Recital: Chaoyang Jing '22, Bassoon

Francisco Paulo Mignone | from 16 Waltzes for Solo Bassoon (1982)

Aquela modinha que o Villa não escreveu (That Modinha that Villa didn’t write)
Valsa improvisada (Improvised Waltz)
Pattapiada (Homage to the flutist Pattapio Silva)
Macunaima (Waltz with no character)

Program note

Francisco Paulo Mignone was one of the most significant figures in Brazilian  classical music, and one of the most significant Brazilian composers after Heitor Villa-Lobos. In 1968 he was chosen as Brazilian composer of the year.

Robert Schumann | 5 Stucke im Volkston (5 Pieces in Folk Style), op. 102

Mit Humor (With humor)
Langsam (Slow)
Nicht schnell, mit viel Ton zu Spielen (Not fast, play with a lot of sound)
Nicht zu rasch (Not too fast)
Stark und markiert (Strong and marked)

Henri Dutilleux | Sarabande et Cortège (Sarabande and Procession) pour Basson et Piano (1942)

Assez lent (Quite slow)
Mouvement de Marche (March movement)

Program note

Henri Dutilleux composed Sarabande et Cortège in 1942 for the Paris Conservatory. Dutilleux was a prolific French composer known for his use of modality and craftsmanship. Extremely critical of his own work, Dutilleux only allowed a small number of his works to be published and disowned most of his pieces before his Piano Sonata, Op. 1 in 1946, as he believed them to be compositionally immature. Upon his recent passing in 2013, an article by Paul Griffiths in the New York Times stated, "...But his (Dutilleux's) voice, marked by sensuously handled harmony and color, was his own.” Dutilleux's originality is demonstrated through this work written for bassoon and piano. Composed in two contrasting movements, the dance-like Sarabande begins this piece in a mysterious triple meter. The thin French tone and color is contrasted with the playful Cortège that interrupts this gorgeous slow section. Defined as a funeral procession or march, the Cortège requires the performer to convey drama through intense articulations and dynamics. Both the Sarabande and the Cortège include cadenzas that charge the bassoonist to soar into the extreme high register of the instrument. Dutilleux's concern for detail and artistry make Sarabande et Cortège not only a staple piece but possibly one of the best works in the bassoon repertoire.

André Previn | Bassoon Sonata (1997)

With energy
Slowly – Slow waltz tempo
Vivace, very rhythmic

Program note

André Previn wrote his Sonata for Bassoon and Piano in 1997 and dedicated it to Nancy Goeres, principal bassoonist of the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra. Previn and Goeres gave the work its premiere in April 1999 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. The three-movement work is full of syncopation, blues scales and other jazzy elements. The first movement (“With energy”) juxtaposes driving common-time lines with bars of 3/8, 5/8 and 7/8 that throw the groove slightly off kilter. A slower, more lyrical middle section provides a brief interlude before a return to the opening material. The second movement is a beautiful song-like slow waltz. Occasional outbursts from the piano and a brief agitated section for bassoon allow darker emotions to show through the otherwise placid character. The final movement is the most overtly jazzy of the three, melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically. Like the first movement, it is fast with a slower contrasting middle section.