Sergio Azzolini
A dazzling personality, he is a real phenomenon on the bassoon. A fantastic, virtuoso musician, Sergio Azzolini was born in Bolzano, close to the Austrian border, in 1967. It was there that he started to learn the bassoon, which he would later master in Hanover with Klaus Thunemann. At the same time, he became the solo bassoonist for the European Community Youth Orchestra. Passionate about his instrument and its different historical incarnations, he would collect bassoons from all different eras, moving from one to the other with stunning facility, depending on what music he is performing.
Much sought-after by baroque ensembles, he regularly plays with Christophe Coin's Baroque Ensemble of Limoges, but also with the Aura Soave from Cremona, the Sonatori della Gioiosa Marca, and Cologne's La Stravaganza. Sergio Azzolini is also a conductor and has directed a number of lyrical productions such as La Fida ninfa by Vivaldi, Galuppi's Nozze di Dorina, Montezuma by Graun and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. With his unkempt hair, his shapeless suits and his prodigious virtuosity, the Italian musician gives to the bassoon, normally such a low-profile instrument, a front-rank role, moving, exuberant and poetic.
Antonio Vivaldi certainly got it right when he wrote nearly 50 concertos for this instrument, bringing out all of its deep melancholy. What's more, half of this body of work is in a minor key, itself a rare thing in the music of the generally-optimistic Red Priest. Sergio Azzolini and the Cremonan ensemble L’Aura Soave, have recorded all of these works for NAÏVE. The first volumes which have been released so far paint a Vivaldi with a great expressive depth.
Sergio Azzolini has other surprises up his sleeve as well: two albums dedicated to the Concertos of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of the 18th Century's most enchanting, and most troubled composers. Another marvel is Mozart's Concerto for Bassoon in B-flat Major. Mocking and exquisite in its first movement, the bassoon becomes harrowing in the andante which follows, before inviting the listener to a dance in the final rondo, in the form of a minuet. It is said that Mozart wrote several concertos which are lost today. Surely it is time to set things right in the libraries... The performance that Sergio Azzolini gives on an authentic instrument from Mozart's lifetime (1790) creates a velvety sound very close to the human voice.
Sergio Azzolini regularly plays with clarinettist Sabine Meyer's Bläserensemble, the Trio Maurice Bourgue and several other groups who use period instruments. He teaches bassoon and chamber music at the Basel Academy of Music.
François Hudry/QOBUZ/November 2017
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Mozart & Michael Haydn: Bassoon Concerto & Serenade
Classical - Released by Sony Music Classical Local on 25 Aug 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Il fagotto virtuoso : Sonate italiane del s. XVIII
Sergio Azzolini, Davide Pozzi, Ai Ikeda, L'aura Soave Cremona
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kreutzer: Septet in E-Flat Major, Op. 62 & Clarinet Trio, Op. 43
Himmelpfortgrund, Benjamin Reissenberger, Sergio Azzolini, Tobias Koch
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Devienne: Sonatas for Oboe and for Bassoon
Ingo Goritzki, Sergio Azzolini, Villa Musica Ensemble
Classical - Released by Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm (MDG) on 1 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
II. Larghetto
Sergio Azzolini, Camerata Rousseau, Leonardo Muzii
Classical - Released by Sony Classical - Sony Music on 5 Feb 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Trio in D Major, Hob. XV:16, Arr. for Oboe, Bassoon & Piano/I. Allegro
Classical - Released by Sony Classical - Sony Music on 22 Jun 2018
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Sergio Azzolini and Vito Paternoster play Mozart and Haydn
Vito Paternoster, Sergio Azzolini
Classical - Released by Magnatune on 4 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
II. Adagio
Sergio Azzolini, Camerata Rousseau, Leonardo Muzii
Classical - Released by Sony Classical - Sony Music on 22 Jan 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Trio Sonata in A Minor, Fk 49, BR-WFB 15: I. Allegro (Arr. for Oboe, Bassoon & Piano)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical - Sony Music on 6 Jul 2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart Wind Concertos
Sergio Azzolini, Alessandro Baccini, Michele Carulli
Classical - Released by imp on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo