77. Why Do They Do It?

Vivaldi: Concerto for bassoon, strings, and continuo in A minor Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 While the bassoon was hardly a common solo instrument at the turn of the 18th century, Vivaldi clearly took it seriously. He wrote over 39 concertos for the instrument, including the Bassoon Concerto in A minor that we’ll hear today. Why was Vivaldi so drawn to the bassoon? Theories abound: perhaps he was inspired by a well-known Venetian master of the dulcian (an early version of the bassoon) or by an accomplished bassoonist at the girls’ school where he taught. Robert Schumann wrote his Piano Quartet in E-flat Major in 1842, a year known as his “Chamber Music Year” for the abundance of chamber works he composed during that time. Why so much chamber music all at once? Part of the answer lies in the genre itself, representing an ideal middle ground between private and public entertainment. This piano quartet has moments of quiet intimacy; yet the overall texture is thick with activity and grand gestures, melding an older chamber music model with a new impulse towards soloistic virtuosity.