In Sergey Prokofiev's musical children's tale Peter and the Wolf, the bassoon represents the grandfather, both sedate and strict, which says a lot about the image of the instrument. This image, however, has changed in the intervening years thanks not least to the efforts of Johannes Schwarz, the specialist for contemporary music and member of Ensemble Modern (since 2003) who has significantly enhanced his bassoon playing with extended techniques.
Apart from Luciano Berio and Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, the composers featured on this album have all worked "with my sound archive," as Johannes Schwarz emphasizes. "Their works have been created within the past twelve years, in permanent exchange with me." This exchange is marked by curiosity and a pioneering spirit with the goal of overcoming, or rather redefining, the technical and sonic limits of the bassoon. In this context, Schwarz sets great store by the compositions' viability "they should be playable by other bassoonists too, and the electronic components must work in real life." Join Johannes Schwarz on his exploration of unheard possibilities!
Johannes Schwarz has been Ensemble Modern's principal bassoonist since 2003, working with the most innovate composers and artists of the day. As a chamber musician, Johannes Schwarz has appeared on more than 30 CD productions covering an extraordinarily broad range of repertoire. Schwarz is a sought-after guest in renowned German orchestras, chamber music formations and ensembles specialized in free improvisation. His digital bassoon sound archive was supported by the Aventis foundation's programme experimente#digital in 2017. Since 2021 he creates experimental videos, musically performed with tuba, bassoon and electronical components.
