EXPLORATIONS
New
Transcriptions for Solo Bassoon
JOHANN
SEBASTIAN BACH, BEETHOVEN,
BRAHMS & SCHUMANN
BENJAMIN
COELHO bassoon
URIEL TSACHOR
piano
All
transcriptions by Benjamin Coelho
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
$14.95 ~ MS1237
"[Benjamin
Coelho is] one of my favorite bassoonists...Without a doubt, these
transcriptions add to the slim bassoon repertoire...[Coelho]
seeks challenge in technique and style...I have enjoyed [Coelho's] performances
the [Schumann] immensely...[In the Brahms] Coelho and Tsachor really put on a
convincing show...courageously presented..."
American Record Guide ~ July / August 2008
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“All
bassoonists must confront the fact that bassoon literature is limited and does
not include many works by the great masters. As a probing musician, I am
therefore always interested in expanding the bassoon repertory, and in response
have commissioned many new works. As I was researching repertory to record for
this album, I turned to some of the greatest composers in history: J.S. Bach,
Beethoven, Brahms and Schumann, none of which wrote sonatas for bassoon and
piano. Like many musicians throughout history who have transcribed works from
other instruments for their own, I have chosen to do the same. The four pieces
featured here were chosen because they allow the bassoon’s innate melodic
voice and deep resonance to be fully expressed, while at the same time providing
ample opportunity to hear this instrument’s huge range and rich and vibrant
tonal palette." - B.
Coelho, October 2007
Bassoonist
Benjamin Coelho has appeared as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral
musician, teacher and clinician in several countries including the United
States, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Portugal, France, Romania, Australia, Canada
and the Czech Republic. An avid chamber musician, he has performed with New York’s
Alaria Chamber Ensemble and Manhattan Wind Quintet, and Brazil’s Gramado
Woodwind Quintet and Contemporary Music Group of Minas Gerais. As a founding
member of the Manhattan Wind Quintet, Mr. Coelho performed numerous recitals and
concert tours throughout the United States, the group winning several chamber
music competitions including Artists International, Coleman, and Monterey
Peninsula chamber music competitions. In January 1987, the quintet played a
sold-out concert at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York. He has performed
regularly at the International Double Reed Society and the Brazilian Oboe and
Bassoon conferences. He has also worked extensively as a performer in his native
Brazil, including principal positions with symphony orchestras in Rio de
Janeiro, Campinas and Belo Horizonte. Currently, he performs as the principal
bassoon with the Cedar Rapid Symphony Orchestra and the Iowa Woodwind Quintet.
An enthusiastic proponent of new
music, Mr. Coelho has commissioned, performed and recorded many works by
European, American and Latin American composers. His recordings include Bassoon
Images from the Americas (2003) released by Albany Records and Bravura
Bassoon (2005) and Pas de Trois (2006) released by Crystal Records.
As a member of the group Wizards! A Double Reed Consort, Coelho has participated
in the recording of two CDs released by Crystal and Boston Records in 2000 and
2003 respectively. Mr. Coelho has written articles on bassoon performance and
literature, and his work has been published in the International Double Reed
Society Journal, as well as the British Double Reed Society Journal. His article
"Francisco Mignone and the Sixteen Waltzes for Solo Bassoon" has been
translated into German, and published in the German double reed magazine
Rohrblatt.
A member of the faculty of The
University of Iowa since 1998, Coelho has also served on the faculty of Indiana
University, International Music Festivals in Banff, Ameropa Chamber Music
Festival in Prague and most recently the Campos do Jordão International Music
Festival in Brazil. Prior to his positions in Iowa and Indiana, Mr. Coelho was
the Vice-Dean and Bassoon Professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in
Brazil.
