Classical Music | Music for Bassoon

Othmar Schoeck

Sonate, Op. 41  Play

Peter Kolkay Bassoon
Alexandra Nguyen Piano

Recorded on 09/07/2004, uploaded on 01/19/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Sonate, Op. 41     Othmar Schoeck

Gemesse; Bewegt

Othmar Schoeck's music avoids simple categorization. Despite his flirtation with modernism, he eventually rejected it in favor of the romanticism of the 19th century.  Born in Zurich, Schoeck began study with Max Reger at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1907, but returned to Zurich the following year.  

The Sonate was originally conceived for bass clarinet and piano, although for its first performance Schoeck was concerned that the complex piano part would over-balance the solo line and allowed a bassoon to be substituted.  Each of the work's three movements uniquely deals with the modernist trends present during Schoeck's time.  The first movement is perhaps the most Romantic in style in its use of long melody and sonata form.  The second movement is a rigorous fugue in which Schoeck demonstrates the contrapuntal mastery he learned from Reger in Leipzig.  The third movement is an experiment in ragtime, perhaps inspired by Stravinsky or Antheil; the whole work evaporates with an ironic wink.  Peter Kolkay