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Concerto for Alto Saxophone (Larsson)
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This work bears the designation Opus 14
General Info
Year: 1934 / 1952
Duration: c. 21:30
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Alto saxophone and orchestra
Publisher: Unknown
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown
Movements
1. Allegro molto moderato – 10:15
2. Adagio – 6:50
3. Allegro scherzando – 4:25
Instrumentation
(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
After four years at the Conservatory in Stockholm, the Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson (1908 –1986) received lessons from Alban Berg in Vienna, then moved to Leipzig for further studies. He wrote this concerto in 1934, after having returned to his home country, his experiences abroad having broadened his views significantly. It is a work which has been described as displaying Larsson’s inclination toward the neoclassical style. What interests us is that the composition of it almost coincided with that of Ibert’s Concertino. What is more, Sigurd Rascher played a key role in the creation of both. In fact, this concerto is the result of the collaborative efforts of Larsson and Rascher, for, as it turned out, the final product was one that no one but Rascher had the proficiency to perform. Most artists, as soon as they hear the words ‘Larsson’s Concerto’, will instantly be reminded of ‘the altissimo’ and furrow their brows. The concerto’s demands are such as to make players feel as though they are going to explode.
- Program Note (for orchestra version) by Eiko Ogata for liner notes of Chandos CD Nobuya Sugawa
The Saxophone Concerto, Op. 14, is a three-movement concertante composition for alto saxophone and string orchestra written in 1934 by the Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson. The piece premiered on 27 November 1934 in Norrköping, Sweden, with Tord Benner conducting the Norrköping Orchestral Association. The soloist was the German-born American virtuoso Sigurd Raschèr, its dedicatee, whom Larsson had consulted during the compositional process; as such, the concerto incorporated a number of Raschèr's pioneering techniques -- "highly personal tricks and devices". Because the Saxophone Concerto proved too difficult for most soloists (and was therefore oft-neglected), Larsson "simplified" it in the early 1980s in order to make it more accessible.
- Program Note from Wikipedia
Media
None discovered thus far.
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Toronto (Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Jeffrey Reynolds, conductor; Bingchen He, alto saxophone) - 2 December 2022
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Concertino for Trombone (arr. Walker) (1955/1979)
- Concertino for Trumpet (arr. Gustafson) (1979)
- Concerto for Alto Saxophone (1934/1952)
- Liten Marsch (1936)
- Melodi (arr. Green) (1980)
- Pastoral Suite (1988)
Resources
- Saxophone Concerto (Larsson). Wikipedia. Accessed 2 December 2022