A fascinating journey through the repertoire of the bassoon starts with Vivaldi’s supreme example of a Baroque concerto, played by Bram van Sambeek on a wooden bassoon that represents the type of instrument Vivaldi’s soloist would have played. For the next work, van Sambeek chooses not the famous examples by Mozart, Hummel or Weber, but a charming concerto by the little known, but highly eccentric French composer Édouard Du Puy (1770–1822). Du Puy knew Berwald and Crusell when they were all playing in the Swedish Court Orchestra. He was fired from his job there for singing a revolutionary song in praise of Napoleon – not something you did for career-advancement in Sweden in the late 18th century! He rode his horse into church in imitation of Voltaire, and his high point was probably to secure a post in Copenhagen, only to be found in bed with the Crown Princess Charlotta Frederika. They were both banished from the kingdom. His concerto is a highly virtuosic work. Sadly, he left it unfinished (possibly due to his ‘after work’ activities), and the finale was supplied by the virtuoso oboist Karl Braun. Villa-Lobos’s Round Dance of Seven Notes is based on the Ciranda, a Brazilian children’s dance. The disc concludes with a work by Kees Olthuis, written for van Sambeek’s teacher, Gustavo Nunez, principal bassoonist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Other information:
- Recorded in 2009.
- Includes booklet notes, written by the artist.
- Bram van Sambeek is principal bassoonist with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, a role he also had with the London Symphony Orchestra.
- "Gorgeous bassoon solo in Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso" (The Guardian in a review of a concert by the Rotterdam Philharmonic).
- Bram van Sambeek has won the Dutch Music Award 2009.
