Bassoon Concertos

The material on this release by Finnish bassoonist Jaakko Luoma with the marvelous Tapiola Sinfonietta under Janne Nisonen may seem obscure enough to be aimed at bassoonists only. They will certainly find a valuable repertory here, but the album is of considerably wider interest. The only remotely familiar work is the Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K. 191, by the young Mozart, an elegant work in the French style that receives a suitably bittersweet performance.

Chandos signed Karen Geoghegan as an exclusive artist in 2007 following her wonderful performances on the BBC TV ‘Classical Star’ programme. This is her fourth recording with the label, following her CD of works by Hummel, Weber, Berwald, Jacobi, Elgar and Gershwin, her CD of French music for bassoon and piano, and her contribution, in the Suite-Concertino in F major, to Noseda’s Wolf-Ferrari CD. All of these received much acclaim, and the expressive maturity and sensitivity of her playing have quickly cemented her status as a rising star.

Graupner is best known as a composer of cantatas but this CD highlights his compositions in other genres. Ensemble il capriccio plays on replicas of historical instruments and here presents four bassoon concertos, a double concerto for bassoon and chalumeau, as well as Graupner’s only violin concerto in what are mostly world premeiere recordings.

Karen Geoghegan, runner-up in the BBC’s Classical Star programme is on a mission to promote the bassoon repertoire. This, her debut CD, is an ideal starting point. From the opening bars, the quality of the recording is self-evident, with a well balanced and excellently produced orchestral sound. By the time the bassoon enters, one is already immersed in quality, and it is easy to question whether a young performer such as Geoghegan can match those standards. Not only does she match them, she surpasses them. Her sound quality is extraordinary, proving her argument that the bassoon is deeply expressive, worthy of being taken seriously as a solo instrument.

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.

Sophie Dervaux' new album "Vivaldi Bassoon Concertos" is part of her larger project to record all of 39 of Vivaldis bassoon concerts. This album presents the first 6 concertos of this journey; RV 474, RV 497, RV 481, RV 501, RV 484 and RV 473. Apart from the violin, Vivaldi wrote as many concertos for no other instrument than the bassoon, knowing expertly how to write for this instrument to highlight its unique qualities.

Klaus Thunemann has been the world's premiere solo bassoonist for the past three decades. His technical mastery of the instrument–he has the facilty of a violinist–is impressive in and of itself, but he brings so much more to these hard-to-find recordings of Vivaldi's elegant concerti.