# Bassoon and Piano



## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

The past month and a half has not only been a bummer for performers and audiences, but also for composers. I had three performances from early Feb through early March, but because they were at university settings, their recordings were not processed by the audio personnel before COVID-19 shut the schools down. And of course, my three scheduled performances for late March and April were cancelled.

So while I had hoped to share one of those performance recordings here, I'll settle for a 25 year old one that was done in Florida. It is a short 4 minute piece. The pianist gets a little too aggressive, throwing off balances at times (or was the piano lid up?). I always intended to write a second movement that uses the same exact material but in a scherzo fashion. In fact, I did 3/4 of it many years ago but abandoned it. Maybe I'll get around to it...maybe

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f0r5yqvxwfya06o/Bassoon and Piano.mp3?dl=0


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

The slower parts are probably my favourite of the stuff I heard from you. Evocative. Not such a fan of the more upbeat parts, rhythmically.


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## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

I like the variety of rhythms and textures in the upbeat parts. I like the pitch class selection for the whole thing. Very professional job. Needs a more interesting title. It sounds like the bassoon wasn't intense enough. I like the piano's intensity.


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Torkelburger said:


> Needs a more interesting title.


LOL! I only use generic titles for my posts here at TC. I try to give my pieces titles that (usually) are a touch special that I wouldn't want others to use. Not off the wall titles that are meaningless, but a little unique and yet apropos.



Torkelburger said:


> It sounds like the bassoon wasn't intense enough. I like the piano's intensity.


LOL! again. Balance between a bassoon and piano is a little tricky. And with portions of this piano part being aggressive that makes it all the more tricky. But this reminds me of what happened last year with a premiere of work of mine for clarinet and piano.

Many times I am not privy to a rehearsal, so for most premieres I am just like an regular audience member in terms of balance. So for this first performance the piano lid was all the way up. The piano starts with constantly moving low note 16ths at a fast clip with the clarinet entering very softly with long note values at its bottom range. I could barely hear the clarinet. This happened at several other key spots throughout. Afterward, backstage, we talked and I told the clarinetist about that. Her reply almost made me laugh. To paraphrase, she "_I always like the piano lid up. But you know, I had my teenage son sit in the middle of the hall for my final rehearsal and he said the same thing you said!"_


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

The generic title that comes to my mind is "Dark thoughts". Quite like it, specially when the piano gets it going. A little bit of forte low bassoon would have been welcomed.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

I like it very much. It all felt very natural and inevitable. I particularly liked the faster section. The pianist certainly got carried away dynamically but the dots were still good to my ears. Was the piano part marked ff? 
I think your instinct to write more is spot on Vasks, it certainly needs another movement or two as the ambiguous ending seems to suggest more to come.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

Making a note to myself to listen attentively to this soon. I always prefer the piano lid open, and only very rarely have I struggled to be heard.


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

mikeh375 said:


> Was the piano part marked ff?


Mike. I rarely use a double forte marking in my chamber music (some, but not too much, in my band and orchestra pieces) so I highly doubt that this piece has a *ff* marking.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Vasks said:


> Mike. I rarely use a double forte marking in my chamber music (some, but not too much, in my band and orchestra pieces) so I highly doubt that this piece has a *ff* marking.


Fair enough. The quiet type eh..
A good piece all the same, have you ever thought about submitting any of your pieces to somewhere like here? I've not looked at this properly, but there might be something in it.

https://www.ablazerecords.net


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

ABLAZE is a good small company, Mike. Parma is bigger (& pricier) and they keep trying to entice me directly, but I've resisted them so far.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

I had a look at Parma and Ablaze.
I came to the conclusion that a lot of what they offer (and charge for presumably) can be done by the composer. I might be fortunate in having a studio based career, but from what I can see, organising a session with good players in a good studio is easy enough for anyone to do, even without prior experience. I don't know how these companies charge and am assuming a mark-up in their pricing which could be easily avoided.
If one is competent on a DAW then they will most likely be able to do a decent job of editing and perhaps mixing. Even mastering is do-able for some, although I myself would pass on that particularly mysterious and esoteric art.

Admittedly the promotional services _would_ be worth paying for and that for me would be the singular reason for using them. Another assumption I'm making is that one could use them just for their promoting capability.
It's a telling and nice compliment to be head hunted but ultimately though Vasks, resistance is surely futile, right?...


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