François Rabbath

François Rabbath (born 1931) is a contemporary French double-bass virtuoso, soloist, and composer. Rabbath was born into a Syrian family of musicians but his only instruction came from a book written by a Parisian bassist Edouard Nanny. In 1955 he went to Paris, hoping to meet Nanny, who had died nearly ten years prior to his arrival, but he continued to study, and in 1964 recorded for the first time. In 1977 Rabbath began a collaboration with American composer Frank Proto. Proto has written five major works for double bass and orchestra especially for Rabbath who has premiered and recorded them all. Included are two of the most often-performed works in the double bass repertoire: A Carmen…