In Friday’s (1/10) Classical Voice North America, Gail Wein writes about four January performances of Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto featuring Judith LeClair, principal bassoonist at the New York Philharmonic, led by Andrey Boreyko. “This marks the fifth time LeClair has performed the concerto with the NY Philharmonic…. This time, LeClair is performing a brand-new cadenza, which she wrote with some help from her husband, the pianist Jonathan Feldman, and the pianist Jeffrey Kahane, with whom she plays chamber music.… As she celebrates her 32nd season, LeClair reflects on how playing with the venerable orchestra has changed over the decades.… ‘This has always been an excellent orchestra to play in,’ she says, ‘but I have to say that it has become even more fun to play here than it used to be.… It just keeps on getting richer and better.’ LeClair … is only the fourth person to hold the principal bassoon position over the past century. Before LeClair, there was Manuel Zegler (1958-1981), William Polisi (1943-1958) and Benjamin Kohon (1907-1943).” Topics LeClair discusses in the article include the Philharmonic’s conductors over the years, the small solo repertoire for bassoon, and the challenge of making double reeds.” Classical Voice North America is the journal of the Music Critics Association of America.
Posted January 17, 2014
