It is almost an understatement to identify Vivaldi as the most significant composer ever of bassoon concertos, since the competition is so meagre. Even within Vivaldi"s own oeuvre, the thirty-nine bassoon concertos (two of them incomplete) form an impressive group. The composer seems to have had a particular affinity with deeper instruments (the cello as well as the bassoon), which brought out especially vividly the melancholy, reflective side of his temperament. Moreover, the bassoon concertos are all works of Vivaldi"s full maturity in fact, mostly of his last period, running from the later 1720s to his death in 1741 and have an incomparable rhythmic variety, boldness of form and attention to detail. Not only the concertos for solo bassoon and strings but also a huge, diverse collection of works and movements where Vivaldi employs the bassoon in other contexts (for example, in chamber concertos and concertos with multiple soloists) show that he was in equal measure familiar with, and partial to, the instrument.