The internationally praised cellist Martin Rummel and the double bassist Christine Hoock, one of today's leading virtuosos of her instrument, present on this album their versions of the three student works for cello and double bass.

The three Gran Duetti for two double basses by the Italian Giovanni Bottesini from 1839 are the works of an 18-year-old student as a reverence to his teacher. In later life Bottesini became one of the most celebrated virtuosos of his time and also had a remarkable career as a conductor; after all, Giuseppe Verdi entrusted him with the premiere of his Aida.

Rummel and Hoock do not attempt to present an Urtext reading of these works, but rather bring to the fore the exuberant joie de vivre of the instrument's boundless mastery.