Mozart From Bassoon Concerto
No solo concerto for bassoon is as popular as this one by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
About the video
- Published online 29 August 2023.
- The video is approximately 4 minutes.
- A musical excerpt from the series Mankind and Music, episode 1.
When Mozart composed his bassoon concerto in June 1774, he was still young, at eighteen years old, but the music developed a certain maturity with Mozart’s distinctive signature character.
The bassoon concerto was his first solo concerto composition for a woodwind instrument. He held the bassoon in higher regard than any other composer of his time. In several operas, and especially in beautiful arias, he highlights the lyrical quality of the instrument.
The tone of the bassoon is deep and dark in the lower register, and warm and soft in the middle register. At the top, it is sharper and more nasal. Mozart’s bassoon concerto leverages each aspect of the instrument. The first movement, of which we hear excerpts, is filled with masterful passages and charming subtlety, and Mozart effectively uses the possibilities for humour offered by the bassoon.
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This excerpt of music is from episode 1 of the series Mankind and Music. The five episodes are available to watch here on Konserthuset Play. Why does music exist? What happens to us when we make or listen to music? In this series, we explore answers to these questions together with musicians, listeners and researchers.
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The music
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart First Movement Allegro from Bassoon Concerto in B flat major KV 191
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Participants
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Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
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Tobias Ringborg conductor
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Fredrik Ekdahl bassoon
