Chandos signed Karen Geoghegan as an exclusive artist in 2007 following her wonderful performances on the BBC TV ‘Classical Star’ programme. This is her fourth recording with the label, all of which have received much acclaim, and the expressive maturity and sensitivity of her playing have quickly cemented her status as a rising star:
‘Name five internationally famous bassoon soloists. Archie Camden, Gwydion Brooke and, er, that’s it. Except I think we shall soon be adding the name of Karen Geoghegan to the roll call…’ - Gramophone

Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 2010, Karen Geoghegan has been playing first bassoon with the esteemed BBC Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra with which she is currently on trial. She made her BBC Proms debut in 2009, performing Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic under Gianandrea Noseda. The same strong partnership is performing again on this new release, with Mozart’s Concerto featuring prominently. Its second movement in particular is stunning as it unfolds in an almost operatic manner as a soulful aria-like line for the bassoon against the gently rhythmic accompaniment of the orchestra, the strings muted throughout.

Whereas Mozart’s work is widely recognised as the veritable cornerstone of the bassoon repertoire, the compositions by Crusell and Kreutzer are little-heard but distinguished vehicles for the instrument. Rossini’s Bassoon Concerto was completely unknown until relatively recently. It was only in the early 1990s that it came to light among a nineteenth-century collection of manuscripts that had been archived at the library in Ostiglia, near Mantua. Vigorous and exhilarating, but with a dreamy and pensive second movement, this Concerto was a real find. In the third movement, Rossini puts the bassoon through some hair-raising paces across the whole range of its available register, before finally providing a satisfyingly high-spirited ending to an intriguing work.