# My Favorite works to perform



## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

As a long time professional musician - 40+ years of playing principal bassoon in various orchestras, with tenures of 36 and 23 years in particular ensembles, I got to play a huge portion of the most standard orchestral repertoire...
I was thinking of my favorite works to play....this is a large topic - symphonies, concerti, tone poems, suites, overtures, ballet, etc, etc....featuring the works of many many composers -

first - let me address concerti -

Violin concerti - there is something very effective about the combination of violin and bassoon -the tones are so different they actually match well...the round, resonant lower pitched bassoon with the high, centered, stringy tone of the violin - Haydn used it very effectively in many works - he also used Oboe and cello most effectively, as well - again, the high low, woodwind/string contrasts being explored.
my favorites to perform -*vln cti:*

Beethoven - great bassoon part, famous solos
Sibelius - excellent part, some nice solos

Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Mendelssohn are fun to play as well, Khatchaturian was fun, too, only played it once...

*Piano concerti - *

Ravel - awesome part, difficult - it works, tho - well written, but challenging. very exposed high solo in first mvt - goes up to an "E" [top space treble clef], and a very fast passage in the finale of the main theme
Beethoven - 1, 3, 4, 5 - these are all enjoyable to perform...The Beethoven concerti can be a real challenge, and dynamic markings must be adjusted for modern performance practice - remember, the pianoforte of Beethoven's time was nothing like today's modern concert grand...the earlier instruments did not produce nearly the sound of the modern ones - many Wood wind solos are marked _p_, or even _pp_ - but if played like that against a modern concert grand, they will be inaudible - so the dynamic must be greatly increased - _forte_, even _fortissimo_ on occasion, if one is to project the tone thru the massive piano sound...if conductors insist on e the original unedited dynamics, then lots of delicious detail is lost.

Mozart - excellent, esp later ones - great wind parts, lots of dialogues with soloist, and other woodwinds.

Brahms - very enjoyable, great woodwind parts, very full ensemble... I always enjoyed the Tchaikovsky concerto - not a great part, but ok, and just fun to play - esp mvts II and III...

Shostakovich Cti #2 is really fun to play - opens with bassoon soli, so is Gershwin concerto.

I'm probably forgetting a bunch, but I'll try to fill in the holes as a I go...


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## Myriadi (Mar 6, 2016)

Thanks for sharing this experience - what a wonderful view from "within" the orchestra! Please write more!

I'm curious if you played any of Vivaldi's bassoon concerti, and if so, how many adjustments must be made for a modern orchestra and a modern bassoon. And of course if you enjoyed them at all


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Myriadi said:


> Thanks for sharing this experience - what a wonderful view from "within" the orchestra! Please write more!


I will - the symphonies, overtures, etc is a big topic, so many...



> I'm curious if you played any of Vivaldi's bassoon concerti, and if so, how many adjustments must be made for a modern orchestra and a modern bassoon. And of course if you enjoyed them at all


I've played lots of the Vivaldi thru the years - wonderful pieces!! They "lay very well" for the bassoon - you don't really need to make many adjustments - it's mainly different editions regarding ornaments or editorial changes. These work very well, because the accompaniments are for string orchestra, so the dynamics can be regulated, the tuttis played full, the solo sections cut down to give the soloist more dynamic room...


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Favorite symphonies to perform -

*Beethoven* is always enjoyable, and some are at the very highest level of satisfaction -

I've performed Beethoven #5 more than any other symphony in the repertoire - but I still enjoy it nonetheless - good part, challenging, and the whole work is rewarding
Syms #3, 7, and 9 are favorites, also - very rewarding to perform...
I've enjoyed #2 very much, least performed by me - 
#4 is a great challenge - famous part in last mvt, but the whole work presents challenges...
#6 is special - wonderful woodwind writing, the solos and soli with other WW instruments are really special. The solos here "lay" very nicely for the instrument - F major and nearby keys - they "sound good" - you can just relax and play, let the instrument sing...
#9 is perhaps the greatest endurance test - it is really a long blow, but very rewarding...mvt I is long, with constant playing, many solos, soli; mvt II scherzo - is a real test, esp if conductor takes repeats...it just keeps coming at you!! Mvt III is the real test - long, slow blow...fortunately, mvt IV, the great finale, is easiest endurance-wise, you actually get some breaks!! wonderful solo in counter melody to "Ode to Joy" theme in violins, 2nd time around....

*Mozart *- the last 6 symphonies are wonderful to play, and very challenging - like Beethoven -so many solos, soli - Mozart Beethoven symphonies for woodwinds are like Mahler/Bruckner for the brass....great parts, really prominent. 
I esp love #s 35, 38, 39, 41 to perform...difficult parts - esp 35/IV, and 41...#25 is also a fine symphony to play. Odd things to remember - I recall a performance of #35 - when I nailed EVERY note in the finale - didn't miss a one!! there are millions of them!! fast, tongued, lots....

*Haydn* - always a pleasure to play Haydn symphonies - I wish I got to play more of them - #s 88, 90, 104 are special favorites of mine. great parts...very clever use of woodwinds/strings - high/low - oboe/cello, violin/bassoon combinations.

*Brahms* - always fun to play - #3 is most rewarding - most difficult - part is quite challenging, but so beautiful - wonderful clarinet/bassoon writing throughout - esp mvts I, II.

*Tchaikovsky* - love syms 1-3 - delicious bassoon parts - lots of neat solos...great tunes....esp like #3, least performed of them all. #6 is good - a very good part, great opening solo, very dark, somber....rising out of the bass sonority. #s 4 and 5 I just suffer from over-exposure - I've played these so many times, that I really do not enjoy them at this point. Difficult to get excited about them. 
*Sibelius* - great bassoon parts, love to play his symphonies - Sibelius loved the low sonorities, and he makes excellent use of the bassoons - 1, 2 and 5 are esp great - never played #4, too bad -
Mahler - always writes fine parts - have played #s 1,2,4 many times...5, 6 a couple of times, never got to play #9 - great part...
#4 has wonderful WW parts - I call it Mahler's "Concerto for WW 5tet and Orchestra", !! I know, I know - there's soprano soloist, and re-tuned Violin _primo_ solo....but the Woodwinds are going strong the entire time...

*Shostakovich* - major composer for bassoon - love to perform his works - Symphony #1 - terrific, great fun; have played #5 many times....got to play #7 twice, which was a real treat - major part, huge solo in mvt I...same with #9 - another huge solo - basically mvt IV is a bassoon solo - this work is most rewarding to perform... school performance of this work had special meaning for me - it convinced me to continue on my musical studies and go for professional career in performance.

*Dvorak* - very frequently performed - #9 "New World" one of my most performed ever...#6 is most enjoyable, lots of good parts - and the work as a whole is terrific..probably my favorite Dvorak....7 and 8 very good, also...

*Schubert* - #1 is really fun to play - excellent part - same with #5....#8 "Unfinished" another high on the list of career performances - good to play, as is #9.

*Mendelssohn* - I really love #3 "Scottish" - mvt II is a favorite - also - mvt IV, before the closing Allegro Maestoso - delicious duet/solo between Clarinet and bassoon - lovely part, so well written...

*Prokofieff* and *Vaughan Williams* - always enjoy playing their symphonies, and other works - both composers really explored the low wind sonorities, even tho their music does not sound much alike - always lots of prominent parts for bassoons, low clarinets, low horns, trombone/tuba...I never got the chance to perform V-Wms #4, unfortunately, did #2 and #6 a couple of times - Prokofieff #5 several times, #1 lots, and even #7 - which was a very enjoyable experience...


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

I both admire and envy you for having had the opportunity to enjoy such a long and fulfilling orchestral career. My longtime dream as a music student is to be part of a symphony orchestra in some way, either on the podium or in the trumpet section. Since certain medical issues have effectively snuffed out any chance of doing the latter, I hope some day I will be able to experience the works you've listed from the podium. 
I do hope you'll share more of your experiences! But if I may ask a mostly irrelevant question, which conductors have you liked and disliked the most in your career, and why? Of course, no need to name names. I'm quite curious as to what makes a conductor likeable or not from a professional's standpoint.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Gordontrek said:


> I do hope you'll share more of your experiences! But if I may ask a mostly irrelevant question, which conductors have you liked and disliked the most in your career, and why? Of course, no need to name names. I'm quite curious as to what makes a conductor likeable or not from a professional's standpoint.


That's not an irrelevant question at all!! Two aspects pertain to conductors, as well as to all musicians - 
1. what are they like as people
2. what are they like as musicians

positive or negative in one aspect in no way guarantees the same positive or negative in the other....IOW - someone can be a really neat person, but be a pretty mediocre musician/conductor. also- someone can be a real as*hole as a person, but be a very good musician/conductor...
I have to say that the best conductors are those who really know what they are doing, are not wasting the orchestra's time, are not "learning on the job", not clueless time-beaters. If they happen to be nice people on top of it, then you win the twin-bill!!
so - conductors come in all varieties, the whole spectrum - like most things - some really outstanding, lots "OK"/pretty good/decent, and some really awful...the last group I think, tends to get weeded out over time...tho there are some real phonies who seem able to sell themselves pretty well for a long time. 
One of the greatest I ever played for was Walter Hendl, who was Director of Eastman School while I was there. He often conducted both student orchestras...He was a real pr*ck - Reiner's clone - dominating, sarcastic, intimidating, could be a terrible podium bully. but his message was clear - if you can't take the heat, go do something else - the standard of orchestral performance is extremely high. That said - I loved playing for him, because the performances always had potential to be completely, cosmically good...Hendl knew exactly what he wanted, how to get it, how to fix problems. The rehearsals were really stressful - you never knew if you'd be targeted for his "special attention" - if you got thru rehearsal unnoticed, it was a major victory!! But the concerts were thrilling.....musicians will willingly play for a tyrant, if that tyrant can deliver the goods, and make them play well and sound great...


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

More favorites -

choral works - I've played so many of these, many times over - but a few really stand out -

*Verdi* - Requiem - always a thrill to perform...very prominent important part for bassoon - it's written for 4 - with major solo "Quid sum miser" [more on this to come] - lots of wonderful vocal lines for bassoon....

*Bach* - b minor Mass - another favorite - great bass lines, some of the best ever - wonderful Bass aria - Bass, solo horn, 2 bassoons, continuo - "Quoniam" which leads straight into the concluding chorus of the Gloria.

*Haydn* - Creation - great part to play - so many excellent solos, and ensemble licks - notably the great "dinosaur blat" - reminiscent of the Symphony #93 flatulent blast!! 
The Seasons is really excellent too - great fun to perform...Creation I've played many times, Seasons only a couple...

*Berlioz* - Symphonie Fantastique - GREAT writing for bassoons, esp mvts IV and V. Berlioz actually writes for bassoon section, treats it like horn, trumpet or trombone section..very unique for the time, and not repeated until Stravinsky "Le Sacre" in 1913...
The challenges Berlioz presents can be met with some judicious assigning, re-assigning of parts - ie - mvt V the "Witches Sabbath", when the clarinet comes in with the tune the 2nd time [reh #63] - the rapid arpeggios in the bassoons begin in the 8th measure and continue on into the great orchestral tutti...this is a challenging part, and often, not all of the bassoonists can manage the rapid tonguing required throughout the passage....so - I would arrange the parts as follows, if necessary - I can 2ble tongue, so I play as written - 2nd plays "slur two/tongue two"; 3rd plays tongue two/slur/two, 4th slurs all of them...this way, every note is being articulated, and sounded, hopefully evenly throughout....of course, if you have players who can handle the rapid tonguing, great - that's all for the better. 
Further on, near the end - [4 measures after Reh #83] - tutti woodwinds play play the melodic figure - in fast 6/8 - there are trills on every downbeat, with rapid eighth notes....to maximize the sound - you can have bassoons I & III just play the eighth notes [no trills]; bassoons II & IV play just the trilled notes, really ring the trills, and not play the eighth notes....you get excellent coverage of both aspects - I've had conductors comment favorably on the effect achieved... naturally, I attributed it to the great section we had....sometimes it's good to let the conductors marvel at their great musicians!! LOL!!

*Stravinsky* - always a blast to play - Rite of Spring a great thrill...the solo and section writing for bassoons is really classic - very famous...again - Stravinsky re-vitalizes Berlioz' use of bassoons as a section, a la Horns, trumpets, trombones...
Firebird - always wonderful to play - very famous solo in Berceuse [Lullaby]....I always loved it when the conductor made the strings play very, ultra- quietly - then you did not have to "push" - to play loud to get the sound thru; you had great dynamic range and timbral possibilities since you weren't always at the top of the dynamic range...
Pulcinella - a great challenge - wonderful part, but like playing a concerto - this is really virtuoso stuff in places...you will often hear little flubs or muffs in live performance, or even on recordings....the part is quite treacherous in places - the variations, esp...

*Ravel* - again - one of the great masters, wrote terrific bassoon parts - Bolero always an adventure - challenging, mainstream solo, appears on virtually every audition - bassoon is first to present the "B" theme of Bolero...
Rapsodie Espagnole, Alborado del Gracioso - wonderful music - excellent parts - big solos, soli...


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## JeffD (May 8, 2017)

I am new at playing in classical ensembles. Performing Scarlatti K87 was a joy.

My favorite to play is the Beethoven Sonatine WoO 44a. But I would not want to perform it. Ooooooooh no.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

The *Verdi Requiem* is perhaps my favorite choral work to perform - a great part and a great challenge...I played it several times - but twice - the big solo "Quid sum miser" resulted in intense behind the scenes drama, of which the audience would have no awareness...
Both times it was controversial, due to the distorted tempi that the particular conductors wanted to take...the piece is marked Agagio [eighth note =100/minute] - one conductor tried to take it slow - I mean GLACIALLY slow - as in c 44/minute!! unworkable, unsingable....when we got to rehearsal - the soloists [mezz, sop, ten] and conductor engaged in a heated debate, on stage, over the overly slow tempo...the conductor tried to insist, but the soloists essentially refused to sing it that slow. I was caught in the middle, and it was really a mess. 
I have to add - this was absolutely the worst Verdi Requiem ever presented!! a small community chorus - c 40 voices - trying to put on Verdi's towering masterpiece...it was a sick-joke - everything scaled down excessively - the big bass drum shots had to be played at mp at most...totally wimpy, you get the idea...it never should have been presented.
anyway, come concert time - things are still unresolved, unbeknownst to me...conductor starts off at glacially slow tempo - I move it along, trying to get it somewhere in the right ballpark - soloist enter, take my tempo, speed up a little - we play together splendidly - everything works - perhaps the best I ever played the part....at intermission - soloists are ecstatic, <<Thank you, thank you, perfect tempo, felt so comfortable, etc, etc>> Then - conductor comes along, he's furious, starts yelling at me, during concert intermission - this guy is throwing a fit, really having a stroke, because the soloists and I completely ignored him; but we had to, his tempo was completely wrong, way off the mark, I've no idea what he was thinking....needless to say, my longevity with that particular orchestra was short-lived after that, which was fine with me...the guy was a total horse's a*s...an utter phony.

Next time up - conductor was at the opposite end of the spectrum - off to the races - he wanted eighth note c 144 or faster!! again - ridiculous!! hardly Adagio - it sounded more like some sort of scherzo, or "Siciliano" on amphetamines...it was so fast, that it became rather a technical challenge to crowd the notes into the rushed tempo...
again - at rehearsal, a vigorous argument erupts between the mezzo and the conductor - looking back - it was really funny: 
Conductor - "It can't go too slow"
mezzo: "you're going way too fast"
cond: "I don't want it to go too slow, it sounds too 'lumpy'
mezz: "well, it's written 'lumpy'!!"

again, I was caught in the middle - the soloists were simply not going to race thru it at his tempo.; yet he was going to push as hard as he could, esp between the soloists' entrances - I pulled back the best I could to help the soloists, but in the interludes, he'd go tearing ahead....needless to say, this was not relaxing or satisfying in any way...but, we got thru it...

*Rimsky-Korsakov -* Scheherazade - very fine bassoon part - big quasi-recitando solo beginning of 2nd mvt. then further on - the three cadenza solos that follow the same pattern as the clarinet.... 
again - amusing stories were involved in various performances - once - I was playing for an orchestra, conducted by an horrific egotist; incredibly arrogant, supercilious, condescending to all - this guy thought he was the next Toscanini...Elmer Fudd was a lot closer!!
For the recitando solo the bassoon plays the melody, over sustained chord in the divisi basses....they change chords a couple of times, otherwise, they are simply sustaining....there is no need to conduct, other than to indicate the few changes...anyway - mr arrogance decides that he needs to conduct me during the recitative solo - micromanaging in the extreme....a real PITA, and insulting to boot...as if I'm unable to phrase, and play expressively without his divine guidance....this is George Szell stuff, and believe me, this guy was no George Szell!! So I suffered thru his micromanaging interference during rehearsals - but came concert time - I raised my stand a few inches, effectively blotting him out of sight line!! I played as I wanted, unencumbered by his flapping and dithering on the podium and things went splendidly....
BTW - this was a semi-pro orchestra, early in my career - this particular concert was mr arrogance's last - he antagonized the orchestra severely, and his demeanor at this concert was the last straw - he refused to give any of the orchestra soloists a solo bow!! not even the concertmaster who did a superb job on the demanding Scheherazade part!! his reasoning was that the orchestra was all in it together and nobody should be given undue recognition!! The orchestra Board booted him....


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

I loved performing-

*Beethoven: Symphony No. 2

Sibelius: Finlandia

Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

Alfven: Midsommarvaka

Grieg: Symphonic Dances

*

I loved a lot of others, but those were my favorite.


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## Anankasmo (Jun 23, 2017)

Myriadi said:


> Thanks for sharing this experience - what a wonderful view from "within" the orchestra! Please write more!
> 
> I'm curious if you played any of Vivaldi's bassoon concerti, and if so, how many adjustments must be made for a modern orchestra and a modern bassoon. And of course if you enjoyed them at all


Second that. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Performing in an orchestra is an experience i would love to experience some day but that will always be a dream i guess  Keep up with your great writing!


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