Patrick Süskind, Der Kontrabass [The Double Bass]

Jeffrey T. Adams (University of North Carolina, Greensboro)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1981

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

The theater piece Der Kontrabass [The Double Bass] premiered in 1981 in Munich at the Cuvillietheater, with Niklaus Paryla in the title role. A wryly humorous monodrama, Der Kontrabass consists of one uninterrupted monologue delivered by a classical bassist whose frustrated desire for professional and personal recognition gradually emerges amid self-deprecations and witty anecdotal jabs at the world of classical music.

Speaking directly to his public from the intimate confines of his soundproofed bachelor's apartment, the bassist begins his self-ironic soliloquy with an overview of the role of the double bass in the classical orchestra, claiming that the bass is the most essential instrument, without which no orchestra could function properly. Any other instrument or player could be subtracted, he claims, but not the double bass. Displaying a high degree of technical and historical knowledge...

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717 words

Citation: Adams, Jeffrey T.. "Der Kontrabass". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 March 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16713, accessed 05 December 2025.]

Patrick Süskind, Der Kontrabass [The Double Bass]

Dates

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Genres and Modes

Resources

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