This is the second volume of Bassoon concertos to be released by Naïve as part of the prestigious “Vivaldi Edition”. As with the first, the recording features the outstanding combination of the soloist Sergio Azzolini, an acknowledged expert in baroque performance, and the critically acclaimed period instrument group L’Aura Soave.
Internationally renowned bassoonist Sergio Azzolini was born in 1967 in Bolzano, Italy. As a baroque bassoon player he is a member of the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, and appears regularly as soloist with L’Aura Soave Cremona, Sonatori della Gioiosa Marca and La Stravaganza Köln. He is also a member of the ensemble Parnassi Musici.
The group L’Aura Soave was formed in 1995 by lutenist and musicologist Diego Cantalupi with the aim of exploring Italian vocal and instrumental traditions and little-known Italian composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Among the noted soloists with whom it appears are Emma Kirkby, Barbara Hendricks, Sophie Daneman, and Nuria Rial.
In the last few years L’Aura Soave has begun a close collaboration with the bassoonist Sergio Azzolini, whose role as both soloist and director has greatly influenced the orchestra. Its first recording of bassoon concertos by Vivaldi (OP30496) for the Naïve Vivaldi Edition was awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or in France as best instrumental release of 2010.