“My favourite composers are Shostakovich and Beethoven, and my favourite piece is Sibelius’s Swan Of Tuonela – if that cor anglais solo had been for bassoon everything would have been ideal! The most difficult composer to play would be Tchaikovsky, because as well as the solos you’ve got some technically difficult bits and some very quiet passages, so it’s every aspect of the bassoon in one symphony. That works especially in the last movement of the Pathétique, which nobody likes, but you’ve got to get on with it I suppose!”
-bassoonist Karen Geoghegan (I read it here
Well, Swan is a pretty cool piece, but it simply has to be on English horn (cor anglais). Of that I’m sure you all agree. But I was just so surprised to hear someone name that work as their fave.
You can hear her talk about her experience on Classical Star, a British TV show, on which she came in second:
Here is the final episode of Classical Star (she played Hummel for the first final work. I’d have preferred the concerto. Oh well.):
And hear the 20 year old play here:
