Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra, I. Allegro Molto Moderato | Lars-Erik Larsson
Lars-Erik Larsson was a Swedish composer of the 20th century who had a thriving career as a conductor and educator in addition to composition. He studied with composers such as Alban Berg and Fritz Reuter, and many of those stylistic influence can be found in his music. His Concerto for alto saxophone was written in 1934 and dedicated to Sigurd Rascher. Larsson and Rascher met at a contemporary music festival in Paris in the spring of 1934, and become close friends. The piece was completed and premiered by Rascher by the fall of that year. This excerpt, the second movement of the work, features beautiful melodies that soar high into the upper register of the instrument.
La Création du Monde“ (1923) | Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud’s “The Creation of the World”, performed by the Manhattan School of music wind ensemble. This piece comes as a result of Milhaud’s exposure to Jazz in London/The United States in the early years of the 1920s. Originally written as a ballet, the piece is scored for wind ensemble, accompanied by string quartet + bass. The most interesting aspect however, is that where we would expect to find a viola, we find the saxophone. The piece opens with a long and beautiful solo by the saxophone, who continues to be an integral part of the rest of the piece.
“Kleine Stucke” for Violin, Alto Saxophone, and Piano (1932) | Wolfgang Jacobi
Wolfgang Jacobi was a German composer whose music is reminiscent of the style of Paul Hindemith and other German composers of the early 20th century. In the early 1930s Jacobi was a young composer whose career showed great promise. However, in 1933 his music - because of his Jewish background - was banned by the Nazi regime and barred from public performance until the end of World War II in 1945. Jacobi is well-known among saxophonists for his Sonata for alto saxophone and piano, written in 1932 for German saxophonist Sigurd Rascher. In my doctoral research into lost/unknown works for saxophone, I discovered another work that includes saxophone from the same year (1932). Kleine Stucke fur Violine, Altsaxophon, und Klavier is a short four-movement chamber work for violin, alto saxophone, and piano. This work appears to never have been performed, and was unknown until now. I am very excited to have premiered this lost chamber work for the saxophone from 1932 with my colleagues at the Manhattan School of Music.
Sonatina for Alto Saxophone and Piano | Maurice Karkoff
Maurice Karkoff was a 20th century Swedish composer who wrote and extensive amount of music for a variety of different instrumentations and is well know for using musical concepts from many cultures and styles. This piece is a three-movement sonatina that utilizes a number of different 20th century compositional/performance techniques to create new and interesting musical ideas.
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra, II. Adagio | Lars-Erik Larsson
Lars-Erik Larsson was a Swedish composer of the 20th century who had a thriving career as a conductor and educator in addition to composition. He studied with composers such as Alban Berg and Fritz Reuter, and many of those stylistic influence can be found in his music. His Concerto for alto saxophone was written in 1934 and dedicated to Sigurd Rascher. Larsson and Rascher met at a contemporary music festival in Paris in the spring of 1934, and become close friends. The piece was completed and premiered by Rascher by the fall of that year. This excerpt, the second movement of the work, features beautiful melodies that soar high into the upper register of the instrument.