Lyndon Jeffrey Frank Watts (born 19 January 1976) is an Australian

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

ist. He is principal bassoonist of the

Münchner Philharmoniker The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Rad ...

and an academic teacher.

Professional career

Watts studied the bassoon from 1988 and completed his senior school education at Newington College in 1993. He collaborated with the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

from 1992 to 1993, winning prizes at Australian competitions. From 1994 he studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München with Eberhard Marschall and, in 2000, finished his master's degree with distinction. In 1997 Watts won the international music competition ''pacem in terris'' of

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

. In 2000 he was awarded the Yamaha Scholarship for Woodwind Instruments, which he used to study Baroque bassoon from 2001 to 2005 with Alberto Grazzi in Verona. He won a third prize at the ARD International Music Competition in 2002, he was the first Australian woodwind player in the competition's history to win a prize, and an "award for the best interpretation of the commissioned work by Heinz Holliger", ''Klaus-ur'' from ''Three Pieces'' for bassoon. Holliger's composition was recorded by the Bayerischer Rundfunk on the CD ''21st Century Instrumental Solos'', a collection of works commissioned by the ARD competition since 2002. On another recording of the prizewinners of 2002 he plays Mozart's bassoon concerto with the Münchener Kammerorchester. Since 1998 Watts has been principal bassoonist of the

. He has also performed as a soloist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Münchener Kammerorchester. At the 2004 conference of the International Double Reed Society (IDRS) he appeared with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He is a supporter of the

Australian World Orchestra Australian World Orchestra (AWO) is a symphony orchestra based in Australia. History The Australian World Orchestra was established in 2011 by Australian conductor Alexander Briger AO and his sister, film maker Gabrielle Thompson AM. The ...

, founded in 2010. As a chamber musician, he commissioned and first performed in 2001 the first of four quartets for a woodwind instrument and string trio, called "Finnische Quartette", by Jörg Duda. In 2003 he premiered the

Bassoon Quintet A Bassoon quintet is a piece of chamber music for bassoon and four other instruments, normally a string quartet. Quintets for bassoon and string quartet include the '' Quintet'' by Graham Waterhouse, compositions by Gordon Jacob and Franz Danzi, ...

of Graham Waterhouse at the

Gasteig Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most of the events of the ...

. At the 2009 IDRS conference in Birmingham he played in several recitals, for example with bassoonist Thomas Eberhardt ''Lacrimosa'' of Louis Andriessen, Holliger's ''Three Pieces'',

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (russian: Софи́я Асгáтовна Губaйду́лина, link=no , tt-Cyrl, София Әсгать кызы Гобәйдуллина; born 24 October 1931) is a Soviet-Russian composer and an established ...

's Duo for two bassoons, and the premiere of Bernd Redmann's ''Secret doors'' for two bassoons and orchestra. In December 2009 he took part in the festival of

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...

''Klangaktionen'' in Munich. In 2011 he premiered Redmann's ''Migrant'' for bassoon and string quartet in Munich. Playing a Baroque bassoon built by Peter de Koningh after Eichentopf, Watts recorded arrangements of arias from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's operas, "The Gentleman's Flute", in an ensemble with Stefan Temmingh, recorder, and his wife Olga Watts,

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

, among others. Watts was one of 16 bassoonists in the concert ''

The Proud Bassoon William Waterhouse (18 February 1931 – 5 November 2007) was an English bassoonist and musicologist. He played with notable orchestras, was a member of the Melos Ensemble, professor at the Royal Northern College of Music, author of the ''Yehudi ...

'', celebrating William Waterhouse on 16 April 2011 in Wigmore Hall. He played Waterhouse's arrangement for two bassoon choirs of Giovanni Gabrieli's ''Sonata Pian' e Forte'', Anton Reicha's Quintet for bassoon and strings, on an 1807 instrument from Waterhouse's collection, and the Divertissement for bassoon and string quintet of Jean Francaix, dedicated to Waterhouse. Watts taught the bassoon at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München between 2002 and 2007, and has worked as a professor at the Bern University of the Arts since October 2005. He has conducted regular courses in Switzerland and Germany, and masterclasses in England, Portugal, Australia, Japan, China and Korea, such as a masterclass of the Australasian Double Reed Society in 2008. He has been a teacher for the Junge Münchner Philharmonie.

References

External links

Lyndon Watts
website
Lyndon Watts
Münchner Philharmoniker
Romantische Bläsermusik auf Originalinstrumenten
Deutsches Museum 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Lyndon 1976 births Living people People educated at Newington College Australian classical bassoonists University of Music and Performing Arts Munich alumni Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich Australian academics Australian expatriates in Germany