DORIAN COOKE: BASSOON Dorian Cooke, born in The Hague the Netherlands, studied bassoon at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Johan Steinmann. In 1996 she won the First prize of the National Young Talent Competition in the Netherlands. She attended master classes with Brian Pollard in Amsterdam and with Professor Klaus Thunemann at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She continued her education in Berlin at the Hochschule fur Musik 'Hanns Eisler' with Professor Klaus Thunemann and Frank Forst. From 1997 to 1998 Dorian was principal bassoonist of the 'Netherlands Symphony Orchestra' in Enschede. The following two years she was principal bassoonist of the 'Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra', where she also performed as a soloist. Currently Dorian Cooke is principal bassoonist of the 'Residentie Orchestra' of The Hague. With this Orchestra she performed in 2001 as a soloist together with Susan Bickley (mezzo soprano) the composition 'Ad ora incerta', written by Simon Bainbridge. In 2003 this composition was performed again with the same soloists and the BBC Wells Orchestra. Dorian Cooke is also first bassoonist of the 'Netherlands Wind Ensemble', the most outstanding wind ensemble in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Wind Ensemble is formed by soloists from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dutch radio orchestras, the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague and the Holland Symfonia. With this ensemble Dorian made several tours. (USA, Belgium, Latonia, Lebanon, Spain, Mexico, Poland, Japan.) Dorian has given master classes in Spain (Barcelona), in the USA (San Luis Obispo) and in the Netherlands at the 'Orlando Festival'. At the Wasbe Conference 1999 (San Luis Obispo, California) she performed the world premiere of 'Concerto for Bassoon' especially dedicated to her by the Hungarian composer Frigyes Hidas. Composers Stephen Melillo (USA), Theodor Burkali (Hungary), Harrie Janssen (The Netherlands), Frigyes Hidas (Hungary), Vicente Moncho (Argentina) and Kamillo Lendvay (Hungary) wrote new compositions for her. CAPRICHO / Kees Olthuis In 1997 The Society of Friends of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra commissioned Kees Olthuis to write a composition for bassoon and string quintet for his Spanish collegue Gustavo Nuñez, the principal bassoonist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Olthuis named it ‘Capricho’ the Spanish variant of the original ‘Capriccio’, which was derived from vocal music of the 16th century. This capricious and virtuosic composition, not bound by any form, makes very high demands upon the bassoon soloist. SONATA FOR BASSOON SOLO / Harrie Janssen From a structural and technical point of view, the sonata in three movements for bassoon leans heavily on the baroque solo sonata. This is expressed in a basic structure of two components for each movement. In analogy with the baroque sonata, we also notice a moment of reprisal, suggesting in a way a tripartite structure. A constant rhythmique completes this referral. The tone organization is contemporary and tonal centered. The first movement is both lyrical and virtuosic, and it sets a high standard for the technique of the instrumentalist. The second movement (Fantasia) is focused on expression. In the last movement staccato playing and a latent polyphony are the main ingredients. The Sonata for Bassoon was composed in March and April 2005 and has been dedicated to Dorian Cooke. (Harrie Janssen) UN RETRATO DE DORIAN Y BEN / Vicente Moncho A Picture of Dorian & Ben was commissioned by Ben Cruiming, a friend and colleague in musical matters. It was a present to his wife Dorian Cooke, an outstanding virtuosic European bassoonist. My intention consisted in portraying musically both Ben and Dorian in whom I could perceive a great amount of care, understanding and love as a couple, so contrasting with the reality of this materialistic and globalized world that we have to inhabit. No doubt Dorian is the Bassoon, as Ben is found in the Viola. Music depicts expressive and suggestive moods related to the instrumental surroundings and atmosphere of the bassoon and viola protagonism. The violin solo at the end represents UNITY, as the integrated spirit of man and woman (Vicente Moncho) DE MI PAIS Milonga di camara / Victor H. Scavuzzo The tango and the milonga, while different genres within Argentine music, are closely related. But how so? And, if they are different genres, what is the tango milonga? A misleading use of these terms has only contributed to generate more confusion. The milonga, which precedes the tango in history, was a solo song cultivated during the 19th Century by the gaucho (a sort of Argentine cowboy) in the vast rural area known as the Pampa. It derives from the payada de contrapunto, in which two singers (payadores), accompanying themselves on the guitar, improvised on different topics in a competition-like practice. The verses were octosyllabic quartets structured in a musical period of eight measures in 2/4. The term milonga is an African-Brazilian term that means words, that is, the words of the payadores. A lot of tango milongas were performed in fast tempos, heavily marking the accents, giving them a solid rhythmic character. It is probable that this fact contributed to a popular confusion that describes the tango milonga as a "tango in a fast tempo". This representation fails to explain the existence of the slow tango milonga, like Sebastián Piana´s Milonga Triste (1936), or Astor Piazzolla´s Milonga del Angel, among many others. The confusion grew when some tango historians invented the term orquesta milonguera for orchestras that had a great sense of rhythm. (Victor H. Scavuzzo) AFTER THE RAIN / Theodor Burkali The Salzburger weather condition inspired me to compose this musical snapshot in May 2003. It is a song about the sun, that on a Sunday, following an extremely long period of rainy, dark gray days, suddenly appears from behind the clouds, illuminating the town and the mountains. Crowds of people go outside to enjoy the sunshine and celebrate their town: children with ice cream, elderly people on park benches, families on their Sunday walk and tourists in front of Mozart’s birthplace. Of course on Monday it rains again, but that is already another composition. (Theodor Burkali) VA L E R I U S E N S E M B L E The Valerius Ensemble was founded in 1988. With its annual series of chamber music concerts on Sunday afternoons the ensemble plays a significant role in the programming at the Music Centre in Enschede, The Netherlands. Ever since these concerts began both public and press have reacted with great enthousiasm often resulting in the halls being filled to capacity. The Valerius Ensemble has received invitations to perform throughout The Netherlands and is also living up to its growing reputation via radio, television and c.d. recordings. Internationally the ensemble has given concerts in Germany and Spain and has toured Brazil extensively. Besides performing chamber music the Valerius Ensemble is also regularly involved in Music Theatre productions. Maestro Gabriele Bellini conducted them for a series of performances of Stravinsky’s "Soldiers Tale". Together with the Dutch cabaret artist Herman Finkers the ensemble brought an innovative version of Saint-Saëns’ "Carnaval of the Animals", which has been shown several times on Dutch television. PAULINE OOSTENRIJK: OBOE Pauline Oostenrijk is the leading representative of the Dutch oboe style. She is principal oboïst in the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague and teaches at the Conservatories of Amsterdam and The Hague. As a soloist and chamber musician she recorded a large number of cd's. Composer Louis Andriessen dedicated his "To Pauline O" for oboe solo to her. She won the Gillet Competition in 1991, the Netherlands Soloïst Prize, the Friends Award of the Concertgebouw, the National "Young Musician of the Year" competition, the Tromp Oboe Competition and the International Chamber Music Competition in Rome, Italy. FRANK VAN DER LAAR: PIANO Frank van de Laar was born in Laren in 1965. He was ten years old when he started studying piano which he completed at the Sweelinck Conservatory under Jan Wijn. Then he continued studying in Hannover, with Prof. Karl Heinz Kammerling and in Amsterdam with Naum Grubert. In 1987 he made his début at the big hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Since then he has performed nationally and abroad with increasing frequency. Frank has given concerts in almost all European countries, as well as in Russia and India. He has produced 12 CD’s. Frank van de Laar is a principal piano teacher at the conservatories of Arnhem and Zwolle. 1 CAPRICHO Bassoon & String Quintet Kees Olthuis 18:08 Dorian Cooke Bassoon Valerius Ensemble SONATA FOR BASSOON Harrie Janssen ≈ 2 First Movement 05:12 3 Second Movement (Fantasia) 04:52 4 Third Movement 03:04 Dorian Cooke Bassoon 5 UN RETRATO DE DORIAN Y BEN Bassoon solo Strings & percussion Vicente Moncho 11:23 Dorian Cooke Bassoon Valerius Ensemble 6 DE MI PAIS Milonga di camara Bassoon & String-Quintet Victor H. Scavuzzo 05:05 Dorian Cooke Bassoon Valerius Ensemble 7 AFTER THE RAIN Oboe, Bassoon & Piano Theodor Burkali 05:19 Dorian Cooke Bassoon, Pauline Oostenrijk Oboe, Frank van de Laar Piano