Rhapsody - Bassoon Unaccompanied

Willson Osborne's Rhapsody for Solo Bassoon is one of the few works post-1950 to enter the standard repertoire for the instrument, and is the most performed work for unaccompanied bassoon. Though also popular with clarinettists, the Rhapsody was originally written for the bassoon.

Written by the relatively unknown Willson Osborne, the Rhapsody was produced for the famous bassoonist Sol Schoenbach, former principal bassoonist in the Philadelphia orchestra, and professor of bassoon at the Curtis Institute of Music. In the creation of this piece, Osborne turned away from concrete forms, instead creating a series of variations on melodic fragments until they reach a boiling point near the end of the work.

This edition, published by Peters, is the first edition publication, as perfected by Sol Schoenbach and Willson Osborne.