Sergio Azzolini, Maurice Bourgue & Kimiko Imani – Haydn, W.F. Bach & C.P.E. Bach: Trios for Oboe, Bassoon & Piano (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Sergio Azzolini, Maurice Bourgue & Kimiko Imani – Haydn, W.F. Bach & C.P.E. Bach: Trios for Oboe, Bassoon & Piano (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:48:32 minutes | 1,00 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical

Yes, yes, the three Trios n° 15, 16 and 17 of 1790 were originally written for flute, piano and cello, and not for the oboe, piano and bassoon; but we know well how in those days, works intended for great amateurs (Londoners, in this case) could easily be adapted for any number of other instruments, whether bass or melodic parts: and so why not this delicious, pastoral combination? As for the Trio by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, its origin is even more unique. Written before 1740, it is written across a number of pages which carry counter-punctual efforts by Johann Sebastian and his son; Wilhelm Friedemann’s writing includes a Sonata for Two Flutes and Harpsichord, which is transcribed here for oboe – the pianist’s right hand taking on the role of the second flute. The bassoon follows the bass part. The rest of the album, all dedicated to the same son, and also to the better-known Carl Philipp Emanuel, also takes in works written for other arrangements but deftly redistributed here for the trio formed by oboist Maurice Bourgue, the pianist Kimiko Imani and bassoon player Sergio Azzolini – based on the transcription principle which was very much the norm in the 18th century.

(more…)

Read more

Sergio Azzolini & L’Onda Armonica – Vivaldi: Concerti per fagotto V (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Sergio Azzolini & L’Onda Armonica – Vivaldi: Concerti per fagotto V (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:17:30 minutes | 1,25 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © naïve classique

The VIVALDI edition now comprises 66 episodes and it was only with time that the immensity of Vivaldi’s concert repertoire came fully to light. The violin is by no means the only instrument he preferred: the rank of the bassoon in his oeuvre is remarkable both in terms of the number of works, as well as in the stylistic homogeneity and solistic treatment of an instrument previously confined to the continuo.

(more…)

Read more

Sergio Azzolini – Mozart & Michael Haydn: Bassoon Concerto & Serenade (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Sergio Azzolini – Mozart & Michael Haydn: Bassoon Concerto & Serenade (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:00:41 minutes | 590 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical

What a shame that Mozart’s other bassoon concertos (of which there supposedly were four others) vanished without a trace! Indeed they represent works of youth, albeit the youth of Mozart is equivalent to the maturity of many composers! Bassoonist Sergio Azzolini gives us his interpretation of this small masterpiece on an original bassoon built by Kaspar Tauber in 1790, an instrument on which all the difficulties imagined by Mozart take their full measure: not only did he require the lowest note, but also the highest accessible note, and added virtuosities, which probably stunned the bassoonist who played the score for the first time. The sound of this ancient and venerable instrument, finer and more “pinched” – and precise – than a German Fagott, closer to a French bassoon, creates a rather unusual listening and musical experience. Continuing the programme, the Bolzano String Academy decided to offer a very ample serenade by Michael Haydn, including a movement subtitled “Concertino per il fagotto”, while other movements put emphasis on the solo trumpet. It’s important to note that it is, for the most part, a formal reconstruction made by our musicians to offer a great serenade like it might have been played at the time: by inserting movements from various previous works. It’s with these types of works that we see how Mozart managed to draw from Haydn, the Great’s younger brother, much too discreet in view of his immense talent – a talent Mozart took advantage of, deliberately or not, in his own creations.

(more…)

Read more

Sergio Azzolini – Kozeluch: Concertos and Symphony (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Sergio Azzolini – Kozeluch: Concertos and Symphony (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:15:58 minutes | 786 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical

As one of the most respected Czech composers of his time, Jan Anton Kozeluch (1738-1814) composed around 45 masses and Italian operas, among other things, but was overshadowed by his cousin Leopold Antonín Kozeluch (1747-1818), with whom he is still often confused today. Kozeluch also wrote two bassoon concertos. The Bassoon Concerto in C major was one of the most frequently performed masterpieces for bassoon in the 18th century, and with it the Italian bassoonist Sergio Azzolini is now opening the Kozeluch album with the Camerata Rousseau under the direction of Leonardo Muzii. Azzolini is also the soloist in the first recording of the second bassoon concerto in B flat major, an equally brilliant work, but the authorship of which is not entirely clear – the work could also have come from his cousin Leopold Kozeluch. Sergio Azzolini plays the two bassoon concertos on an original instrument from around 1794 by Kaspar Tauber, which allows the soloist a soft singing and agility that are difficult to achieve on the modern bassoon. The two bassoon concertos are juxtaposed with the oboe concert by Jan Anton Kozeluch – the soloist is the Italian oboist Giovanni de Angeli, who plays on a copy of a Grenser oboe from Dresden. The stormy G minor symphony by Leopold Kozeluch concludes the interesting album.

(more…)

Read more

L’Aura Soave Cremona, Sergio Azzolini – Antonio Vivaldi – Concerti per fagotto III (2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

L’Aura Soave Cremona, Sergio Azzolini – Antonio Vivaldi – Concerti per fagotto III (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:10:14 minutes | 1,20 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © naïve classique

In the summer of 2011 France’s most eminent cultural institution, the Château de Versailles, joined naïve in celebrating Antonio Vivaldi with a month of concerts, fireworks and publications – the crowning glory of our first ten years of work in restituting the massive corpus of works by this little-known italian composer to the public. The Vivaldi edition, a recording venture conceived by the italian musicologist Alberto Basso (istituto per i Beni Musicali in Piemonte) and the independent label naïve, is one of the most ambitious recording projects of the twenty-first century. its principal objective is to record the massive collection of Vivaldi autograph manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca nazionale Universitaria in Turin.

(more…)

Read more

Antonio Vivaldi – Concerti per fagotto IV – Sergio Azzolini, L’Aura Soave Cremona (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Antonio Vivaldi – Concerti per fagotto IV – Sergio Azzolini, L’Aura Soave Cremona (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:08:29 minutes | 1,10 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download  – Source: Q0buz | Cover | @ naïve classique
Recorded: in April 2014, Santuario di Ariadello, Soresina (Italy)

At the dawn of the 20th century, Naive music label decided to uncover and release some 450 of Vivaldi’s works held at the National University Library of Turin – many of which had hardly had the honour of being recorded. This amazing collection is a personal library handwritten by Vivaldi, and is the largest collection of scores that belonged to the eighteenth century composer to have survived to the present day. The thirty-nine bassoon concertos by Vivaldi constitute the largest collection of works devoted to this noble instrument. Clearly, the creativity of Vivaldi was greatly boosted by the phenomenal flexibility and nostalgic sound of the bassoon, which is still remarkable in the way it can “imitate” the human voice. It should also be emphasized that Vivaldi, a violinist, was always very attracted to the instruments with deep range. So much so that apart from the considerable number of works he dedicated to his own instrument, it is for bassoon and cello that he composed the greatest number of works. It is Italian bassoonist Sergio Azzolini who offers these six concertos, the fourth component of an box set published by Naive. The richness and invention of Vivaldi makes for an exhilirating listening experience from start to finish. © SM / Qobuz

(more…)

Read more
%d bloggers like this: