With her new album, Sophie Dervaux brings two composers to the foreground who have received little attention so far – despite their great surnames Bach and Haydn. It isn‘t works by “our old favourites” Johann Sebastian and Joseph that the bassoonist has chosen for her third recording on Berlin Classics, but by Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), youngest son of Johann Sebastian, and Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806), younger brother of Joseph Haydn. “Their works may not have been performed as often as, for example, Mozart’s bassoon concerto, but they are of incredibly good quality,” says Sophie Dervaux and regrets: “There is so much great bassoon literature that we never hear, simply because it has been performed so rarely and thus forgotten over time.” To counteract this neglect, the Viennese bassoonist devotes herself to J.C. Bach – J.M. Haydn, the B flat major concerto and the E flat major concerto for bassoon and orchestra by Johann Christian Bach, as well as the Symphony No. 14 in B flat major by Johann Michael Haydn.
The latter was, with and after W.A. Mozart, the leading musical personality in Salzburg at the prince-archbishop’s court and worked there for 43 years. His more than 800 compositions cover almost all genres, and W.A. Mozart was inspired and influenced by him and his works. Unlike Mozart, however, Haydn never left Salzburg and therefore only developed artistically within the conventions that dominated there. Johann Christian Bach, on the other hand, was drawn from his Leipzig home to Berlin at an early age, then to Italy at the age of 20, where he became second organist in Milan Cathedral five years later and made contacts in the opera scene, for which he composed successfully. The success of these works also made him known in London, where he lived from 1762-1778 and was well known at the opera and especially as a concert promoter. In London, Johann Christian Bach met W.A. Mozart, who was eight years old at the time, and references to Bach’s work can be discovered in his late works.
Sophie Dervaux was also able to convince the Munich Chamber Orchestra of both composers. She had already performed for the orchestra both as bassoonist and conductor: “The orchestra is great, the musicians are very open-minded and I’m pleased that we were all able to get so enthusiastic about these rarely performed works,” she reports about the good collaboration. Sophie Dervaux has an appetite for new things – always hoping to arouse the curiosity of her listeners for the bassoon and the diverse world of the instrument.

J.C. Bach & J.M. Haydn Sophie Dervaux & Munich Chamber Orchestra

Artist

Sophie Dervaux

Munich Chamber Orchestra

Composer

Johann Christian Bach

Michael Haydn

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Further information

Genre

Klassik
Fagott
Sinfonische Musik / Orchestermusik

Publication date

28.10.2022

With her new album, Sophie Dervaux brings two composers to the foreground who have received little attention so far - despite their great surnames Bach and Haydn. It isn‘t works by "our old favourites" Johann Sebastian and Joseph that the bassoonist has chosen for her third recording on Berlin Classics, but by Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), youngest son of Johann Sebastian, and Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806), younger brother of Joseph Haydn. "Their works may not have been performed as often as, for example, Mozart's bassoon concerto, but they are of incredibly good quality," says Sophie Dervaux and regrets: "There is so much great bassoon literature that we never hear, simply because it has been performed so rarely and thus forgotten over time." To counteract this neglect, the Viennese bassoonist devotes herself to J.C. Bach - J.M. Haydn, the B flat major concerto and the E flat major concerto for bassoon and orchestra by Johann Christian Bach, as well as the Symphony No. 14 in B flat major by Johann Michael Haydn.

The latter was, with and after W.A. Mozart, the leading musical personality in Salzburg at the prince-archbishop's court and worked there for 43 years. His more than 800 compositions cover almost all genres, and W.A. Mozart was inspired and influenced by him and his works. Unlike Mozart, however, Haydn never left Salzburg and therefore only developed artistically within the conventions that dominated there. Johann Christian Bach, on the other hand, was drawn from his Leipzig home to Berlin at an early age, then to Italy at the age of 20, where he became second organist in Milan Cathedral five years later and made contacts in the opera scene, for which he composed successfully. The success of these works also made him known in London, where he lived from 1762-1778 and was well known at the opera and especially as a concert promoter. In London, Johann Christian Bach met W.A. Mozart, who was eight years old at the time, and references to Bach's work can be discovered in his late works.

Sophie Dervaux was also able to convince the Munich Chamber Orchestra of both composers. She had already performed for the orchestra both as bassoonist and conductor: "The orchestra is great, the musicians are very open-minded and I'm pleased that we were all able to get so enthusiastic about these rarely performed works," she reports about the good collaboration. Sophie Dervaux has an appetite for new things - always hoping to arouse the curiosity of her listeners for the bassoon and the diverse world of the instrument.