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I'm doing a bassoon recital next month. Any suggestions that what pieces should I play?

Mozart.

Yagan Kiely wrote:Mozart.

Thanks. Great Piece.

Hindemith Sonata (Difficult piano part), Koechlin Op. 34 (3 pieces--short but lovely- very spare piano part) Arrangement of Rachmaninov Vocalise (Op.34 no.14-available here as a cello transcription, but commercially available for bassoon) Gounod, Marche Funebre d'une Marionnette, available here as piano solo, not hard to work up for Bassoon and Piano. The version here, a French edition, calls itself a transcription for piano by the composer. In fact the original version is the piano edition published in England, where Gounod had gone to escape the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Then Gounod orchestrated it, and then published the French edition, The first four bars of the French edition are not in the English edition. I have played all of the above with a member of my congregation, the principal bassoonist with a little local group called the BSO.

No, not the Mozart. It's too cliche. Please do not do it. I love bassoon literature so here are some suggestions, but please no Mozart.

Weber: Bassoon Concerto in F major
Hummel: Bassoon Concerto in F major
Elgar: Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra
Glinka: Trio pathetique for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano
Richard Strauss: Duett-Concertino for Clarinet, Bassoon, and String Orchestra
Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon

Very good suggestions by allegroamabile, if you have a (very good) clarinetist, though I think he's a little hard on Mozart. It is an early work. I forgot to mention 5 Sacred Trees by John Williams, originally for Bassoon and Orchestra, Arr. for b and Piano. Not easy, not at all in his Star Wars style. Challenging for bassoonist, pianist, and audience.

Naw, the Mozart is a good piece, it is just overplayed. So playing it at a bassoon recital would be too cliche. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto is even in a worse situation. I practiced on it so much (hours and hours a day) I have just gotten sick of it. Beethoven's Fifth would be amazing piece if weren't played so often.

If you want something that's not overplayed, why not try my "Three Memories" for bassoon and piano?

Those have been played exactly once.

No, not the Mozart. It's too cliche. Please do not do it. I love bassoon literature so here are some suggestions, but please no Mozart.

Precisely why I put the " "!

I don't think Notnd caught that.

Saint-Saens' Sonata is beautiful, and also there is an Romance by Elgar. Galliard sonatas make for a great Baroque start, but the edition IMSLP has is with unrealized basso continuo.

IMSLP has two pieces I don't know, so you might download and see:

Mercy, Louis, Sonata no.1 for bsn and continuo (Baroque, score + parts)
Theuss, Carl Theodor, Sonata for bsn or cello (Classical, parts)

If you have a clarinettist, try Molbe, Songe (here at IMSLP). I don't know it at all, but I have played another work by Molbe that was very nice.

Damn…

Actually, the Mozart quartet might be an idea.

tickle88 wrote:Hindemith Sonata (Difficult piano part), Koechlin Op. 34 (3 pieces--short but lovely- very spare piano part) Arrangement of Rachmaninov Vocalise (Op.34 no.14-available here as a cello transcription, but commercially available for bassoon) Gounod, Marche Funebre d'une Marionnette, available here as piano solo, not hard to work up for Bassoon and Piano. The version here, a French edition, calls itself a transcription for piano by the composer. In fact the original version is the piano edition published in England, where Gounod had gone to escape the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Then Gounod orchestrated it, and then published the French edition, The first four bars of the French edition are not in the English edition. I have played all of the above with a member of my congregation, the principal bassoonist with a little local group called the BSO.

Thanks! I have two and a half hours of recital so, these pieces would be helpful. Could you tell me something about 'BSO' ?

steltz wrote:Saint-Saens' Sonata is beautiful, and also there is an Romance by Elgar. Galliard sonatas make for a great Baroque start, but the edition IMSLP has is with unrealized basso continuo.

IMSLP has two pieces I don't know, so you might download and see:

Mercy, Louis, Sonata no.1 for bsn and continuo (Baroque, score + parts)
Theuss, Carl Theodor, Sonata for bsn or cello (Classical, parts)

If you have a clarinettist, try Molbe, Songe (here at IMSLP). I don't know it at all, but I have played another work by Molbe that was very nice.

Thanks! I colud have a clarinetist with my recital, so Molbe would good.

allegroamabile wrote:I don't think Notnd caught that.

Mozart's a great piece, but somehow I won't play it in my recital. I think it's quite boring (since every bassoon concert I know plays Mozart).