Alfred Planyavsky (22 January 1924 – 18 June 2013) was an Austrian double-bassist and music historian. Born in Vienna, Planyavsky was a member of the boys choir

Wiener Sängerknaben The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

between 1933 and 1938. In 1946, he began studying as a tenor and double bass player at the Vienna Academy of Music. After seven years at the Academy, he joined the

Vienna Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Thea ...

in 1954. He was later a member of the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

Orchestra, the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

and the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle. He has also been a double bass instructor for members of the Wiener Sängerknaben. Planyavsky conducted important research into the history of the double bass and Viennese music. His first major work was ''Geschichte des Kontrabasses'' (''On the History of the Double Bass''), first published in 1970 with a revised edition in 1984. This was followed by his 1989 volume ''Der Barock-Kontrabass Violone'', which covered the history of the

violone The term violone (; literally "large viol" in Italian, " -one" being the augmentative suffix) can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted ...

as a bass instrument in the

Baroque era The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...

. It was issued in English translation as ''The Baroque Double Bass Violone'', and has been well received by critics. The Journal of the

American Musical Instrument Society The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) was formed in 1971 "to promote study of the history, design, and use of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods" (the branch of musicology known as organology). Based in the United Stat ...

described his book, along with those of Brun and Elgar, as "pioneering" works on the evolution of the double bass, but state that the books are heavily reliant upon secondary sources. In addition to his books, Planyavsky wrote many articles for the journals ''Österreichische Musikzeitschrift'' and ''

Das Orchester ''Das Orchester'' is a German-language magazine for musicians and management which has been published eleven times a year since 1953 by Schott Music and is distributed in over 45 countries worldwide. The editor-in-chief is based in Berlin while ...

''. In 1974 he began a collection of documents related to the double bass, called ''Kontrabass-Archiv'' (''Double Bass Archive''), and in 1986 donated it to the music collection of the

Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of V ...

. His son Peter Planyavsky is an organist and composer. Stephan Bonta summarised: "In a real sense, Planyavsky has given his life to the double bass, the instrument that for years he played professionally in Vienna."

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Alfred Planyavsky

Alfred Planyavsky
Austria Forum {{DEFAULTSORT:Planyavsky, Alfred Austrian classical double-bassists Vienna Philharmonic Austrian music history Austrian musicologists 1924 births 2013 deaths 20th-century classical musicians