Robert Fuchs (Feb. 15, 1847 - Feb. 19, 1927) was an Austrian composer and music professor who taught many famous composers.  Fuchs studied at the Vienna Conservatory, with Otto Dessof and Joseph Hellmsberger. He became Professor of Music Theory in 1875, and held it until 1912. He was highly regarded as a composer, and had a great admirer in Johannes Brahms. Fuchs did little to promote his music however; he wouldn't arrange concerts, preferring to live a quiet life. As a professor, he taught many famous composers, such as Gustav Mahler, Jean Sibelius, Hugo Wolf, and Alexander Zemlinksy.

As a composer, he wrote for various genres, including chamber music, symphonies, operas, and sonatas. His Double Bass Sonata was written in 1913, and is in three movements; Allegro moderato molto, Allegro scherzando, and Allegro guisto. This sonata is a mature work where both piano and double bass play equal parts, which is evident in the first movement. The second movement at first focuses more on the piano and the bass accompanies with little pizzicatos, before coming in with the arco part. The Allegro guisto gets right down to business from the start, and is constantly on the move. This sonata focuses more on the melody, harmony, and lines throughout rather than making it an acrobatic feat for the double bassist--not that it isn't challenging, as it is. It's well written for the double bass, and has all the musical maturity and beauty that you would hear from a violin or cello sonata.

Here's a recording of this work for you to enjoy!

Silvio Dalla Torre