Bassoon Concerto

• Date: 1992
• Composer: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
• Period: Modern (1910-1949)

Review

Stereotypes can blind us to the potential not only of people, but of instruments. Witness Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's intentions in composing her Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra: "In recent years I have composed a number of concertos for orchestral instruments....Perhaps the most interesting aspect of writing a concert for an instrument I do not play is the challenge of discovering and exploring the nature of the instrument, and trying to internalize its spirit, so that I feel my concerto issues from the 'soul' of the instrument itself. Particularly in the case of the bassoon (whose solo literature is limited, and whose orchestral use overemphasizes the 'comical' or grotesque qualities that are possible on the bassoon), I felt a mission to portray the instrument as it possibly can be, not as it is usually characterized." Most bassoonists will agree that Zwilich achieved her aims in this concerto, composed for, dedicated to and premiered by Nancy Goeres with conductor Lorin Maazel and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The first of the two unmarked movements opens in full dramatic mode, with brooding, Romantic melody on the strings accented by severe horns; in this context, the plangent timbre of the bassoon is a welcome relief, bringing a more song-like approach to the opening material. Percussion quickens the tempo for a faster middle section, based on a turn in the opening melody, and the bassoon interacts with the rest of the orchestra. But the return of the opening music emphasizes the bassoon's contrast with the orchestra even more, as short unaccompanied solos alternate with string outbursts before the bassoon settles everything gently down. The percussion launches the second movement also, as the bassoon gets a chance to display the full range of its timbres and its ability to, in Zwilich's words, "suggest a single line breaking into multiple voices." This becomes especially apparent in a long cadenza, introduced by the first movement's melodic material, that requires every virtuoso technique a bassoon can handle. The quicksilver opening material returns to gradually decelerate and close the work. ~ Andrew Lindemann Malone, Rovi

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
Lees: Concerto for French Horn & Orchestra; Balada: Music for Oboe & Orchestra; Zwilich: Concerto for Bassoon & Orche	1996

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