Performed by Shen Yun Artists:

Aleksander Velichko, Bassoon

Chia-Chi Lin, Conductor

Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is said to have sketched out his first compositions at the age of 5, and had already produced several symphonies, quartets, and other works by the time he was commissioned to compose a concerto for bassoon at the age of 18. This was his first concerto for a wind instrument, and the only one of his multiple bassoon concerti to survive to this day.

By 1774, when Mozart composed the concerto, the bassoon was a well-established instrument. Yet, it was also undergoing some technical changes, including the addition of a whisper key and pinhole in the bassoon’s bocal, meant to improve its playability. Mozart likely composed the concerto with these improvements in mind, as well as with a respect for the bassoonists with whom he was familiar from the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, as the concerto showcases the instrument’s unique technical and musical offerings.

The first movement, Allegro, is set in sonata form, with a lively dialogue between orchestra and soloist that introduces the lyrical and agile qualities of the double-reed instrument, including its ability to perform long singing notes, as well rapid staccato passages, trilling, and octave leaps.

The second movement, Andante ma Adagio, portrays a tender melody that was later used in the famous aria “Porgi, Amor” from Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro. The third movement, Rondo: tempo di menuetto, is a dance in the style of a standard courtly minuet, with lilting rhythms and virtuosic variations by the soloist.