bassoon Archive
Michael RABINOWITZ: Uncharted Waters – Cats Paws Records
Michael Rabinowitz again showcases the virtuosity of the bassoon in a warm acoustic setting. Michael RABINOWITZ: Uncharted Waters – Cats Paws Records 9855, 56:50 (4/22/17) ****: (Michael Rabinowitz: bassoon/ Ruslan Khain: bass/ Nat Harris: guitar/ Vince Ector: drums) The first time I heard the sound of the bassoon I didn’t whether to laugh or cry. I was astonished at the vibratory power of the lower range and its effect on one’s inner organs. The tenor range likewise possesses magical qualities, from stately to charmingly eccentric. There is no doubt that the instrument brims with character, and yet it has stood outside the jazz world, owing no doubt to the obstacles of the double-reed mechanics, which don’t allow for the all important vocal inflections and special effects so prominent in jazz. This is also true for the other members of the double-reed family, the oboe and English horn; they have all been left behind by that great innovation of Adolphe Sax, who solved problems of air flow and tonal flexibility in one fell swoop, thus paving the way for the saxophone to achieve its prominent position in jazz history. In the newly released Uncharted Waters, Michael Rabinowitz’ fourth outing as a […]
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4; SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 10 – Leningrad Philharmonic Orch./ Yevgeny Mravinsky (1955) – Praga Digitals
Two Mravinsky performances from the Prague Spring 1955, of which the Shostakovich seems “definitive.” BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60; SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 10 in e minor, Op. 93 – Leningrad Philharmonic Orch./ Yevgeny Mravinsky (1955) – Praga Digitals PRD 350 115, 79:28 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi/PIAS] ****: Praga Digitals restores two performances from the 3 June 1955 Smetana Hall concert of the Prague Spring Festival, here featuring the esteemed Russian conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky (1903-1988). Already known for the intense discipline he instilled into the Leningrad ensemble, Mravinsky gleans alert responses from his woodwinds – especially his principal flute and bassoon – for the opening Adagio – Allegro vivace first movement in the Beethoven B-flat Symphony. No less commanding, Mravinsky’s tympani reveals the new power Beethoven had brought to the percussion of the Classical symphony. Once the mysterious and even ominous b-flat minor Adagio passes us, the ensuing Allegro assumes frenetic and unbuttoned energies, volatile as they are irreverent. The capacity for direct lyricism in Mravinsky’s color arsenal reveals itself in the Adagio second movement, a fervent song in sonata-form, sans development. Winds and strings converge in massive – although not particularly warm – harmony. What makes […]
“Dragon” – Works for alto sax & sax quartet – Albany / DANIEL SMITH: Jazz Suite for Bassoon – Summit
A nice classical-jazz couple of CDs featuring bassoon & sax. “Dragon” – Works for alto sax & sax quartet [TrackList follows] – William Perconti, alto sax/ Alloy Sax Quartet – Albany TROY1440, 49:25 ****: DANIEL SMITH: “Jazz Suite for Bassoon” [TrackList follows] – Daniel Smith, bassoon/ Bruce Boardman & Steve Grey, p./others/ The Caravaggio Ensemble – Summit DCD 656, 40:37 ****: These works represent traditional Western classical music combined with jazz, pop, folk music, and even Asian and African music. The Alloy Saxophone Quartet was formed in order to explore contemporary music, Perconti is a graduate of Bowling Green State University, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and the U. of Iowa. He is currently on the faculty of Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho. There are eight separate works on the disc, by composers such as Rzewski, Joan Tower, Allen Blank, Hilary Tann and Joseph Martin Waters. Four works by Frederic Rzewski are performed: They consist of his various Spots. The Allan Blank work is titled Contrasts, and consists of give separate numbered movements. The combination of sax and sax quartet seems to be much more to the point than that of sax and piano. Smith is allegedly the most-recorded bassoonist in the […]
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in e minor; Romeo and Juliet – Fantasy Ov.; SHULMAN: A Laurentian Ov. – NBC Sym./ Guido Cantelli – Pristine Audio
The talented Guido Cantelli appears in 1952 Carnegie Hall for some rousing Tchaikovsky and a rare Shulman performance. TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in e minor, Op. 64; Romeo and Juliet – Fantasy Ov.; SHULMAN: A Laurentian Ov. – NBC Sym./ Guido Cantelli – Pristine Audio PASC 457, 72:08 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Andrew Rose revives two live concerts from Carnegie Hall featuring Italian virtuoso conductor Guido Cantelli (1920-1956) at the podium, in flamboyant display of his persuasive, interpretative powers. The 1888 Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony did not glean much respect from the NBC’s official leader Arturo Toscanini, but Cantelli maintained a healthy, searching respect for the score. Cantelli remains attentive (1 March 1952) to the perpetual struggle of this “fate” symphony between darkness and light, the tensions between a nervous e minor and E Major in the first movement. No less lyrically tragic, the second movement Andante cantabile moves from b minor to periodic flights of D Major. What makes the first movement especially effective derives from Cantelli’s flexible sense of rhythm and inflected rubato, much in a Romantic style we might associate with Koussevitzky, but less flagrantly epic. The NBC woodwinds – the oboe, clarinet and flute […]
SAINT-SAENS: Chamber Music = Akane Makita, p./ Soloists of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome – Brilliant Classics
Saint-Saens’ chamber works provide the Accademia soloists and Akane Makita with alluring, charming vehicles for their talents.
POULENC: Oboe Sonata; Flute Sonata; Clarinet Sonata; Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano; Wind Sextet; Villanelle for Piccolo and Piano; Elegy for Horn and Piano – The Iowa Ensemble – MSR Classics
A fantastic disc that equals the very best.
“Venice, The Golden Age” – Oboe Concerti by VIVALDI, PORTA, MARCELLO and others – Xenia Löffler, oboe /Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin – Harmonia mundi
The very best Italian baroque oboe concertos.
John Clark – The Odd Couple Quintet + 1 – Composers ConcordanceMark Taylor – Quiet Land – Mapleshade
Two CDs featuring the most difficult orchestral instrument for jazz – the French horn.
John Clark – The Odd Couple Quintet + 1 – Composers ConcordanceMark Taylor – Quiet Land – Mapleshade
Two CDs featuring the most difficult orchestral instrument for jazz – the French horn.
“Nature” = DAVID LANG: Breathless; LUCIANO BERIO: Ricorrenze; DENYS BOULIANE: “… A Certain Chinese Cyclopaedia…”; NAT EVANS: Music for Breathing – The City of Tomorrow – Ravello
Very refreshing collection of new quintet works!
Ceora Winds – “Postcards” = works of many composers for flute, clarinet, bassoon & percussion – Ceora Winds
Very pleasant set of little known works for wind trio.
“The Lyrical Bassoon” = Works of SAINT-SAENS, HINDEMITH, TANSMAN, BUTILLEUX, KOECHLIN & KVANDAL – Per Hannisdal, bassoon/ Vebjorn Anvik, piano – 2L
Nice to hear this combination offered up in such flawless sound.
GANDOLFI: “From the Institutes of Groove” = From the Institutes of Groove; Concerto for Bassoon and Orch.; Fantasia for Alto Saxophone and Orch. – Angel Subero, bass trombone/ Richard Svoboda, bassoon/ Kenneth Radnofsky, alto sax/ Boston Modern Orch. Project/ Gil Rose – BMOP
These unique, cutting edge concertos are rather “groovy!”
Musical Arts Woodwind Quintet – “American Breeze” = STEVEN STUCKY: Serenade for Wind Quintet; JENNI BRANDON: Five Frogs; BRUCE ADOLPHE: Night Journey; AMY BEACH: Pastorale; JENNIFER HIGDON: Autumn Music; DAVID MASLANKA: Quintet No. 4 – Albany
Excellent ensemble delivers some captivating American quintets!
STRAVINSKY: His First Recordings = The Rite of Spring; The Firebird—Suite – Walther Straram Concerts Orch./ Igor Stravinsky – Pristine Audio
The master Stravinsky himself leads a French ensemble in his first recording of the true “enfant terrible” of orchestral scores, and the restoration proves as potent as ever.
ROTA: Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano; Improvviso in D Minor for Violin and Piano; Toccata for Bassoon and Piano; Sonata in D Major for Clarinet and Piano; Fantasia in G Major – Goran Gojevic, clar./ Mary Kenedi, p./ Lynn Kuo, v./ Winona Zelnka, cello/ Michael Sweeney, bassoon – Naxos
The assorted chamber music compositions by Nino Rota present an entirely new dimension to his otherwise film-score reputation, here performed by ardent Toronto-based musicians.
Daniel Smith – Bassoon Goes Latin Jazz! – Summit
From a “Watermelon Man,” to a Yardbird to “The Chicken,” bassoonist Daniel Smith offers a Latin jazz feast.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
