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Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Gary Karr, virtuoso who elevated the double-bass, dies at 83
Mr. Karr's idea for it was different. He made the cumbersome bass soar, sing, and leap as if it were a violin, becoming one of few bassists in history to successfully pursue a career outside an orchestra. He played transcriptions of Johann Sebastian Bach's cello suites in such a way that they sounded as if Bach had the double bass in mind all along. He performed Niccolò Paganini with virtuosic agility and a lyrical tone worthy of the 19th-century violin virtuoso himself. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up His tone was clear and well-defined, full of vibrato in late romantic works, and eschewed the muddy murkiness typically associated with the bass. Advertisement Mr. Karr was 'the virtuoso who has almost single-handedly given the double bass widespread credibility as a solo instrument,' music critic and broadcaster Robert Sherman wrote in The New York Times in 1981; Mr. Karr's bass 'sings with all the richness of the cello, the warmth of the viola and the agility of the viola,' Time magazine wrote in a 1968 profile. Major composers including Gunther Schuller and Hans Werner Henze wrote double-bass concertos for him; he performed as a soloist with some of the world's leading orchestras -- the Chicago Symphony, the London Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, among others; he made some 93 recordings; and he influenced generations of bass players at the New England Conservatory of Music, Juilliard, and other institutions. Advertisement All of it was most unusual, a fact that Mr. Karr took in stride with modest pride and undying devotion to his unwieldy bass. 'People expect so little when I come out to play the instrument that, when I do show something, even if they are only a little bit impressed, the contrast between what they had otherwise expected and that which they witness is marked enough, they think they are being enthusiastic,' he said in an episode of 'Camera Three,' an anthology series about the arts, that aired on CBS in 1969. That was only seven years after Mr. Karr's breakthrough at a televised performance of Leonard Bernstein's 'Young People's Concerts,' in which he played Ernest Bloch and 'The Swan,' usually a staple of the cello repertoire, from Camille Saint-Saens' 'The Carnival of the Animals.' 'Gary is already at the age of 20 a master of this instrument,' Bernstein said when introducing him at the concert in April 1962. 'His instrument is a madly difficult and an unusual one for solo playing.' Mr. Karr's groundbreaking approach opened up possibilities previously undreamed of, inspiring dozens of bass players, including Larry Wolfe, the assistant principal double bass of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a former student of Mr. Karr's at the New England Conservatory. Wolfe had seen that concert with Bernstein. 'All of a sudden I said, 'that's what the bass can do.' It was crucial to me,' Wolfe said in an interview, adding that the instrument 'could play with musicianship, personality, control. Make a statement.' Advertisement Mr. Karr's mastery of a difficult instrument -- 'the strings are very, very thick in comparison to the others,' Mr. Karr told CBS, and 'the pressure we have to exert is enormous' -- was often noted by critics. He attributed his physical capacity to athletic abilities inherited from his father, a former semiprofessional baseball player. Mr. Karr 'manages the instrument's technical problems better than most anyone around, yet, more important, he wants us to take the bass seriously as a musical tool,' Bernard Holland wrote in the Times in March 1986, reviewing a recital of Edvard Grieg and Robert Schumann transcriptions by Mr. Karr. 'In both, one felt the range of these transcriptions -- in emotion, dynamics and tessitura -- and felt them with little sense of compromise,' Holland wrote. 'Mr. Karr makes mistakes in intonation, but they emerge as justifiable chances taken in the name of expressivity.' A singing tone was essential to Mr. Karr. 'The bass, to me, is an opera singer,' he said in a 1993 interview with music journalist Bruce Duffie. 'The bass, to me, is the voice that I wish I were. I am a frustrated singer.' Gary Michael Kornbleit was born on Nov. 20, 1941, in Los Angeles to Joe Kornbleit, who worked in a shoe store and also played the bass in dance bands, and Miriam (Nadel) Kornbleit, who played the oboe and English horn in the California Junior Symphony and in movie studio orchestras. His mother's family had emigrated from Russia around the time of World War I, and her father was an important early teacher for Gary. In 1944, the family changed its last name to Karr. Advertisement Gary Karr told the BBC in the 1981 documentary 'Amazing Bass' that he had come from 'seven generations of double bassists.' He studied double bass at the University of Southern California with Herman Reinshagen while playing as a soloist with area orchestras in the early 1960s, and he attended Juilliard under the tutelage of famed bassist Stuart Sankey. His instrument -- once thought to be a rare Amati -- was given to him by the widow of the great double bass virtuoso and conductor Serge Koussevitzky. Mr. Karr became a Canadian citizen in 1997 and retired to Victoria, where he taught at the conservatory and resided with his lifelong partner and accompanist, pianist and organist Harmon Lewis. He was diagnosed with inoperable cancer earlier this year and gave his final public performance in March at the opening of the Gary Karr Library in Toronto, where he played Pablo Casals' 'El Cant dels Ocells.' Mr. Karr leaves no immediate survivors. He often engaged in restrained self-mocking at the lowly status of the bass, even as he rebelled against that stigma. 'We've been around a long time,' he told Duffie in 1993. 'It's about time we had a little bit of attention.' This article originally appeared in
Sky News AU
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
'I don't know what I'll do': The Project stars appear heartbroken in first reactions to Channel 10 axing their embattled current affairs show after 16 years
The Project panelists have reacted after Channel 10 confirmed the embattled current affairs program would be gone from the air within weeks. A Ten spokesperson confirmed to that The Project would end its run after 'almost 16 years and more than 4,500 episodes'. "The Project will air for the last time on Friday, June 27, ending an incredible run of almost 16 years and more than 4,500 episodes,' the network said in a statement. "The impact that The Project has had on the media and entertainment industry, countless careers, as well as on Australian society and culture, cannot be overstated.' On Monday evening's episode, the series' high-profile hosts—Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Steve Price, and Sam Taunton—appeared heartbroken during their first show since the news broke. "16 years is an incredibly long period of time for a TV show. It's a huge success to pull that off, and so many people have contributed to that," Aly said. "They all do a fantastic job, for example, Kim, who is operating Camera Three right now and look, it is a great shot. She's doing a wonderful job. "This is the way things work. A huge shout-out, though, to our viewers as well." 'This isn't goodbye, we will see you again more over the next few weeks, but I know and everyone who has worked on the show know these are the best viewers in Australia. It has been a privilege to serve you.' Channel 10 veteran Sarah Harris, visibly emotional, said she was "so grateful" to have contributed to The Project since 2022. "My first appearance on this show was as a Dave Hughes funny; I fell over during a media scrum outside court," she said. "But I am so grateful that I got to sit on this desk and play TV with all of you; it's been such a fun thing to do." "It's the people that make a show, and The Project isn't just the people on this desk; it is the cast and crew behind the scenes." Price, who is a guest on Monday evenings, said he doesn't know what he will do without his role. 'This is the best crew of people I worked with. I was 55 when I started here. I'm now 70, that's 15 years. How an old fat guy like me can survive that long? I have no idea. But I'm still here," he said. "I'm really sad today; Melbourne has lost an incredible investment in its culture with the people who work on this show. "People who come out with music bands and have written books and were actors will lose the opportunity to be able to talk about their products. "It won't be able to be done anywhere else. I'll miss it. I don't know what I'll do on Monday nights.' It is unclear whether the hosts will be deployed to other projects at Ten or leave the network entirely. The Melbourne-based program features a rotating lineup of regular presenters, including Georgie Tunny, from Sunday through Friday. The series' original panel consisted of Carrie Bickmore, Charlie Pickering, and Dave Hughes. And its most well-known lineup was arguably Bickmore, Peter Helliar, Waleed Aly, and Hamish McDonald. It was during this era The Project and its hosts picked up a trophy case of Logie wins, including Gold Logies for Bickmore in 2015 and Aly in 2016. Bickmore and Helliar left the show in 2022 amid reported budget cuts and declining viewership at the free-to-air broadcaster. Ten also faced mounting challenges as The Project's ratings dwindled due to criticism over its "woke" left-wing bias. A new program called Behind the Lines, hosted by high-profile journalist Denholm Hitchcock, is set to air in July or August. Ten's new materials describe Behind the Lines as an investigative series that exposes "hidden" stories which matter to Australians. 'Go behind the headlines with 10 News First as our reporters dig deep to uncover the facts, follow every lead, and expose stories that others try to keep hidden," a synopsis reads. 'Hosted by Denham Hitchcock, this investigation series shines a light on issues that matter to Australians – holding the powerful to account with fearless journalism.' 'Real stories. Real impact. The truth told straight.' Senior journalist Dan Sutton will executive produce the show alongside a fresh high-profile team from rival Network Seven. This includes journalist Amelia Brace, former Seven Spotlight presenter Denham Hitchcock and former Seven senior producer Bill Hogan.
