Willard Somers Elliot

Willard Somers Elliot (18 July 1926 in Fort Worth, Texas 7 June 2000 in Fort Worth, Texas) was an American bassoonist and composer. He was the bassoonist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra (1946–1949), bassoonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1951–1956), principal bassoonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1956–1964), and principal bassoonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1964–1997).[1] Elliot composed and twice performed the Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under conductors Seiji Ozawa and Jean Martinon.

During his 32 uninterrupted years as principal bassoonist with the Chicago Symphony, Elliot performed as a soloist under Sir Georg Solti, Seiji Ozawa, Jean Martinon, Antonio Janigro, Carlo Maria Giulini, Morton Gould, Lawrence Foster, and Claudio Abbado. He recorded the Mozart Concerto for Deutsche Grammophon, conducted by Abbado.

Elliot was also a member of the Chicago Symphony Chamber Wind Players, Chicago Symphony Winds and the Chicago Pro Musica, which won a Grammy Award in 1986 for the Best New Classical Artist.[2]

Selected compositions

Most of the above compositions were published by Bruyere Music Publishers, a firm that Willard and his wife, Pat (née Patricia J. Bills), founded in 1986 to publish and popularize his compositions and arrangements.

Education

† Student of Vincent Pezzi (bassoon), Sanford Sharoff (bassoon), Bernard Rogers (composition and orchestration)

Other positions

Awards

Selected discography

  1. Kurt Weill, Suite from The Three-Penny Opera (recorded June 1988)
  2. Sir William Walton, Facade Suite (recorded August 1983)
  3. Richard Strauss, Hasenöhrl, Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks (recorded August 1983)
  4. Igor Stravinsky, The Soldier's Tale Suite (recorded August 1983)
  5. Paul Bowles, Music for a Farce (recorded June 1988)
  6. Bohuslav Martinů, La Revue de Cuisine (recorded June 1988)
  7. Alexander Scriabin, Willard Elliot, Waltz in A-flat major, Opus 38 (recorded August 1983)
  8. Carl Nielsen, Serenata in vano (recorded August 1983)
  9. Edgard Varèse, Octandre (recorded June 1988)
  10. Rimsky-Korsakov, Easily Blackwood, Capriccio Espagnol (recorded August 1983)
Recorded August 1983 and June 1988 at Medinah Temple, Ohio Street, Chicago (the 1983 sessions were issued two years later on a pair of discs)
The 1983 session was re-packaged with the 1988 session and re-released as an audiophile recording (analogue to HDCD) in 2001 on two CDs by the Reference Recordings

References

General references

Inline citations

  1. Ex-cso Bassoonist Willard Elliot, 73, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2000
  2. Willard Elliot: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 June 2000
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