Jules Demersseman (1833-1866) was a great flautist; he won a prize in Paris at the age of eleven and was celebrated as a virtuoso. As a composer, he not only wrote works for his own instrument, but was also one of the first in France to write for the newly developed saxophone. In his Introduction et Polonaise, a pleasant piece with an essentially 18th-century character, there are echoes of flute phrasing. The opening Allegretto is immediately followed by a Largo with a recitative-like character, while in the Polonaise the piano gives way to the bassoon after the first few bars. It is the wind instrument that leads the dance, and it does so with grace and a sense of well-being.

Ignaz (Isaac) Moscheles (1794-1870) is one of those pianists and composers who emphasized the physiological properties of the instrument, gave it paroxysmal power and revolutionized its technique beyond that which had been inherited from the harpsichord. He set his Grande Sonate concertante op. 34 to music on the piano in an extremely virtuoso manner, alternating between bassoon and piano dialog and a dominance of the latter. The opening Allegro moderato is characterized by passionate moments; this is followed by an Andante doloroso, which ends with a piano cadenza. Even in the extended concluding Allegro molto, the piano plays a very demanding role, reinforcing a heated expressiveness. Antonín Reicha (1770-1836) was a contemporary of Beethoven. His compositions for wind instruments stand out for their imaginative and innovative exploitation of technical and tonal possibilities, clearly surpassing the classical sonata in favor of formal and expressive elements that were a source of inspiration for the Romantic mood. His sonata for bassoon and piano is clearly reminiscent of Beethoven's sonatas for instrumental duo in terms of the formal arrangement of the musical material. On a poetic level, however, Reicha goes even further and creates moments of great melodic expressiveness.

Gustav Ernst Schreck (1848-1918) composed oratorios and chamber music in particular, with his bassoon sonata op. 9 being an outstanding work. His oeuvre was characterized by the Germanic-Romantic tradition, with clear homages to Schumann's Phantasiestücke and a typically Romantic dialectical relationship between two instruments. The opening "Allegro ma non troppo" is lively and the instruments are well interwoven. In the Largo, the dynamic variations are important, providing variety and expressive subtleties. This is followed by an Allegro in which the instruments always play very legato and are arranged in a very compact texture that never loses sight of its expressive power.

Further information:
- Recorded in 2021 in Pistoia, Italy
- The English-language booklet contains liner notes on the composers by Renzo Cresti and portraits of the artists.

- An original and highly entertaining program of works for bassoon and piano by Romantic composers: the Bassoon Sonata op. 9 by Gustav Schreck (1849-1918), the Bassoon Sonata by Anton Reicha (1770-1836), the Grande Sonata by Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870) and the brilliant Introduction & Polonaise by Jules Demersseman (1833-1866).

- Powerfully melodious music of great beauty, a valuable homage to the neglected but expressive and versatile wind instrument bassoon!

- Played by Paolo Carlini, bassoon, and Fabrizio Datteri, piano. Paolo Carlini is one of the most important bassoonists of his generation and has made numerous soloist recordings for the labels Sony Classical, CPO, CHANDOS, Brilliant Classics, Stradivarius, Naxos, Tactus and EMA Records.