CCMusic.com

Research, experimentation, discovery and

rediscovery of new forms and ways of

expression are the basis of a musician's

work and, in the realisation of this project,

they represent the cornerstones of an

artistic partnership intended to give value

to an important part of the saxophone

repertoire, namely that related to

transcriptions with piano accompaniment.

Though the saxophone is a relatively recent

instrument, it became a leading protagonist

on the musical scene of the 20th century.

While it was not immediately given

consideration by the great composers who

were contemporary to the instrument's

birth and initial diffusion, it does possess

the versatility and timbral and expressive

characteristics to allow it to draw on

repertoire intended for other instruments.

In doing so, it gives these works a new look

and an innovative as well as valid

interpretation. This album brings together

three works that - considering the varied

stylistic characteristics and expressive

intentions of the three composers - represent

a clear example of how the saxophone can

faithfully return the founding idea of each

piece to the listener, radically modifying it

without altering it's nature. The Fantasie

Op.79 by Gabriel Fauré (1898), originally for

flute and piano, was written in response to a

commission for an examination piece: 'it

must be short, 5 or 6 minutes at the most [.]

and include the means needed to test the

examinees on matters of phrasing,

expression, control of tone and virtuosity'. A

short time after Adolphe Sax patented the

saxophone, Edvard Grieg wrote his First Violin

Sonata (1865). The author himself described

it as 'still a little naive but rich in melodic

ideas'. In three movements and characterised

by an almost spring-like atmosphere, it is

adorned with references to Norwegian folk

music which lend a rather grave and

turbulent tone to some sections of the work.

More 'recent' (by then the saxophone was

heading towards the popularity it deserved)

is Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata in D Op.94,

originally written for flute and piano in

1943. It immediately drew the attention of

the great violinist David Oistrakh, who

proposed a violin version of the work to the

composer which later became known as

Op.94bis. A fundamental work of both the

flute and violin literatures, here it is

presented in it's adaptation for soprano

saxophone and piano, and the work

continues to embody inventive freshness

and lively elegance of writing.