Nikolaus Freiherr von Krufft was born on February 1st, 1779, in Vienna, the son of a State Minister. He received his first piano lessons from his mother and later studied composition with Albrechtsberger. At the University of Vienna, he studied philosophy and law. From 1801 he worked as a civil servant for the secret Court- and State secretary. In this capacity he accompanied Count von Metternich to Paris, and in 1817 to Italy. At the same time he remained thoroughly dedicated to his musical activities.
Krufft died of exhaustion on April 16, 1818, at the age of 39.
Technically, the works performed here place high demands on the players, especially when they are performed on period instruments. The range of the bassoon part, for example, is greater than that found in the Bassoon Concerto by Mozart, the Beethoven Septet and even the Octet by Schubert. The swirling passages, the enormous jumps and the daredevil modulations found in these works make them a challenge for the bassoonist as well as the pianist. Krufft also wrote sonatas for violin, horn, and works for solo piano, including 24 Preludes & Fugues after J.S. Bach. Krufft’s lieder have a special place in his body of work, where he was an important member of the Viennese lieder school and had a major influence on Schubert.
Wouter Verschuren graduated from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he studied baroque and classical bassoon with Donna Agrell. He is principal bassoonist of The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra conducted by Ton Koopman, and regularly plays with other renowned period orchestras. In addition, he regularly appears as a soloist, and plays in numerous international chamber music ensembles such as Caecilia-Concert, which specialize in performance and research of 17th century music. Harpsichordist and fortepianist Kathryn Cok was born in New York, but now lives in The Hague, where she completed a Masters degree at the Royal Conservatory as a student of Ton Koopman and Tini Mathot on the harpsichord, and Bart van Oort on the fortepiano. She works regularly with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and other important early music ensembles in Europe.
