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Gustavo Nunez currently serves as principal bassoon with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and is considered widely to be one of the greatest bassoonists of his generation. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1965, he began learning bassoon, the instrument that his father is also skilled in, in 1976. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields accompanies Nunez for this recording. They have been called "One of the world's most admired chamber orchestras" (The West Australian) and are said to have "... brooding power, poetic sparkle, dramatic attack" (The Times). Antonio Vivaldi (1687-1741) may be singled out as the pioneer of the bassoon concerto. Used as a basso continuo instrument until the beginning of the 17th century, it's part was rarely written out, much less featured as a solo instrument. In his concertos, Vivaldi uses the full range and all technical possibilities of the instrument. In his career, Vivaldi wrote 37 bassoon concerti.