Bassoon Steppes Lola Descours & Paloma Kouider

• Alexander Scriabin (1872 - 1915): 12 Études, Op. 8:
• 1 Scriabin: 12 Études, Op. 8: No. 11 in B-Flat Minor (Arr. G. Piatigorsky for Bassoon & Piano) 03:45
• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): 24 Preludes, Op. 34 (Excerpts Arr. B. Hainaut for Bassoon & Piano):
• 2 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, Op. 34 (Excerpts Arr. B. Hainaut for Bassoon & Piano): No. 6, Allegretto 01:20
• 3 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, Op. 34 (Excerpts Arr. B. Hainaut for Bassoon & Piano): No. 13, Moderato 01:07
• 4 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, Op. 34 (Excerpts Arr. B. Hainaut for Bassoon & Piano): No. 14, Adagio 02:19
• 5 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, Op. 34 (Excerpts Arr. B. Hainaut for Bassoon & Piano): No. 15, Allegretto 00:59
• 6 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, Op. 34 (Excerpts Arr. B. Hainaut for Bassoon & Piano): No. 16, Andantino 01:25
• 7 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, Op. 34 (Excerpts Arr. B. Hainaut for Bassoon & Piano): No. 24, Allegretto 01:34
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 - 1908): 4 Romances, Op. 2:
• 8 Rimsky-Korsakov: 4 Romances, Op. 2: No. 2, Eastern Song (The Nightingale Enslaved by the Rose) [Arr. L. Descours & P. Kouider for Bassoon & Piano] 03:04
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893): 6 Pieces, Op. 19, TH 133:
• 9 Tchaikovsky: 6 Pieces, Op. 19, TH 133: No. 4, Nocturne (Arr. I. Kostlan for Bassoon & Piano) 04:19
• Lera Auerbach (b. 1973): I Walk Unseen:
• 10 Auerbach: I Walk Unseen 07:10
• Mikhail Glinka (1804 - 1857): Do Not Tempt Me (Arr. L. Descours & P. Kouider for Bassoon & Piano):
• 11 Glinka: Do Not Tempt Me (Arr. L. Descours & P. Kouider for Bassoon & Piano) 03:03
• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19 (Arr. L. Descours & P. Kouider for Bassoon & Piano):
• 12 Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19 (Arr. L. Descours & P. Kouider for Bassoon & Piano): I. Lento 10:14
• 13 Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19 (Arr. L. Descours & P. Kouider for Bassoon & Piano): II. Allegro scherzando 06:18
• 14 Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19 (Arr. L. Descours & P. Kouider for Bassoon & Piano): III. Andante 05:49
• 15 Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19 (Arr. L. Descours & P. Kouider for Bassoon & Piano): IV. Allegro mosso 10:22
• Total Runtime 01:02:48

Info for Bassoon Steppes

Bassoonist Lola Descours, prize-winner of the prestigious Tchaikovsky competition in 2019, performs an all-Russian programme of music transcribed for bassoon and piano. A passionate advocate for the bassoon and its often underestimated capacity for colour and expression, Lola Descours performs repertoire of great variety, including Glinka, considered to be the first great Russian composer, as well as lyrical Tchaikovsky, romantic Rachmaninov, powerful Scriabin and sardonic Shostakovich. The programme is brought up to date with a dream-like piece by contemporary Russian composer Lera Auerbach. Lola Descours is partnered in this recital by pianist Paloma Koulder, with whom she has made several of the arrangements heard on the album.

Lola Descours, bassoon
Paloma Kouider, piano

Lola Descours
Prize-winner of the prestigious Tchaikovsky competition in 2019, bassoonist Lola Descours has established a place among the most talented musicians of her generation.

An accomplished orchestral musician, Lola has been solo bassoonist of the Frankfurt Opera since 2017. Her talent was noticed at an early stage when she joined the Orchestre de Paris at the age of only 19. She is a regular guest in renowned orchestras such as Royal Concertgebouworkest in Amsterdam, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Bamberger Symphoniker and the Rotterdam Philharmonisch Orkest.

As a soloist, she has recently performed with the Frankfurter Opern Orchester and with the Marinsky Theatre Orchestra. After studies at the Conservatoire of Paris (CNSMDP), Lola won first prize at the International Double Reed Society’s (IDRS) Young competition in 2009 in Birmingham. In 2011, she was laureate of the Crusell competition in Finland, the Lodz Competition in Poland and in 2018 the IDRS in Spain.

Eager to constantly broaden her artistic field and her sources of inspiration, she performs at numerous festivals with chamber music partners such as Pierre Génisson, David Guerrier, Geneviève Laurenceau and Pierre Fouchenneret. In 2018, she founded the Cocteau Trio with clarinettist Renaud Guy-Rousseau (Orchestre National de France) and oboist Ilyes Boufadden (Orchestre de Chambre de Paris).

Her commitment to the young musical generation is another of her many facets. She has been a regular tutor at the Verbier Festival and the French Youth Orchestra. She held a position as bassoon teacher for 5 years at the CRR in Saint-Maur before moving into the same role at the Pôle supérieur of Aix-en-Provence.

Sparkling young woman whose activity is characterized by her curiosity, her virtuosity and her energy, Lola wishes actively to introduce her instrument to a much wider audience. She dreams of giving the bassoon the visibility it deserves like his close cousin the cello, the works of which she regularly performs.

Attracted by other artistic forms such as theatre and dance, her global approach to musical interpretation allows her to be actively involved in the creation of transversal and innovative projects. Her interest in contemporary music has led her to commission new works and to collaborate with composers such as Laurent Lefrançois or Lera Auerbach, whose works she recently recorded.

Booklet for Bassoon Steppes