LEWIS, Paul (1943- )
CONCERTO BURLESCO for Bassoon & Small Orchestra
Concert Originals Series GMCO066
Level of Difficulty
Attributing a particular level of difficulty to an orchestral piece is awkward!
A piece may be easy for the strings but difficult for the brass; it may feature a tricky instrumental solo but the other parts may be relatively straight forward. A number of the arrangements listed are designed to simplify works to some extent but composers of many original works featured did not consider difficulty when writing them.
What our levels mean:
A = for players up to UK Grade 3
B = Grade 3 to 5
C = Grade 4 to 6
D = Grade 5 to 7
E = Grade 6 to 8
F = Grade 7 and over
Our gradings should be taken only as a rough guide.
To be sure if a piece is suitable for you, take a look at the score.
Orchestration
Solo Bassoon
Flute (doubling piccolo), Oboe, Clarinet in Bb, Horn in F, Timpani (doubling susp.cymbal), Percussion (one player: Susp.cymbal, Snare drum, Tambourine, Tam-tam, 3 Wood blocks, Triangle, Whip, Vibraslap, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone), Celeste, Harp
Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, cello, Bass)
This concerto was written for, and is dedicated to, Graham Salvage, the principal bassoonist of the Halle Orchestra. The first performance was given by Graham on March 4th 2005 in a concert in Turkey with the Izmir State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marek Pijarowski.
The concerto is in three movements: 1. Burlesque; 2. Serenade; 3. Fandango.
The concerto takes its name from the first movement, which the composer feels is more a burlesque of first movement sonata form than the real thing. The middle movement gives the soloist an opportunity to serenade the audience in the most romantic manner, using the poetic and soulful upper register of the bassoon, and the finale is a fandango, an energetic dance from the Basque region of France and Spain. The concerto finishes with a rapid chromatic scale from the bottom to the top of the bassoon, ending on a trill on a high D. A bassoon and piano reduction of this concerto is available (Catalogue no.GM031)
Duration: c.20 minutes
A PACK comprises one full score, string parts 4/4/3/4/2 and any wind, brass and percussion parts.
Audio Sample
Click the play button below to hear a performance which has been computer-generated from the score.