F. Kulhau FANTASIA n.3 op.38

When his mother saw him come home crying, leaving his playmates behind, she immediately realised that fate had played a cruel joke on her little Friedrich. With his hand over his right eye, he blocked out the pain that left him blind forever. But while fate takes away, it also gives. Thus, in little Friedrich Kuhlau, born seven years earlier in 1786, a passion for music grew stronger. He eagerly awaited his father's return from the military band to introduce him to the magical world of music. His talent soon became apparent and in Hamburg, where they had moved, his father hired private piano and theory teachers for him. At the age of twenty, Kuhlau began composing works for piano and songs. Meanwhile, Napoleon's forces were advancing across Europe and, to avoid conscription into the French army, he took refuge in Copenhagen, where he quickly obtained Danish citizenship. Although not Danish by birth, Kuhlau embraced his adopted country and became a central figure in its cultural scene. In 1825, he met Beethoven in Vienna and was struck by him. They roamed around Vienna celebrating their friendship made of music and wine. He was called the “Beethoven of the flute” because of his numerous and significant compositions dedicated to this instrument. In 1831, a year before his death, fate played another cruel joke on him. He set fire to his house, destroying many of his manuscripts. He passed away at the age of forty-five, winking at fate, which, as an inseparable part of life, loves music among other things. The Fantasies Op. 38 for solo flute, published in 1822 by C.F. Peters, use arias borrowed from Mozart's Don Giovanni and, in the case of the third fantasia, from the aria “Deh, vieni alla finestra”. I propose the last of the “Three Fantasies Op. 38” published in 1980 by Nova in the transposition for bassoon or cello edited by R.P. Block.

Michele Colombo LA MELA D'ORO ( The Golden Apple) fiaba musicale per fag...

Credo che il confine che difficilmente abbiamo il coraggio di superare è quello del denaro. L'avidità ci veste con la corazza dell'egoismo e con la spada dell'egocentrismo difendiamo il confine oltre il quale non si discute: quello del denaro appunto e della proprietà. Questa favola racconta della bellezza dell'innocenza che, libera, travalica ogni confine.

G.Verdi ATTILA duetto "tardi per gli anni e tremulo" riduzione per fagot...

I dedicate this bassoon arrangement of the duet ‘Tardo per gli anni e tremulo’ from G. Verdi's opera Attila to the great Maestro Vincenzo Menghini, who passed away a few days ago. A bassoonist who made history in Italian bassoon playing and whom we will never forget.

W.A.Mozart IL FLAUTO MAGICO Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen di Žilvinas ...

Queste Variazioni sul duetto “Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen” (Per gli uomini capaci di sentire amore) dal “Il Flauto Magico di Mozart” fanno parte delle “VARIATIONS on famous opera Themes” for solo bassoon di Žilvinas Smalys . Nel duetto di Pamina e Papageno si parla degli uomini che, sentendo il richiamo dell’amore, non mancano di cuore gentile. Mi sembra un buon spunto di riflessione, soprattutto in questi tempi.

GAYATRI OHMGURU

Michele Colombo PIECE OF CAKE AND CUP OF TEA for two bassoons

A slice of cake with a cup of tea.
A sweet moment where worries are left to evaporate with the steam of tea.
I wrote "Piece of Cake and Cup of Tea" for two bassoons, in September 2025.
The main element of this short composition is a sequence of eight notes introduced in the first two bars. This ingredient is kneaded, developed, and blended into a piece of “cake.”
As the tea is sipped, the notes of the dessert unfold in a calm tempo.
I invite you to taste these 100 grams of cake, accompanied by a steaming cup of tea.

Werner Heider SEPTEMPBER-WEGE (Ein musikalisches Tagebich) 1.- 7. f...

I welcome autumn with a piece by Werner Heider, a German composer born in 1930.

A musical diary. A few lines to express moods, points of view, experiences.

The bassoon is the instrument Heider uses to write the first seven days of this particular diary of September, followed by the harp, the tuba and finally the accordion. The bassoon part, written in 1989, was performed for the first time at the “Festival des Hörens” on 22 September 1990 by Karsten Nagel, bassoon teacher at the Leopold Mozart Centre at the University of Augsburg.

The seven movements have the following titles:

 1. Schritte          Steps

2. Stimmungen  Moods

3. Standpunkte  Points of view

4. Übermut       Cheekiness

5. Situationen    Situations

6. Erfahrungen Experience

7. Einsichten    Insights