Close Encounters. Works for Bassoon and String Quartet Rui Lopes & Gringolts Quartet

• Édouard Du Puy (1770 - 1822): Quintet in A Minor for Bassoon and String Quartet:
• 1Puy: Quintet in A Minor for Bassoon and String Quartet: I. Allegro moderato07:33
• 2Puy: Quintet in A Minor for Bassoon and String Quartet: II. Andante sostenuto05:15
• 3Puy: Quintet in A Minor for Bassoon and String Quartet: III. Rondo-Allegro07:17
• Wynton Marsalis (b. 1961): Meelaan for Bassoon and String Quartet:
• 4Marsalis: Meelaan for Bassoon and String Quartet: I. Blues04:22
• 5Marsalis: Meelaan for Bassoon and String Quartet: II. Tango04:01
• 6Marsalis: Meelaan for Bassoon and String Quartet: III. Bebop03:51
• Helena Winkelman (b. 1974): Gott-Fa - Two Scenes for Bassoon and String Quartet:
• 7Winkelman: Gott-Fa - Two Scenes for Bassoon and String Quartet: Gott - In nomine12:05
• 8Winkelman: Gott-Fa - Two Scenes for Bassoon and String Quartet: Fa - Respect the Machine05:59
• Marcelo Nisinman (b. 1970): Rui's Tango for Bassoon and String Quintet:
• 9Nisinman: Rui's Tango for Bassoon and String Quintet: I. Allegro02:05
• 10Nisinman: Rui's Tango for Bassoon and String Quintet: II. Andante, Vielas de Alfama02:36
• 11Nisinman: Rui's Tango for Bassoon and String Quintet: III. Allegro04:52
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Op. 168 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quartet by Wolfgang Renz):
• 12Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Op. 168 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quartet by Wolfgang Renz): I. Allegretto moderato02:48
• 13Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Op. 168 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quartet by Wolfgang Renz): II. Allegro scherzando03:33
• 14Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Op. 168 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quartet by Wolfgang Renz): III. Adagio-Allegro moderato06:20
• Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992): Tango Etude No 3 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quintet by Roger Helou):
• 15Piazzolla: Tango Etude No 3 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quintet by Roger Helou)03:36
• Total Runtime01:16:13

Info for Close Encounters. Works for Bassoon and String Quartet

Six works, six composers, four premieres: The inspiration for this recording was above all the fascinating way in which the sound of the bassoon can merge with that of the string quartet. In selecting the repertoire, Rui Lopes was guided entirely by his feelings - he simply chose works that he loves to play and that are particularly close to his heart.

The repertoire for bassoon is not exactly overflowing. There are even fewer pieces written specifically for bassoon and string quartet. Since it is a very appealing instrumentation that also favours numerous performance possibilities for concerts (a quartet is easier to book than a symphony orchestra), Rui Lopes has asked composer friends to write pieces for him. Numerous musicians have responded to this request and two works have found their way onto the album “Close Encounters”: the whimsical “Gott-Fa, Two scenes for Bassoon and String Quartet” by Helena Winkelman and the jazzy “Rui’s Tango for Bassoon and String Quintet” by bandoneonist Marcelo Nisinman. In addition, there are pieces that were specially arranged for this unusual instrumentation at Rui’s request and the original Quintet for Bassoon and String Quartet in A minor by Edouard du Puy.

Rui Lopes, bassoon
Rusland Lutsyk, double bass
Gringolts Quartet

Rui Lopes
Although Rui Lopes only started playing the bassoon at the age of 18, his musical temperament and virtuosity quickly received recognition and earned him numerous awards, including first prize at the prestigious Estoril International Music Competition. He is one of the most promising bassoonists of his generation and shares his great passion for music with concert audiences worldwide.

Rui Lopes has appeared as a soloist with the Zurich Symphony Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Chamber Orchestra, the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra, the Finnish National Opera, the Orquestra do Algarve, the Chamber Artists Orchestra, the Orquestra Filarmónica das Beiras, the Collegium Musicum Basel, the Camerata Antiqua de Curitiba, the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras. He regularly appears on stage with outstanding musicians, including Konstantin Lifschitz, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Alina Pogostkina, Razvan Popovici, Maximilian Hornung, Nabil Shehata, Marcelo Nisinman, Dimitri Ashkenazy, Sebastian Manz, Ramon Ortega, Nicholas Daniel and Loïc Schneider. Lopes played at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Bohuslav Martinu Festtage, the SoNoRo Festival, the Crusell Festival,

As solo bassoonist he has performed with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Orchester de Paris, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Ensemble Modern Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Festival Strings Lucerne and the Camerata Bern.

His interest in the Baroque and his enthusiasm for contemporary music led Rui Lopes from studying early music on historical instruments with Marc Vallon in Paris to the present, which he devoted himself to with Pascal Gallois and Pierre Boulez at the Lucerne Festival Academy; in this way he developed an unusually broad repertoire. He works with Capriccio Basel (early music) as well as with contemporary ensembles such as Music Factory and the Ensemble Laboratorium, of which he is a founding member. His love of Argentine tango and Portuguese fado often inspires his own distinctive arrangements.

Rui Lopes was born in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal and lives in Basel with his Swiss wife and two sons. He studied with Hugues Kesteman at the Escola Artave and at the Porto Music Academy, with Sergio Azzolini at the Musik-Akademie Basel (soloist diploma with distinction) and with Marco Postinghel at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich. He has taught bassoon and chamber music at the University of Aveiro (2006-2010) and the Conservatory Metropolitana (2010-2012) and teaches master classes. Lopes plays on a Peter de Koningh baroque bassoon 'after JH Eichentopf' and a modern bassoon Heckel 13227.

Booklet for Close Encounters. Works for Bassoon and String Quartet