Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra

Ellen Zwilich has enjoyed a lifelong love of chamber music for mid-size ensembles and atypical scorings. Her fascination for Schubert's "Trout" Quintet has inspired several works that include contrabass along with other strings and piano. In 2020, inspired by this textural leaning, as well as by the consequences of a lengthy quarantine period, Zwilich created chamber ensemble scorings of some of her concerti for orchestra - each with its own unique chamber ensemble most suited for the work and soloist in question. For her Concerto for Bassoon, a "Trout-like" ensemble provides the nucleus of this new chamber version for for Solo Bassoon, Percussion (1 player), Piano, 2 Violins, Viola, Violoncello, and Contrabass.