Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Édouard Du Puy, Carl Maria von Weber
Performer: Bram van Sambeek
Orchestra: Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Alexei Ogrintchouk
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BIS
Release: 2020
Size: 1.07 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K191:
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Andante ma Adagio
03. III. Rondo
Weber: Bassoon Concerto in F Major, Op. 75, J. 127:
04. I. Allegro ma non troppo
05. II. Adagio
06. III. Rondo
Du Puy: Bassoon Concerto in C Minor:
07. I. Adagio non troppo – Allegro moderato
08. II. Adagio
09. III. Rondo
As Bram van Sambeek writes in the liner notes to his new disc, bassoonists consider Mozart’s Concerto in B flat major the absolute pinnacle of their repertoire. A man of great contrasts himself, Mozart recognised the potential of the bassoon as a vehicle for expressing a wide range of moods and attitudes –from the joking and playful to the dreamily tuneful. Another composer who showed a special understanding for the instrument was Carl Maria von Weber, whose Concerto in F major doesn’t come far behind Mozart’s on the list of all-time bassoon hits. But as all bassoonists would agree, that list is on the short side – compared to the piano or the violin, the bassoon has been sadly underused by composers. How much easier then to imagine van Sambeek’s excitement when, by chance, he came across an unknown bassoon concerto. From a library in Stockholm he had requested a quintet for bassoon and strings by the Swiss-born, Swedish-based singer-conductor-composer and jack-of-most-trades Édouard Du Puy (c. 1770—1822) but, by mistake, he was sent a copy of the autograph manuscript for Du Puy’s ‘Concerto pour le Basson’ in C minor. Spirited support comes from the acclaimed Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by his colleague and long-time collaborator, the oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk.