From the INTRODUCTION By Saveriano Paoli
Domenico Dragonetti has undoubtedly been one of the most influential figures in the history of the double bass; this quote by musicologist Francesco Caffi says a lot about what an out of the norm player he was:
“The physical quality is his huge hand: endowed, first of all, with prodigious strength so that its grip on the strings of the instrument is the equivalent of the grip of a blacksmith’s vice… A hand endowed with five fingers so long, big and agile, that all five, including the bent thumb, go up and down the fingerboard each playing a note. (Caffi, 1855)”.
Dragonetti was renowned for his astonishing technique for his time, as much as for his refined and powerful musicality. Such qualities, obviously, brought him money and fame, which allowed him to travel and work in the most prestigious European halls and with the best orchestras, one for all the Philharmonic Society in London. His travels took him eventually to Vienna, where he met the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. This moment was the beginning of one of the most productive and influential friendships in music history.