This recording focuses on romantic works from the 20th century that deserve greater recognition – most are original. They include fine examples from Russia, America, Hungary, Argentina and Great Britain.

Nicholas Bayley was born in Hull in 1973 and studied with Duncan McTier at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. At the age of 24 he was appointed as principal bassist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and lead the section until 2009, when he assumed his current positıion as principal bassist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He is also a tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.


As a soloist he performed concertos with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the most notable of these in 2009 when he gave the world premiere performance of Hafliði Hallgrímsson's Double Bass concerto 'Sonnambulo', a work written especially for Bayley to play with the SCO. He has given many solo recitals a cross Britain, often with pianist Geoffrey Duce - a collaboration dating back to 1992.

Duce’s career has featured both solo and collaborative performances. Originally from Edinburgh, Duce initially studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and Manchester University before receiving a DAAD scholarship to the Universität der Künste, Berlin. He received his doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music, New York, where he was also a faculty member, and has taught at the State University of New York and at Indiana University South Bend. He is currently Artist/Teacher of Piano at Illinois State University.