Program Notes: Sonata For Alto Saxophone And Piano

Program Notes:
Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1984) William Albright
This piece was composed in 1984 by William Albright. It has a traditional 4 movement Sonata Form, Starting with an introduction, followed by a slow movement, then a scherzo, ending with a finale. The first movement titled “Two-Part Invention” takes inspiration from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Inventions in which he composes two contrapuntal lines that interact with each other. In the first movement of Albright’s Sonata the piano and saxophone are very much in two part counterpoint. These contrapuntal sections are interrupted by both soft legato repeating figures and cadenza like sections. The movement ends with a cadenza like section where the piano and saxophone part are

This is the slow movement of the piece and to me the most powerful of the four movements. It is in memory of a dear friend of Albright who passed while he was composing the piece. This movement is a chaconne with a four measure phrase throughout metered in 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, and 5/8 respectively. The movement ends with the performer turning to the piano and playing a slow baroque courante. He writes “turn away from the audience...’a private performance,’ perhaps looking into the piano”. Many people believe that this is meant to be Albright’s final goodbye to George Cacioppo with the performer playing into the casket (piano) of George

It is in the style of J. S. Bach and is very similar to Bach’s third-movement aria from the organ Pastorale in F, BWV 590. Bozza quotes Bach throughout the entire piece. This piece has become one of the most popular pieces played by saxophonists, especially younger students. While this piece doesn’t include any extended techniques, it does have a lot of very complex musical elements. This makes it extremely fun to play at all levels and also provides a wonderful musical experience to the audience.
Caravan (2007) Tanya Anisimova
Caravan was written by Tanya Anisimova and was premiered by the composer and cellist Paul Katz in 2007. It was then arranged by Carrie Koffman and premiered by her and Chien-Kwan Lin. The piece has since become very popular in the saxophone community being named as the favorite piece of the 2012 World Saxophone Congress. The piece opens with an energetic repeating octave figure that passes between the two saxophonists. This motive is persistent throughout the whole piece with the exception of a few improvisatory sections. It ends with a recapitulation and then a coda in a dance like triplet figure.
Sonata en ut# pour saxophone alto et orchestra (1943) Fernande