Saint-Saëns bassoon sonata

I was introduced to Saint-Saëns’ charming sonata for bassoon and piano years ago while studying in Melbourne and living with a very fine bassoonist, and it melted my heart from the very beginning. Sometime after moving to Berlin, I was listening to it again, and the seed of desire grew in me to play it myself. As the new corona way of life showed signs of being here to stay, I decided to finally try to see if it would work on the viola.

I have just made a video recording of the piece with the wonderful pianist Petya Hristova, which was recorded by a fantastic sound engineer (and surprise bassoonist), Justus Beyer. I think I have accepted that the piece’s heart may always belong to the bassoon 🙂 but it was a joyous process, and I am shyly but lovingly sharing the audio version here. It will be nice to return to this musical gem in the future and remember the things happening in my life during this strange moment in history, which I am privileged to say has (so far) offered me much inspiration in my artistic life, along with the gift of time and space.