Bassoon Concerto in B♭ — 1st movement

W. A. MozartK. 191

Key

Bb

Time

C

Tempo

♩=120

AO focus

AO1

Form

Allegro — sonata form. Mozart's only bassoon concerto and the universal audition piece for the instrument. Soloist enters after the orchestral ritornello with a leaping figure that exploits the bassoon's full two-and-a-half-octave range.

Teaching points

• Bassoon technique — wide-leap figure of the soloist's first entry stretches across the instrument's range. Develops embouchure flexibility
• Sonata form in a Classical concerto — the soloist's exposition follows the orchestra's, with new material added
• AO1: every conservatoire bassoon audition includes this movement. THE bassoon piece