Rota & Schumann

Assistant Principal Bassoon Nick Nelson takes on The Godfather’s own Nino Rota and his Bassoon Concerto, a warm, humorous tour-de-force for the double-reed after Michael Gandolfi’s imaginative bon-bon, Themes from a Midsummer Night. Schumann’s first symphony, “Spring,” was encouraged by his new wife, Clara, and premiered by none other than Felix Mendelssohn in 1841. Schumann wrote that he wanted it to “suggest the world’s turning green […] and everything to do with spring is coming alive” – perfect for this April weekend.