The 24th annual International Concours held in Munich last September, 1975, once again included bassoon, the first time in ten years. More than twice the number entered this time: 41 as opposed to 17 in 1965. Standards were in general higher than before.
Contestants, who had to be under 30, came from the following countries:
Disappointingly, no Russians or East Germans entered. The only girl entries were two from the U.S.A.! (Lynette Cohen and Kathy #ffffff, Ed. )
The nine-man jury was equally cosmopolitan, consisting of bassoonists Albert Hennige of Detmold, Karl Kolbinger of Munich, Fernand Oubradous of Paris, Sol Schoenbach of Philadelphia, Milan Turkovic of Vienna, and the present author - together with Ivan Pushetsnikov, who teaches oboe in Moscow; Hansruedi Stalder, the well-known clarinetist from Zurich; and, as our president, the Dutch composer Jan Koetsier.
A total of seven works had to be prepared, of which two were open to choice and the others selected from three lists. All non-20th Century pieces had to be played from memory.
After a first round lasting three days, 16 were selected for round two; of these, 6 made the third round. The final test with orchestra took the form of a concert with a bizarre programme: Mozart's K. 191 four times running! The four finalists were: Tomasz Marcin Sosnowski aged 28, 1st in the Warsaw Philharmonic; Jiri Seidl, 29, 1st in the Czech Philharmonic and 1st prizewinner at the Prague Competition of 1974; Gilbert Audin, aged 19, a second year student of Prof. Maurice Allard at the Paris Conservatoire and a 2nd prizewinner at the Geneva Competition of 1974, and Rino Vernizzi, 29, 1st in the RAI Symphony of Turin. It was indeed an invidious task to assess four such artists quantitatively, each one outstanding in his own way. The final result was: 1st prize not awarded; 2nd prize (3500 DM) each to Sosnowski and Seidl; 3rd prize (2000 DM) to Audin.
Among impressions which remain: Sosnowski's noble style and strong sonorous tone; the refinement and polish of Seidl's playing; Audin's precocious talent, exemplified in a formidable Morceau de Concours by Boutry; the breathtaking bravoura of Vernizzi in Nussio and Jolivet, the feat of a Hungarian in memorizing Apostel; the problems of many to tune with a piano at A - 443 plus; the heartening measure of agreement amongst the jury; the diversity of tone-colours and styles presented by such a mixed assortment of players, and above all, the dedication and talent of these young bassoonists, both humbling and inspiring to those of us privileged to be there.