The first thing I said right when this video played was, "OH MY GOD!" Sir, I LOVE your bassoon!!!

This is lovely, world-class playing - a wonderful approach to what the master wanted. And as usual I learn so much about music from those playing a different instrument than I do. Thanks so much for sharing your amazing musicianship with all of us!

This is exactly this passage played with the bassoon that made me love classical music. At the very moment I thought that I had had never heared anything so beautiful ; Sheherazade was an epihany for me. Thank you for playing and explaining this wonderful passage. The bassoon is a magical instrument.

That bassoon is beautiful. O.o I'm an Oboe player and I love double reed instruments.

This is a wonderful masterclass, really displaying the depth of detail required to be a truly fine player! Having had the pleasure of playing 2nd to Mr. Paulson once in concert I can say that his playing extremely sensitive and well-thought out. The instrument is a Fox 601- John Miller, Bob Williams, and Per Hannevold also play on Gold Plate 601's. The black and gold combo is purely aesthetic.

His Bassoon is sick!!! I lOVE IT!!!

Pause at 4:04.

this is my 10,000 times listening to this melody and still love it so much!

This is an excellent, insightful masterclass. Thank you!

It's a Fox 601, and it's something worth killing for, both for the sexy looks and for the beautiful sound :)

i'm new to bassoon so to watch a fella like this play i'm like. woah hey. :) pretty great!

Actually it does,I'm not entirely sure if its the same for woodwind but i know with brass instruments it makes an immense difference in sound quality.

@Littlebocco It in fact IS a Fox (a 601, I believe, though it could also be a 660), with optional black finish and gold plating.

Gold has no effect on the sound of the bassoon, except when in use in the bocal. This is simply a finish used for people with higher pH's in their sweat.

i absolutely NEED to know where you got your instrument from. a black and gold bassoon is like my life's dream

@Littlebocco and just fyi, there are many excellent brands of bassoon other than Fox and Heckel...many professional players also play Puchners, Moosmanns, Wolf, Ben Bell's bassoons, and Yamahas.

He seems like a great teacher.

The ironic thing about this comment is that Steve Paulson is now playing on Legere Synthetic reeds which are a better/more sophisticated version of plastic reeds. Check out the Miller Marketing website, and there's actually an endorsement for them by him.

this is like a KZfaq Bassoon Master Class

Very Good...Bravo !

Is this a Takeda bassoon?

I guess more like 20,000…

Wow .. an actual video of Stephen Paulson! He needs to demonstrate more ... Rite of Spring, etc.

Bought myself another Legere synthetic reed specifically for playing excerpts such as this for PYO auditions!

white gold still has a more silver hue... im just putting more options out there... its either low Karat gold or yellow brass

god that is a gorgeous instrument

@CloneHat The eyebrows are key.

Your bassoon sounds like magic. What college do you go to.

Is the KZfaq Symphony gona play this music on its debut? It's kick-ass music!

very helpful...thanks.

well, I'm not an expert but surely the kind of metal may make the difference... you know, depending on the way it vibrates o produce sound... but I don't really know... but if the only reason is to make it to look good, it does totally make it look elegant

Yes, very difficult to play beautifully, but easy to play bad. A great sounding, responsive Heckel, however, makes you want to play well, and it helps - a - lot!

You're bassoon is worth more than my life-insurance!

Haha I think he paid over 20,000

omg i love this bassoon (L)

it looks pretty bright for gold... perhaps brass though...

I'm just staring at that golden bocal I didn't know they came in bling

I still think Harald Muller's (Vienna Phil) interpretation of this was better, but Paulson kicked lower brass on the Stravinsky solos (The Rite if Spring and The Firebird)

I never said it was... nor did I say I was playing at a professional level. I was able to go through the entire Weissenborn method from beginning to advanced within that 6 month period - practicing 2 to 3 hours a day. Also I had to audition in order to get in it wasnt that easy

I can turn that into an awesome bong.

rite of spring definitely... or making the recapitulation in marrage of figaro overture sound musical and not mechanical

Legend! Just like Bill Bennett.

if yours sounds exactly the same then you must be a beastly bassoon player

not Robert Behrendt

I played that in band in High School, I was not all that good though. Still liked it.

"Repeat this phrase over and over again (and move your eyebrows every time)."

This is sick.

9,000? US Dollars? Are you SERIOUS?! Where can I find a good bassoon for $9000?!??!?!

It actually sounds kinda better on high notes, though.

interesting

lol, yeah, it's sexy in an elegant mean! I think it might be gold, but not sure, maybe it's another metal that makes sound more pleasant...

this is true. granted, it's not as if those bassoonists who ARE in the honor bands aren't talented, but honor bands are not to be a measure of talent by any means. i don't believe seating in ANY sort of nonprofessional ensemble setting for double reed players is a fair indicator of talent.

Lucky Bish gold key plated bassoon :P

It sounds funny because theres no reverb at all wheres hes playing.

Or for obvious aesthetic reasons, may I add :P

his bassoon is NOW ON SALE!!!!! at miller marketing!! meh cant afford it poo

The Bassoon is not a difficult instrument to learn. I started when I was a senior in HS, and 6 months later, I was playing in the Honor band - a good teacher is a must - learning how to breathe properly, etc is very important. What is difficult is to find good consistent quality reeds. These days it's pretty easy because of the internet, but 20 years ago, it was pretty difficult unless you had a teacher making them for you - store bought reeds were horrible.

@iminnocent12 nah get a heckel

ive played that b4 lol

I don't know about you guys, but I like the bassoon that he used in the Stravinsky performances (Rite of Spring and Firebird) better than this one. Doesn't really resonate as much as this one. Of course that may be because of Davies Symphony's Hall's echo capacities.

WHOA THIS IS WEIRD!!!

he was playing with puffed checks but still sounded good

Yeah, he is notorious in the bassoon world for being overrated, snobby, and rude. Lots of people don't like him and don't want to study with him. My one lesson with him was before my audition for SFC and I didn't even go to my audition. He spent the whole lesson screaming at me and wouldn't tell me what he thought I was doing wrong, he just kept yelling at me to make it sound better. And then at the end of the lesson he had the nerve to try to sell me a bassoon.

@Lkiduta Schreibers in general are just terrible bassoons,so yea its not the reed, just the bassoon. Fox or mooseman are alot better

No coment

this is upside down and backward land

Hold down 3. lol

If you cannot play good on a bassoon worth 9000 dollars, then nothing can help you. Besides, the bocal and the reed is much more important than the instrument itself.

My bassoon of 3,000$ sounds like this if I put on a Heckel gold plated bocal and a good, soft reed.

this isn't real...

Good Bassoons cost about $26,000-$35,000 you fool!

He sounds absolutely disgusting

you don't learn to play ( for example ) the guitar good in just a couple of months

you have ruined the video on me , now i hate him!

bla bla bla bla bla z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z

is he using one of those plastic reeds? shame

Good bassoon,but not good player....