieczysław Weinberg's Symphony No.3. What a revelation to hear this symphony for the very first time!

Ever imagined that it could be possible to perform Bruch's enduringly popular first violin concerto with the accompaniment of a string quintet? Well here it is, in an exquisite arrangement by Carl Hinde. www.imusicantipublishing.com/product/max-...

Listening to the first edit of I Musicanti's recording on the SOMM Recordings label of TWO Op.114 piano quintets: Hummel and Schubert. Such joyful music! The Hummel is just out of this world, and has never been recorded. Congratulations and thanks to my colleagues for their exquisite musicianship.

"Path To The Podium", charting my journey from the bowels of the orchestra to the podium, appears in the current edition of BBC Music Magazine. I won't be hanging up my bow quite yet, but will increasingly have my back to the audience from now onwards.

And if you happen to be in Norfolk on Saturday 14th June, Rebeca Omordia and I will perform a recital of music by Beethoven, Philip Herbert, Ivor Hodgson and my transcriptions of 18 Negro Spirituals for double bass and piano. musicintheburnhams.com/whats-coming...

Preparing for a concerto performance, recital, or audition? Come and join me at the Music Summer School and Festival for a week devoted to your musical needs. www.mssf.org.uk/events-cours...

Another memorable episode in I Musicanti's musical journey, recording Brazilian piano quintets for the 'Trout' instrumentation with the pianist Clélia Iruzun.

World premiere performances of classical era compositions are rare nowadays. I had the privilege of conducting the 21st Century premiere of the harp concerto by Franz Joseph Keyper (1756-1815) with soloist Marina Solomon at the convention of the South African Strings Foundation in Bloemfontein.

A big thank you to composer and conductor Adrian Davis for the gift of this book. I have always known about its existence, but never got round to buying a copy. Does anyone have any favourite/recommended chapters?

My latest CD release 'The British Double Bass Sonatina' is available now! Seven wonderful Sonatinas for Double Bass and Piano by British composers. It is a privilege to have such exquisite music written for me by composers who are also lifelong friends. www.imusicantipublishing.com/product/leon...

My latest CD 'The British Double Bass Sonatina' is now available on I Musicanti Publishing. 10% off until 15th May so get your order in quick! www.imusicantipublishing.com/product/leon...

"....he proves a natural, assimilating something of the style and eloquence of Sir Neville Marriner, but establishing very much his own buoyancy and grace, knowing when to let a lyrical line speak for itself and when to move along at a faster pace..."

Amen!

"....and employs more than 650 people....." How many arts bureaucrats does it take to change a lightbulb? www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

A sneak peak of our forthcoming CD release. World premiere recordings of FOUR piano quintets for the 'Trout' instrumentation by British composers.

This was in 1984 shortly after my first ever performance of Giovanni Bottesini's Concerto No.2 in B minor with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (It was known as The Cape Town Symphony Orchestra then) conducted by Theodore Kuchar.

I've just dug out my copy of Rossini's Une Larme for Double Bass and Piano. I learnt and memorised it on 3rd January 1983, and now have a question for everyone I have seen playing it on social media. Should the two note anacrusis (up beat) not be played on an up-bow instead?

My next solo CD recording - I think it may well be No.20 - 'The British Double Bass Sonatina' CDE 84681 is due for release on 1st May 2025. Seven Sonatinas, each with a brilliant story to tell.

I Musicanti recording Hummel's Piano Quintet Op.114 on the Somm Recordings label. The perfect partner piece to Schubert's 'Trout Quintet Op.114.

It was a pleasure to meet the luthier Neal Heppleston at the 1901 Arts Club last night, and to hear the young bassist Marcus Vinicius De Oliveira perform on one of Neal's double basses. The Heppleston Soloist Project is a wonderful initiative.

How nice of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where I am Professor of Double Bass, to acknowledge my success at the Royal Philharmonic Society awards 2025. www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/blog/leon-bo...

It was a wonderful surprise and honour to win the Royal Philharmonic Society's 'Storytelling' award on Thursday evening. And it was an added privilege to perform Abdi from Grant McLachlan's Sonatina with the pianist María Linares during the course of proceedings. Photo: Greg Milner

What a joy it was to make music with the The Hanover Band and my good friend Sebastian Comberti at Kings Place yesterday in the London Chamber Music Society concert series. The orchestra was on 🔥 and the music sparkled 🙂 Here's a snapshot from our afternoon rehearsal.

Delighted to learn that my BBC Radio 3 programme Classical Africa has been nominated for the Royal Philharmonic Society's Storytelling Award 2025. And if you haven't already heard it, you can hear it here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/rps_today/ne...

What a pleasure it was to finally record Schubert's Trout Quintet with my own ensemble, I Musicanti. And to pair it with Hummel's Piano Quintet Op.114a was an added bonus. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xll0...

This was on 14th June 1984 when my duo partner Anthony John Thwaites and I performed a recital, in the Recital Room of the RNCM - Royal Northern College of Music, to raise funds for The Ida Carroll Trust, which was then in the process of being set up.

Comments like this provide fuel to one's musical fire - thank you Marg. It is also a tribute to the Catalan virtuoso/composer Josep Cervera-Bret whose music features in this YouTube video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwvb... Publications are available here: www.imusicantipublishing.com/josep-cerver...

Perspective is everything, and from my vantage point humanity appears to have lost its way. Carl Sagan's inspiring words are a poignant reminder of our solemn responsibility to each other. Happy New Year to my family and friends around the world 🥂 youtube.com/watch?v=wupT...

Surrounded by music as usual, but this time I'm listening to the first edit of my ' The British Double Bass Sonatina' CD recording. It is always interesting to revisit repertoire that one has ostensibly put to rest.

With my very best wishes to family and friends around the world for a happy and peaceful festive season.

With my best wishes to family and friends around the world for a happy and peaceful festive season.

I started musical life at The South African College of Music as a cellist. Here I am, during my first year in 1978, giving a concert at Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School in Matroosfontein. My pianist was Felicia Lesch, and the page turner eldest sister Isadore Campbell.

The @mzansiphilharmonic double bass section, all of whom I've taught at some point in their lives. Sitting at the head of this section requires me to practise what I have preached. They are diligent and remarkable musicians. @ruanbaartman @micksmeyer @jonalene_taylor @therealzambane @siyolee

A second volume of piano quintets by British composers, for the 'Trout' instrumentation, will follow in 2025. And it will be at last as special as this one: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctr8...

What a joy it was to share a desk with my ex-student Nathan Knight on a session at AIR Studios today. This was the very first time we actually had the pleasure of working together. My students never really leave, they become friends for life! Keep up the good work Nathan 🥂

I recorded the 'British Double Bass Sonatina' CD in August, and the next one in line is 'The British Double Bass Sonata'. The repertoire will include 5 sonatas, of which 4 will be world premiere recordings. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Upu...