This album is the fulfilment of a dream and the result of over five years of planning, developing and preparing a unique collaborative project between composers, arrangers and musicians. 

6 pieces, 6 composers, 4 premieres.

What inspired me to record this album was the fascinating way the sound of the bassoon blends with the string quartet. My choice of repertoire was based on pure pleasure – I chose works that I love to play, some original, others  arranged, and asked composers I admire so much to write for this combination. In two of the works I added the double bass, which enriches them very much and helps immensely to encounter different sound worlds. To create this with musicians of this calibre was simply wonderful. Their interest, curiosity and flexibility together with the skill, calm and experience of our sound engineer, Andreas Werner, and the fact that we were able to record in the legendary Radiostudio in Zurich, makes me feel so privileged. I couldn’t be happier with the result which I hope you too will enjoy! 

—RUI LOPES

Piazzolla - Tango Étude No. 3 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quintet)

Excerpts from the CD "Through Time" by Rui Lopes (Bassoon)

Jean Françaix, Divertissement for Bassoon and String Orchestra - Allegro, 12.

Excerpt of the CD ’Through Time’, by Rui Lopes and The English Chamber Orchestra. Check-out the release video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqigTnx1w0U&index=1&list=PL2tj2sXqzEAUPrP36FXBnK1u6nmfPCGVg

Antonio Vivaldi, Bassoon Concerto in C major, RV 472, 1. - Allegro non molto

Antonio Vivaldi, Bassoon Concerto in C major, RV 472, 2. – Andante molto

Antonio Vivaldi, Bassoon Concerto in C major, RV 472, 3. - Allegro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bassoon Concerto in B-flat, KV 191, 4. - Allegro

Heitor Villa–Lobos, Ciranda das Sete Notas for Bassoon and String Orchestra, 8.

Edward Elgar, Romance For Bassoon and Orchestra, op. 62 (Rui Lopes arrangement)

Jean Françaix, Divertissement for Bassoon and String Orchestra – Vivo assai, 11.

The New York Times credits Rui Lopes as “the richly gifted bassoonist”. Gramophone concurs: “highly musical and virtuoso”. 
Although Rui only began studying the bassoon at eighteen, his musical temperament and virtuosity were quickly recognized and received many awards, including first prize in the prestigious Estoril International Competition. One of the most promising bassoonists of his generation, he shares his great passion for music with concert audiences all over the world. 
Rui has appeared as a soloist with Zurich Symphony Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Czech Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, Finnish National Opera, Algarve Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Artists Orchestra, Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Basel, Camerata Antiqua de Curitiba, Portuguese Symphony, and other orchestras. 
Rui is a member of the Camerata Variabile Basel and the Portuguese Chamber Soloists, and has played at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Festival Bohuslav Martinu, SoNoRo Festival, Crusell Festival, Oficina de Música de Curitiba, Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival, Boswiler Sommer, Lucerne, and other festivals and in May 2015, he had his Debut recital at the Carnegie Hall. 
Rui’s first recording, Through Time, with the English Chamber Orchestra, featuring pieces by Vivaldi, Mozart, Elgar, Villa-Lobos, Françaix and including two world premieres, received unanimous international critical acclaim. He studied with Hugues Kesteman in Artave and Porto Music Academy, Sergio Azzolini at the Music Academy in Basel (soloist diploma with distinction) and with Marco Postinghel at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich. 
Rui’s passion for teaching led him to deliver regular masterclasses in Europe, America, South America, and Africa and teach the bassoon and chamber music in different academies and universities for several years. Rui is professor of Bassoon at the Academy in Strasbourg (HEAR – Haute école des arts du Rhin). For this recording he used a Heckel 15 '639, one of the rare copies from the Azzolini model.

Piazzolla - Tango Étude No. 3 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quintet)

@ruilopesbassoon