Zimmerman & Vanhal: Bassoon Concertos
Ondrej Sindelar, Sergio Azzolini, Risonanza Praga
Plaudits to Risonanza Praga, advocates for 18th and 19th-century instrumental music, in eschewing the use of a conductor and helping us to appreciate something of the richness and diversity...
Zimmerman & Vanhal: Bassoon Concertos
Ondrej Sindelar, Sergio Azzolini, Risonanza Praga
Purchase product
Plaudits to Risonanza Praga, advocates for 18th and 19th-century instrumental music, in eschewing the use of a conductor and helping us to appreciate something of the richness and diversity...
About
The bassoon as a solo instrument does not appear all that often in the concerto literature, but a concerto for two bassoons is truly rare, being something that could arise only in the environment of an ensemble that possessed two soloists on that instrument. One such double concerto has been played for many years under the name of the important Czech composer Jan Křtitel Vaňhal. But what if it had really been composed by someone else? The question has been raised by Ondřej Šindelář, a player of the classical bassoon, who has found the same concerto bearing the name of Anton Zimmermann in one of Prague’s archives. The two works differ from each other only in the slow movement. Theft? Plagiarism? A copyist’s error? Collegial assistance? We are left with the unsolved mysteries of authorship and of whether the two masters may have met. Vaňhal’s travels took him from Hradec Králové to Vienna, Italy, Hungary, and Croatia. Having established himself professionally in Hradec Králové, Zimmermann went on to a successful career in Preßburg (Bratislava) in the service of Archbishop Józef Batthyány. What is important, however, is that Ondřej Šindelář has now joined his former teacher, the bassoon wizard Sergio Azzolini, to record Zimmermann’s version of the double concerto in its world premiere, supplemented by a solo concerto by Zimmermann (another premiere) and one of Vaňhal’s three preserved concertos. Noteworthy music that is previously undiscovered in the hands of wonderful soloists and orchestra – that’s a real musical feast.
Contents and tracklist
- Ondřej Šindelář (soloist)
- Risonanza Praga
- Ondřej Šindelář (soloist)
- Risonanza Praga
- Ondřej Šindelář (soloist), Sergio Azzolini (soloist)
- Risonanza Praga
Awards and reviews
July 2026
Plaudits to Risonanza Praga, advocates for 18th and 19th-century instrumental music, in eschewing the use of a conductor and helping us to appreciate something of the richness and diversity of late 18th-century music.
