Weber Bassoon Concerto

Emerson Edition cover

Carl Maria von Weber

Concerto in F major
for bassoon and orchestra
Op. 75

New Urtext edition by Laurence Perkins, published by Emerson Edition

 

Version for bassoon and piano
Urtext solo part, and new piano accompaniment based on Weber's orchestration.

Version for bassoon and orchestra
Urtext edition based on the composer's 1822 manuscript, with full score (including detailed editorial notes) and orchestral parts for sale or hire.

Click HERE to order this music directly from Emerson Edition - versions with piano or orchestra, printed edition or digital download.

A brand new and much-needed piano realisation of Weber's orchestral accompaniment

The accompaniment to this Concerto was clearly conceived by Weber orchestrally, with plenty of wonderful detail, satisfying harmonies and chord groupings, and some highly imaginative part-writing. All this cannot be reproduced in playable form in a piano part, and earlier attempts at piano reductions often included passages which were un-pianistic and clumsy for the pianist, and not all that satisfying from an audience’s perspective.

This new piano reduction has gone right back to the original orchestration, reproducing the essential details in Weber’s excellent orchestral writing and reproducing as far as possible the depth and detail of the orchestration, whilst remaining pianistic in style and playable by a pianist with reasonable technical skills. 

This new bassoon-and-piano edition includes the same Urtext solo part as the full orchestral version.

 

A new Urtext orchestral edition with orchestral parts for sale or hire

Weber wrote his Concerto for bassoon and orchestra Op.75 in November 1811 for George Friedrich Brandt. Weber returned to the work in 1822, making several revisions before passing it on to his publisher Schlesinger in Berlin who issued parts (but no score) the following year. The first printed orchestral score was published in 1952. This new Urtext edition returns to Weber’s original markings in his 1822 manuscript (with occasional references to the earlier 1811 version). Markings which are editorial are clearly indicated in the score and parts, and there are detailed editorial notes in the full score.

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Weber Bassoon Concerto
recorded by Laurence Perkins for the Hyperion record label, with Manchester Camerata conducted by Douglas Boyd.

LISTEN to three excerpts - click below:

“... a most alluring sound”
BBC Music Magazine

“Perkins brings out the fun in much of the inspiration as well as the lyrical beauty.”
The Guardian

“... a comparably winning performance”
Gramophone

Weber

Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra in F major, Op.75

2022 was the 200th anniversary of this wonderful concerto, which was completed on 3rd August 1822. Laurence Perkins celebrated this by giving seven concert performances with orchestras around the U.K.

Weber's manuscript dated 3 August 1822
Weber's manuscript dated 3 August 1822

LIVE performances of the

Weber Bassoon Concerto

given by Laurence Perkins in 2022

 

Saturday 5th March 2022

with the Sheffield Chamber Orchestra conducted by Robin McEwan

 

Saturday 26th March 2022

with the Penzance Orchestral Society
conducted by Judith Bailey

 

Sunday 15th May 2022

with the Aberdeen Sinfonietta
conducted by Garry Walker

 

Wednesday 3rd August 2022 (200th anniversary date special event)

Massed bassoon ensemble (an arrangement of Weber's accompaniment)
conducted by Laurence Perkins
with soloist Amy Thompson at the Kennedy Hall, Cecil Sharp House, London
Click HERE to hear the full performance on YouTube with still photos from that session.

 

22nd October 2022

Greenwich Chamber Orchestra, conducted by David Cutts

 

6th November 2022

with the Heisenberg Ensemble conducted by Gillian Craig

 

12th November 2022

with the Stafford Sinfonia conducted by Jack Lovell-Huckle

 

3rd December 2022 

with the Essex Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rob Hodge