Bassoon Concerto (Rouse)

Last updated

The Bassoon Concerto is a composition for solo bassoon and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and was completed on February 2, 2017. It received its world premiere on November 16, 2018, by the St. Louis Symphony and their principal bassoonist Andrew Cuneo under the conductor Cristian Măcelaru in Powell Hall, St. Louis. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Composition

The composition has a duration of approximately 20 minutes and is cast in the traditional three-movement (fast-slow-fast) concerto form. In the score program note, the composer state that the work "is meant in large part simply to provide pleasure. I realize that such an intent is now looked upon with suspicion is some quarters, but I have never felt that every work of art is required to plumb the depths and secrets of human existence. Sometimes twenty minutes spent in the company of, I hope, a genial companion can be the most meaningful way of passing time." He added, "I did, however, try to resist making too much of the bassoon's oft-heralded role as the 'clown' of the orchestra. While there are occasional forays into the more 'comical' lower range of the instrument, more time is spent in the middle and upper tessitura of the bassoon, and melodic lines often tend toward the lyrical. Overall there is a collegial relationship between soloist and orchestra, unlike the common 'soloist against the orchestra' paradigm of many romantic era concerti." [1]

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo bassoon and a small orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two additional bassoons ("in order to provide the occasional potential for building a sort of 'mega-bassoon'"), two horns, timpani, one percussionist, harp, and strings. [1]

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, Sarah Bryan Miller of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described the performance as "a resounding success" and wrote, "The composer rang all the changes in mood and style, but kept things accessible. The concerto started out playfully, moved into mystery, explored some jagged rhythms; there were dialogues with those other bassoons, with the winds, the harp and other instruments, for an engaging whole." [4]

Related Research Articles

A concerto is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typical three-movement structure, a slow movement preceded and followed by fast movements, became a standard from the early 18th century.

Ruth Dorothy Louisa ("Wid") Gipps was an English composer, oboist, pianist, conductor, and educator. She was one of the most prolific composers in Britain at the time of her death, having written five symphonies, seven concertos, and numerous chamber and choral works. She founded both the London Repertoire Orchestra and the Chanticleer Orchestra and served as conductor and music director for the City of Birmingham Choir. Later in her life she served as chairwoman of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain.

Sergei Prokofiev began his Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19, as a concertino in 1915 but soon abandoned it to work on his opera The Gambler. He returned to the concerto in the summer of 1917. It premiered on October 18, 1923 at the Paris Opera with Marcel Darrieux playing the violin part and the Paris Opera Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky. Igor Stravinsky made his debut as conductor at the same concert, conducting the first performance of his own Octet for Wind Instruments.

The Piano Concerto, Op. 38, by Samuel Barber was commissioned by the music publishing company G. Schirmer in honor of the centenary of their founding. The premiere was on September 24, 1962, in the opening festivities of Philharmonic Hall, now David Geffen Hall, the first hall built at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, with John Browning as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf.

Christopher Chapman Rouse III was an American composer. Though he wrote for various ensembles, Rouse is primarily known for his orchestral compositions, including a Requiem, a dozen concertos, and six symphonies. His work received numerous accolades, including the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He also served as the composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic from 2012 to 2015.

Margaret Brouwer is an American composer and composition teacher. She founded the Blue Streak Ensemble chamber music group.

The Trombone Concerto is a concerto for trombone and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for its principal trombonist Joseph Alessi. It was completed on April 5, 1991, and was first performed by Alessi and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Slatkin on December 30, 1992, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York City. The concerto is dedicated to the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, who died suddenly October 14, 1990. In 1993, the work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Symphony No. 2 is a symphony in three connected movements for orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The piece was commissioned by the Houston Symphony and completed July 15, 1994. The work premiered later that year and is dedicated to then Houston Symphony director Christoph Eschenbach.

Symphony No. 3 is an orchestral composition in two movements by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was jointly commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. It was completed February 3, 2011 and premiered May 5, 2011 by the Saint Louis Symphony under David Robertson at Powell Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. The piece is dedicated to Rouse's high school music teacher, John Merrill.

Heimdall's Trumpet is a concerto for trumpet and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. It was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for its principal trumpeter Christopher Martin. The piece was completed January 21, 2012 and premiered December 20, 2012 at Symphony Center in Chicago.

The Oboe Concerto is a concerto for oboe and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra and completed in 2004. The piece premiered in 2009 with oboist Basil Reeve and the Minnesota Orchestra performing under conductor Osmo Vanska.

The Flute Concerto is a concerto for flute and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was jointly commissioned by Richard and Jody Nordlof for flutist Carol Wincenc and by Borders Group for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. It was completed August 15, 1993 and premiered October 27, 1994 at Orchestra Hall in Detroit, with conductor Hans Vonk leading Carol Wincenc and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The piece—specifically the third movement—is dedicated to the memory of James Bulger, an English toddler who was infamously murdered in 1993 by two ten-year-old boys.

Der gerettete Alberich is a concerto for percussion and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was jointly commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. It was completed June 7, 1997, and premiered January 15, 1998 in Cleveland, Ohio with the Cleveland Orchestra under conductor Christoph von Dohnányi. The piece is dedicated to percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who performed the solo during the world premiere. Rouse composed the work as an informal musical sequel to Richard Wagner's four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.

The Violin Concerto is a concerto for violin and orchestra in two movements by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned for violinist Cho-Liang Lin by the Aspen Music Festival and School and funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. It was completed August 18, 1991 and is dedicated to Cho-Liang Lin.

The Saxophone Concerto is a composition for alto saxophone and orchestra by the American composer John Adams. The work was jointly commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo Foundation. It was given its world premiere in Sydney, Australia on August 22, 2013 by the saxophonist Timothy McAllister and Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Adams.

Phaethon is a symphonic poem by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned in celebration of the United States Bicentennial by the Philadelphia Orchestra with contributions from Johnson & Higgins. It was completed on February 22, 1986, and was given its world premiere at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Muti on January 8, 1987. It is dedicated in memory of the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which broke apart on the morning of January 28, 1986 while Rouse was composing the piece. Since its premiere, Phaethon has become one of Rouse's most popular orchestral compositions.

The Organ Concerto is a composition for solo organ and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned for the organist Paul Jacobs by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra. It was completed on June 23, 2014 and was first performed by Paul Jacobs and the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on November 17, 2016. Rouse dedicated the piece to Jacobs.

The Low Brass Concerto is a concerto for four solo low brass instruments and orchestra by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for their renowned low brass section and co-commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was composed in 2017 and was first performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Muti on February 1, 2018.

The Symphony No. 6 is a symphony for orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and was completed in the composer's Baltimore home on June 6, 2019. It was first performed in Cincinnati Music Hall by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Louis Langrée on October 18, 2019. Written as a personal epitaph, the symphony was Rouse's last completed work before his death in September 2019.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rouse, Christopher (2018). "Bassoon Concerto". Boosey & Hawkes . Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  2. ↑ "SLSO to perform U.S. debut of "Flounce"". Edwardsville Intelligencer . September 15, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  3. ↑ Lavazzi, Chuck (November 13, 2018). "Symphony Preview: 'Man does not live by dread alone'--a conversation with Christopher Rouse". KDHX . Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ Miller, Sarah Bryan (November 16, 2018). "Concert review: An exciting all-American program from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Retrieved September 22, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.