Kozeluch: Concertos & Symphony

Sergio Azzolini Giovanni De Angeli Camerata Rousseau Leonardo Muzii

One of the most respected Czech composers of his time, Jan Anton Kozeluch composed some 45 masses and Italian operas, among other works, but was overshadowed by his cousin Leopold Antonín Kozeluch (1747-1818), with whom he is still often confused today. Kozeluch also wrote two bassoon concertos. The Bassoon Concerto in C major was one of the most frequently performed masterpieces for the bassoon in the 18th century, and it is with this work that the Italian bassoonist Sergio Azzolini now opens the Kozeluch album with the Camerata Rousseau under the direction of Leonardo Muzii. Azzolini is also the soloist in the premiere recording of the Second Bassoon Concerto in B flat, an equally brilliant work, but whose authorship is not entirely clear - the work could well have been written by his cousin Leopold Kozeluch. Sergio Azzolini plays the two bassoon concertos on an original instrument from about 1794 by Kaspar Tauber, which allows the soloist a soft vocalism and agility that are difficult to achieve on the modern bassoon. The two bassoon concertos are juxtaposed with the oboe concerto by Jan Anton Kozeluch - the soloist is the Italian oboist Giovanni de Angeli, playing on a copy of a Grenser oboe from Dresden. The stormy G minor Symphony by Leopold Kozeluch concludes this interesting album.

Price: $22.98