Docente

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Franco Petracchi was born in Pistoia on September 22, 1937. He completed his studies in Rome at the Collegio di Musica di S. Cecilia, where he graduated with Guido Battistelli in 1958 with highest honors, which enabled him to begin his concert activity immediately.
At the same time he studied composition with Di Donato and Margola and conducting with Franco Ferrara. The first important concert that brought him to the attention of the public and national and international critics was in Venice (1960) at the Contemporary Music Festival, where he premiered Firmino Sifonia’s Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra. Critics are unanimous in calling him a “rising star of concert playing of this instrument.” In 1960 he won the competition for first double bass at the RAI in Turin, and in ’62 he moved to Rome, where he was to become the titular first double bass until 1980, the year in which he finally embarked on his work as soloist and conductor.

In orchestra he has played with the most important conductors, from Bernstein to Karajan, Celibidache, Kubelik, Jochum, Sawallisch, Giulini, Muti, Abbado, Metha, Maazel, Barbirolli, Munch and others. A unique and valuable experience that Franco Petracchi has passed on to his many students around the world. In 1971 he won by competition and exams the double bass chair for the Conservatories and taught in Bari, Frosinone, L’Aquila and Rome.
In 1986 he left the Italian Conservatory to move to Switzerland to that of Geneva, obtaining the class of improvement and ” virtuosité” . In this same year, together with colleagues Accardo, Giuranna, and Filippini he founded the School for String Instruments “Walter Stauffer Academy” in Cremona and was also invited to teach at the Fiesole School of Music.
Franco Petracchi is certainly the double bass player who, in the wake of great masters such as Dragonetti, Bottesini, Caimmi, Mengoli, Billè, Prunner, Findeisen, Simandl, and Nanny, revolutionized the technique of his instrument. His way of interpreting, synthesizing, formalizing double bass technique by bringing it to the level of other string instruments with even piano concepts is unique.
This peculiar aspect of his teaching has enabled countless students, who have followed his school everywhere in the world, to establish themselves in all the most important interpretation competitions: Geneva, Bucchi, Munich, Crema-Parma-Cremona (Bottesini), Isle of Man, etc. This technical perfection, however, is not an end in itself, but primarily aspires to achieve the goal of maximum interpretive clarity.
His studies in Composition and Conducting have allowed his students’ interest to penetrate into the deeper aspect of compositions written for this instrument, both solo and orchestral.
There is no double bass player who has received more attention and homage from famous composers, works that have been highly successful and represent “pillars” in double bass literature:
Nino Rota – Divertimento (Carisch)

Virgilio Mortari – Concerto for Franco Petracchi – Rapsodia Elegiaca – Duettini – Elegia and Capriccio (Ricordi)
Franco Donatoni – “Lem” (Ricordi)
Armando Trovajoli – “Sconcerto” (Ricordi) (performed in 2002 with the Orchestra of S. Cecilia in Rome)
Luciano Berio – Duets
Viozzi – “Trio”
Brero – Dialogues
Firmino Sifonia – Concerto
Franco Petracchi has, by his personal choice, refused to make studio recordings, nevertheless there are many “live” recordings of his concerts made with radio-symphony orchestras that were later also released on CD such as:
Bottesini – Gran Duo (Sony)
Bottesini – Passioni Amorose (ASV)
Sifonia – Concerto (Edipan Rome)
Bottesini – Tarantella (Pull)
Zbinden – Divertimento (Espace Suisse Romande)
Rota – Divertimento ( Panne Enterpreise – Takuma Foundation Tokyo)