Sonatas for Bassoon and Pianoforte by Wouter Verschuren / Kathryn Cok

Nikolaus von Krufft

Wouter Verschuren / Kathryn Cok

Sonatas for Bassoon and Pianoforte

Price: € 12.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917231328
Catnr: CC 72313
Release date: 02 January 2009
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917231328

Catalogue number
CC 72313

Release date
02 January 2009

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

The sonatas presented on this CD have never before been recorded . The Sonata in F major from 1807 has never been published in a modern edition. The undersigned is busy with an edition that will be available in 2008. Next to the sonatas for fortepiano & bassoon, Krufft also wrote sonatas for violin, horn, and works for solo piano, including 24 Präludien & Fugen after J.S. Bach. Krufft’s lieder have a special place in his body of work. He was an exponent of the Viennese lieder school and had a large influence on Schubert. Technically, these works place high demands on the players as well as the instruments, especially when they are performed on period instruments. The range of the bassoon part, for example, is greater than that found in the Bassoon Concerto by Mozart, the Beethoven Septet and even the Octet
by Schubert.

The swirling passages, the enormous jumps (sometimes from 2,5 octaves from F to c’’) and the daredevil modula-
tions found in these works make them a challenge for the bassoonist as well as the pianist.

Een wereldpremière uitgevoerd op historische instrumenten
Dit album bevat sonates voor fagot en pianoforte van de Oostenrijkse componist Nikolaus Freiherr von Krufft, die nog nooit eerder op album zijn opgenomen. De Sonate in F groot uit 1807 is pas in 2008 gepubliceerd in een moderne uitgave.

Naast de sonates op dit album schreef Krufft ook sonates voor viool en hoorn, werken voor piano solo en liederen, die een grote invloed hadden op Schubert. Volgens zijn biograaf zou Krufft zoveel nachtrust hebben opgeofferd aan het componeren, dat dit uiteindelijk leidde tot zijn vroegtijdige dood.

De sonates op het album stellen technisch gezien hoge eisen aan zowel de spelers als de instrumenten, vooral wanneer ze op historische instrumenten uitgevoerd worden. Het bereik van de fagotpartij is enorm. Het is groter dan dat in het Fagotconcert van Mozart, of zelfs het Octet van Schubert. De wervelende virtuoze passages, enorme sprongen en gewaagde modulaties maken deze sonates een uitdaging voor zowel de pianist als de fagottist.

Het getrouwde duo Wouter Verschuren en Kathryn Cok richt zich op het uitvoeren van repertoire voor fagot en klavecimbel of fortepiano op historische instrumenten. Verschuren is eerste fagottist bij het Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra en treedt ook regelmatig op in internationale kamermuziekensembles, zoals het Caecilia-Concert. Cok speelt ook regelmatig samen met het Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, en treedt regelmatig op als soliste op belangrijke festivals en in muziekinstrumentenmusea.

Nikolaus Freiherr von Krufft wurde als Sohn eines Staatsministers am 1. Februar 1779 in Wien geboren. Er studierte Komposition bei Albrechtsberger, Philosophie und Jura an der Universität Wien. Neben der hier eingespielten Fagott-Sonaten schrieb Krufft Sonaten für Geige und Horn sowie Werke für Klavier solo, darunter 24 Präludien & Fugen nach J.S. Bach. Seine Lieder nehmen einen besonderen Platz in Kruffts Werk ein und hatten großen Einfluss auf Franz Schubert.

Artist(s)

Wouter Verschuren

Wouter Verschuren graduated from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He studied baroque and classical bassoon with Donna Agrell. Wouter is sought after in the Netherlands and abroad as a bassoonist, and is equally at home with repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the Romantic. He is principal bassoonist of The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra conducted by Ton Koopman, and regularly plays with other renowned period orchestras. In addition, he regularly appears as a soloist, and plays in numerous international chamber music ensembles such as Caecilia-Concert, specializing in performance and research of 17th century music, and can be heard on countless CDs. Wouter teaches at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and at the Utrecht Conservatory.

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Kathryn Cok

Kathryn Cok pursues a varied career as a harpsichordist, fortepianist and academic on both sides of the Atlantic. She is well sought after both as a soloist as well as a continuo player. Born in the city of New York, USA, Kathryn now lives in The Hague, Holland where she completed a Masters degree at the Royal Conservatory as a student of Ton Koopman and Tini Mathot on the harpsichord, and Bart van Oort on the fortepiano. Kathryn recently won first prize in the first solo competition for baroque instruments in Brunnenthal, Austria. She works regularly as a soloist and continuo player with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and other important early music ensembles in Europe and performs regularly as...

Kathryn Cok pursues a varied career as a harpsichordist, fortepianist and academic on both sides of the Atlantic. She is well sought after both as a soloist as well as a continuo player. Born in the city of New York, USA, Kathryn now lives in The Hague, Holland where she completed a Masters degree at the Royal Conservatory as a student of Ton Koopman and Tini Mathot on the harpsichord, and Bart van Oort on the fortepiano. Kathryn recently won first prize in the first solo competition for baroque instruments in Brunnenthal, Austria. She works regularly as a soloist and continuo player with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and other important early music ensembles in Europe and performs regularly as a soloist in many of the world’s most renowned Early Music Festivals such as Oude Muziek, Utrecht, Brunnenthaler Concert Zomer, Bodensee Festival, and important keyboard collections in the UK such as the Cobbe Collection, Finchcock’s, Fenton House and the Gemeente Museum, Holland. She is co-founder of the Caecilia-Concert, a dynamic international group of instrumentalists specializing in performance and research of 17th century music for instruments and voices. Kathryn is busy as a researcher and teaches at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Holland.

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