Biography
South African-born British double bassist Leon Bosch ranks among the foremost interpreters of his instrument worldwide. He served for many years as principal double bassist of the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields before turning his focus to concerto appearances and establishing the ensemble I Musicanti; he is equally recognized for his work in music education.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on July 7, 1961, Bosch entered the University of Cape Town planning to read law, yet apartheid statutes barred that course of study. He was allowed instead to register as a music student and soon transferred from cello to double bass under Zoltan Kovats. “When I play the bass,” he has remarked, he becomes a “quite free human spirit.” After completing his degree he relocated to Britain, enrolling at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and later acquiring British citizenship while sustaining his role as an anti-apartheid campaigner; to lend greater authority to his political statements he also obtained a degree in International Relations.
His solo debut occurred in 1984 with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. Following engagements in solo, orchestral, and chamber settings, he secured the principal chair with the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields in 1995 and held the post until 2014. By then his recording activity was already established: the album Virtuoso Double Bass appeared on Meridian, the label for which he has recorded most extensively, often championing overlooked scores such as the 2015 release Josep Cervera-Bret: The Catalan Virtuoso. In 2018 he featured on Naxos in a disc devoted to the chamber music of William Sterndale Bennett.
An active chamber musician, Bosch has collaborated with the Brodsky, Belcea, and Lindsay string quartets and with pianists Sung-Suk Kang, Maria João Pires, and Vladimir Ovchinnikov. He has broadened the double-bass literature by commissioning works from John McCabe, South African composers Hendrik Hofmeyr and the jazz-oriented Paul Hanmer, and others. In 2013 he founded I Musicanti, which he has documented on disc with further emphasis on neglected repertory; altogether he has restored more than sixty forgotten double-bass compositions. Bosch serves on the faculties of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and the Purcell School.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on July 7, 1961, Bosch entered the University of Cape Town planning to read law, yet apartheid statutes barred that course of study. He was allowed instead to register as a music student and soon transferred from cello to double bass under Zoltan Kovats. “When I play the bass,” he has remarked, he becomes a “quite free human spirit.” After completing his degree he relocated to Britain, enrolling at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and later acquiring British citizenship while sustaining his role as an anti-apartheid campaigner; to lend greater authority to his political statements he also obtained a degree in International Relations.
His solo debut occurred in 1984 with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. Following engagements in solo, orchestral, and chamber settings, he secured the principal chair with the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields in 1995 and held the post until 2014. By then his recording activity was already established: the album Virtuoso Double Bass appeared on Meridian, the label for which he has recorded most extensively, often championing overlooked scores such as the 2015 release Josep Cervera-Bret: The Catalan Virtuoso. In 2018 he featured on Naxos in a disc devoted to the chamber music of William Sterndale Bennett.
An active chamber musician, Bosch has collaborated with the Brodsky, Belcea, and Lindsay string quartets and with pianists Sung-Suk Kang, Maria João Pires, and Vladimir Ovchinnikov. He has broadened the double-bass literature by commissioning works from John McCabe, South African composers Hendrik Hofmeyr and the jazz-oriented Paul Hanmer, and others. In 2013 he founded I Musicanti, which he has documented on disc with further emphasis on neglected repertory; altogether he has restored more than sixty forgotten double-bass compositions. Bosch serves on the faculties of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and the Purcell School.
Albums
The British Double Bass Sonatina
2025
Bottesini: String Quintets
2022
Bottesini: Virtuoso Double Bass Vol. 3
2021
The South African Double Bass
2021
21st Century Double Bass
2019
Bennett: Piano Sextet, Chamber Trio & String Quartet
2018
Martin Butler: Dirty Beasts & Other Chamber Works
2016
The Music Of... Rankl, Sprongl & Hindemith
2015
Valls: Music for Double Bass and Piano
2012
Virtuoso Double Bass, Vol. 2
2010
Bottesini: Virtuoso Double Bass
2008
The British Double Bass
2008