Artem Chirkov is the principal bassist of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and was the winner of the 2010 Bradetich International Double Bass Competition.

I got a chance to hear Artem play a wonderful recital while he was in San Francisco this March. Here's a great shot of Artem and San Francisco Opera principal bassist Joe Lescher as they performed Passione Amorosa together.

I headed over to San Francisco Opera bassist and former podcast guest Shinji Eshima's place the next day to chat with Artem.  

We had a great and wide-ranging conversation, covering topics like:

• the origins of Bassiona Amorosa, the group that Artem has been a part of for the past two decades
• the fact that Artem always plays on a borrowed bass
  • how he does this and how it actually connects us together as bassists to do that
  • the routine that Artem goes through to acquaint him with new basses
• how the bass as a solo instrument has evolved and challenges still facing the bass as a solo instrument
• learning how to feel the freedom in your playing
• music and its connection to culture
• bass not as religion but as relation (this is a great topic that happens near the end of our chat)

Links to Check Out:

• Artem's recordings
  • Impromptus of the Soul
  • Bassiona Amorosa (bass ensembles)
  • Reminiscence of the 20th Century
• Artem Chirkov LIVE in-studio performance (YouTube)
• Artem Master Class (YouTube)

Thanks to our sponsors!

This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D’Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Helicore strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Rosin Saver is a revolutionary storage device that keeps bass rosin feeling as fresh as the day it was made. It was developed in Sweden by a pair professional bassists and Rice graduates. What makes bass rosin so soft and sticky is the addition of natural waxes and solvents. Basically, as these evaporate, your rosin becomes a dry, powdery and useless.

Rosin Saver prevents this evaporation by completely saturating the air surrounding your rosin, The result is rosin that always feels and sounds great regardless of the weather, temperature or venue and vastly extends the life of rosin.

Rosin Saver is used by members of top orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the MET orchestra, the Los Angles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra among many others.

Use the promo code 'HEATH' at checkout for 10% off any and all orders from rosinsaver.com.