František [Franz] Simandl (1840-1912) was one of the leading bassists and teachers of his generation and studied double bass at the Prague Conservatoire with Josef Hrabě. He became a member of the Vienna Philharmonic and taught at the Vienna Conservatoire, teaching many bassists who exported the Czech double bass school to every corner of the world. Although Simandl’s music has fallen from favour in recent times, he was a pioneer of his day and his New Method for Double Bass helped succeeding generations to build and develop the standard of double bass playing today.