New Enchantments Cornelia Sommer

• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Märchenbilder, Op. 113:
• 1 Schumann: Märchenbilder, Op. 113: I. Nicht schnell 03:22
• 2 Schumann: Märchenbilder, Op. 113: II. Lebhaft 03:42
• 3 Schumann: Märchenbilder, Op. 113: III. Rasch 02:54
• 4 Schumann: Märchenbilder, Op. 113: IV. Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck 04:17
• Iván Enrique Rodríguez (b. 1990): Mamá María:
• 5 Rodríguez: Mamá María: Cuento de Hadas para Fagót y Piano 06:36
• Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764): Un conte de fées:
• 6 Rameau: Un conte de fées: I. L’entrée noble 01:44
• 7 Rameau: Un conte de fées: II. Sarabande naïve 02:11
• 8 Rameau: Un conte de fées: III. Un voyage fantastique 01:51
• 9 Rameau: Un conte de fées: IV. Sérénité 01:27
• 10 Rameau: Un conte de fées: V. Réjouissance 02:06
• Max Grafe (b. 1988): Rumpelstilzchentanz:
• 11 Grafe: Rumpelstilzchentanz 03:30
• Sato Matsui (b. 1991): Hanasaka Jiisan:
• 12 Matsui: Hanasaka Jiisan: I. Koko horé wan wan! 02:55
• 13 Matsui: Hanasaka Jiisan: II. Inu no shi 03:03
• 14 Matsui: Hanasaka Jiisan: III. Aenai tomoé 06:12
• 15 Matsui: Hanasaka Jiisan: IV. Mafuyu no hana Zakari 04:58
• Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868): Fantasy on Rossini’s “La Cenerentola”:
• 16 Rossini: Fantasy on Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” 09:24
• Total Runtime 01:00:12

Info for New Enchantments

Fairy tales have deeply and consistently fascinated humanity throughout the centuries. Enter NEW ENCHANTMENTS, bassoonist Cornelia Sommer’s exploration of magical archetypes that features music by living composers along with new arrangements by Sommer herself across six world premiere recordings.

Sommer has also written a prize-winning dissertation on the subject of fairy tales in music, adding further depth to this performance that showcases her musical virtuosity, great feeling for nuance, lyrical storytelling, and profound expertise to illuminate every last detail. Enriching and engrossing, this album could not be more aptly titled.

Cornelia Sommer, bassoon
Hilda Huang, piano
Bethanne Walker, flute
Rachell Ellen Wong, violin
Jonathan Salamon, harpsichord
Kathleen McLean, bassoon
Lucian Avalon, oboe

Cornelia Sommer
is a bassoonist, arranger, and educator dedicated to sharing music with diverse audiences and expanding the bassoon’s repertoire. Originally from Seattle, she joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as Second Bassoon in Fall 2023.

Cornelia’s recent performance and research projects have focused on music inspired by fairy tales. As a recipient of the Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award and an International Double Reed Society Grant, Cornelia will release her first album, “New Enchantments: Fairy Tale Music for Bassoon,” in 2024. The album includes three of her own arrangements and three commissions by composers Max Grafe, Sato Matsui, and Iván Rodríguez. Cornelia’s doctoral dissertation, titled “Magic, Distance, and Simplicity: Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tale Music as Analyzed in Chamber Pieces by Ravel, Janáček, and Schumann,” was awarded the Richard F. French Prize for an outstanding dissertation. On Instagram, Cornelia (@pulcinellie_) has a large following for her weekly videos of bassoon excerpts from fairy tale music.

Previously Principal Bassoonist of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Cornelia joined the Detroit Symphony as Second Bassoon in Fall 2023. During the 2022-2023 season, she was a frequent guest contrabassoonist with the Boston Symphony, with concerts at Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and on tour in Europe. Cornelia has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, and, on historical instruments, American Bach Soloists and Juilliard415. As a chamber musician, she has performed with the Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet and at the Kennedy Center, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Fischoff Competition. She has played concerti with the Coeur D’Alene Symphony and the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra; she was also a Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition Semi-Finalist and the recipient of the Yale School of Music Alumni Prize and Benzaquen Career Grant.

Cornelia actively seeks to expand the bassoon’s repertoire through her collaborations with composers and her own arrangements. In addition to the new works on her forthcoming album, Cornelia’s arrangements have been performed around the world by members of the New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, and Atlanta Symphony. Several of her arrangements, including Stravinsky's Pulcinella for bassoon and piano, are published through TrevCo Music Publishing.

An experienced educator, Cornelia currently teaches bassoon at Oakland University and privately in the Detroit metro area. She has served as an adjunct professor at The Juilliard School, teaching Music History and Ethics, and as a Teaching Fellow in arts education at Juilliard, Teaching Artist in Yale’s Music-In-Schools Initiative, bassoon instructor in the Yale Department of Music, and faculty member at Seattle’s Vivace Chamber Players. She has presented masterclasses and lectures at the University of Alabama, Colorado State University, University of Central Arkansas, and International Double Reed Society Convention.

A graduate of The Juilliard School (D.M.A.), Yale University (M.M.), and Indiana University (B.M.), Cornelia studied bassoon with Frank Morelli, Kathleen McLean, William Ludwig, and Francine Peterson, and baroque bassoon with Dominic Teresi.

This album contains no booklet.