| Bassoon Quintet | |
|---|---|
| by Graham Waterhouse | |
 Composer Graham Waterhouse, 2011 | |
| Year | 2003 |
| Period | contemporary |
| Form | quintet |
| Movements | 3 |
| Scoring | bassoon, two violins, viola, cello |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 5 October 2003 |
| Location | Gasteig Munich |
| Conductor | Yaron Traub |
| Performers | Lyndon Watts |
The Bassoon Quintet (German: Fagott-Quintett) is a quintet by Graham Waterhouse, composed in 2003 for bassoon and string quartet.
In 2003 Graham Waterhouse composed the Bassoon Quintet, to be premiered as part of a composer's portrait concert at the Gasteig. On 5 October 2003 music for one to ten players, conducted by Yaron Traub, was performed in the Kleiner Konzertsaal, including the Piccolo Quintet. The bassoon part was first played by Lyndon Watts, the principal bassoonist of the Münchner Philharmoniker, in the presence of bassoonist William Waterhouse, the composer's father. The string quartet was formed by Odette Couch, Kirsty Hilton, Isabel Charisius and the composer. [1]
A revised version was performed in Munich on 14 March 2011 in a chamber concert of the Bavarian Tonkünstlerverband (Musical Artists' Association). The soloist was again Watts, who also premiered Bernd Redmann's Migrant for bassoon and string quartet, and played the first of four quartets for a woodwind instrument and string trio, called "Finnische Quartette", by Jörg Duda. The string players, besides the composer, were members of the Münchner Philharmoniker, Clément Courtin, Namiko Fuse and Konstantin Sellheim. [2]
The quintet is in preparation to be published by Zimmermann. It was played in concerts to celebrate the composer's 50th birthday in Munich [3] and Frankfurt. [4] [5]
As in the composer's Cello Concerto of 1995, the movements of the quintet are in the sequence "slow introduction – fast – slow – fast". The introduction presents characteristic intervals and the wide tessitura of the bassoon, a range of three and a half octaves. The predominantly "lyrical mood" of the work is also established. "Restless energy" defines the Allegro movement, a four note motif is passed between cello and bassoon, later dominating figuration in the bassoon part. [6]
The slow movement is reminiscent of the composer’s memories of liturgical Armenian chant, which he experienced in 1996 in the Armenian district of Jerusalem around Easter. He describes: "The meandering line, continually curling back on itself and the resonance of the massive, ancient stone walls are mirrored in the writing, as continually shifting, changing fragments of the "chant" are passed between the instruments". [6]
The last movement has a more symphonic aspect. The strings and the bassoon play arpeggio motifs in open intervals such as fifths and major sixths. The intervals of the introduction reappear on high harmonics in the strings. A virtuoso coda concludes the work. [1]
William Waterhouse was an English bassoonist and musicologist. He played with notable orchestras, was a member of the Melos Ensemble, professor at the Royal Northern College of Music, author of the Yehudi Menuhin Music Guide "Bassoon", of The New Langwill Index, and contributor to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Graham Waterhouse is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, Three Pieces for Solo Cello and Variations for Cello Solo for his own instrument, and string quartets and compositions that juxtapose a quartet with a solo instrument, including Piccolo Quintet, Bassoon Quintet and the piano quintet Rhapsodie Macabre. He has set poetry for speaking voice and cello, such as Der Handschuh, and has written song cycles. His compositions reflect the individual capacity and character of players and instruments, from the piccolo to the contrabassoon.
Piccolo Quintet is short for the Quintet op. 26 of Graham Waterhouse, composed in 1989 for piccolo and string quartet and published by Zimmermann in 2002 as Quintet for piccolo, 2 violins, viola and violoncello.
Lyndon Jeffrey Frank Watts is an Australian bassoonist. He is principal bassoonist of the Münchner Philharmoniker and an academic teacher.
Epitaphium is a composition for string trio by Graham Waterhouse. In 2007, after the death of his father William Waterhouse, he composed Epitaphium in Memoriam W.R.W. as a tribute to his memory.
Bernd Redmann is a German composer and musicologist.
Jörg Duda is a German composer of classical music.
Rhapsodie Macabre is a composition for piano and string quartet in one movement by Graham Waterhouse, written in 2011 as a homage to Franz Liszt. It was first performed at a Liszt festival of the Gasteig, Munich, with the composer playing the cello part.
Zeichenstaub is a composition for string trio in four movements by Graham Waterhouse, written in 2010. It was first performed in Arnstadt, Germany, on 18 September 2010, with the composer playing the cello part.
A Bassoon quintet is a piece of chamber music for bassoon and four other instruments, normally a string quartet.
Graham Waterhouse, cellist and composer especially of chamber music, has written a number of works for string quartet, three major works in several movements, several smaller works and compositions for a solo instrument and string quartet.
Chieftain's Salute is a concerto in one movement for Great Highland Bagpipe and orchestra by Graham Waterhouse. The work is one of few to use the bagpipe with a classical orchestra. A version for bagpipe and string orchestra, Op. 34a, was composed in 2001. It is based on an earlier work for bagpipe and string quartet. Jacobean Salute was also derived from the early work, with a wind quintet replacing the bagpipe, published in 2003. A version for bagpipe and orchestra was composed and first performed in 2015.
The Viola Sonata by Graham Waterhouse, entitled Sonata ebraica, was written in 2012 and 2013, and premiered in Munich in 2013. It was recorded in 2015 by Hana Gubenko and Timon Altwegg who commissioned and premiered it.
Phoenix Arising is a composition for bassoon and piano by Graham Waterhouse, who wrote it in 2008 in memory of his father, the bassoonist and musicologist William Waterhouse. It premiered in London in 2009, and was published by Accolade the same year.
Katharina Sellheim is a German classical pianist, with a focus on chamber music and lied accompaniment. She has appeared in recitals internationally, collaborating with members of the Münchner Philharmoniker, and has been a lecturer at the Musikhochschule Hannover.
Konstantin Sellheim is a German classical violist, who has appeared internationally with a focus on chamber music. He is a violist of the Münchner Philharmoniker, and lecturer of viola at the Universität der Künste Berlin.
Skylla and Charybdis is a 2014 composition for piano quartet by Graham Waterhouse, played in four movements without a break. The title refers to Scylla and Charybdis, two sea monsters from Greek mythology. In performances in German-speaking countries, it has also appeared in English surroundings as Between Scylla and Charybdis.
Variations for Cello Solo is a composition written by Graham Waterhouse in 2019. The variations depict characters of personalities. The cellist and composer performed the world premiere in Vienna in 2020. The composition was published by Schott the same year.
Alchymic Quartet is a string quartet by Graham Waterhouse composed in 2022, inspired by chemical experiments of his teacher Andrew Szydlo at Highgate School. It was premiered in Gilching and Munich, in celebration of the composer's 60th birthday, with Szydlo attending and performing.
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