May 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Allard,
the great French bassoonist, formerly Solo Bassoon of the Paris Opera
and Professor of Bassoon at the Paris Conservatoire. Maurice Allard is
widely regarded as the greatest French bassoonist of the 20th century.
Double reed specialist and author Wai Kit Leung, who studied with
Allard’s best-known student and successor Gilbert Audin, has spent the
past 25 years researching the French bassoon and collecting Maurice
Allard recordings and stories. He has prepared this series to
celebrate this great artist and his wonderful instrument. You will
hear many rare or out-of-print recordings covering every stage of
Allard’s career (with no gap longer than 6 years), as well as stories
that you may never have heard before. You will even hear Maurice
Allard speak.