Leslie Bassett was an American composer (1923-2016) of orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, piano and organ works, performed in the Americas, Asia and Europe. He is considered one of the most important American composers in recent history. Born in Hanford, California, Bassett studied piano, trombone, cello and other instruments, then served as a trombonist, composer and arranger in the band of the 13th Armoured Division in the United States and Europe during World War II. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1966 for his “Variations for Orchestra”, premiered in Rome in 1963 by the RAI Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ferruccio Scaglia.
'Metamorphoses' for solo bassoon was commissioned by friends, colleagues and students of L. Hugh Cooper, professor of bassoon at the University of Michigan, on the occasion of his retirement.
Each of the eight metamorphoses develops from a short fragment taken from orchestral literature for bassoon. (Stravinsky: Rite of Spring, Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf, Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, 1 and 8 Scriabin: Poem of Ecstasy, Chabrier: Espana)
Themes, pitches and rhythms are substantially modified from the original, yet the sources remain clearly recognisable, giving rise to this new music; tributes rather than quotations.
The first performance was given by Gwendolyn Rose on 12 February 1991.
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