Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble

David Maslanka

General Info

Year: 2012
Duration: c. 33:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: David Maslanka
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $399.00; (digital) - $279.00 | Score Only (print) - $79.00; (digital) - $54.00

Movements

1. Inward – 11:55
2. Moving assertive – 8:25
3. Dramatic/motoric – 10:25

Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo Soprano Saxophone
Solo Alto Saxophone
Solo B-flat Tenor Saxophone
Solo E-flat Baritone Saxophone
C Piccolo
Flute I-II (II doubling Alto Flute)
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II (II doubling Contrabassoon)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II (I doubling Piccolo Trumpet)
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Timpani
Percussion (4 players), including:

Bass Drum
Chimes
Crash Cymbals
Crotales
Marimba
Orchestra Chimes
Suspended Cymbal, large
Tam-Tam
Temple Blocks
Tenor Drum
Tom-Tom
Triangle, large and small
Vibraphone
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

For a period of time in the past year my musical listening was intently focused on the keyboard concertos of J.S. Bach. The invention of the keyboard concerto is attributed to Bach. His pieces in this genre are small musical gems, finding an exquisite balance of feeling, technique, and form. It is the element of balance that intrigues me the most – letting the music speak what it needs to as economically as possible.

My Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble reflects some of these values. It is not programmatic – no stories to tell beyond what the music wants to say, and what it sparks in each listener. The three movements are substantial but concise. The solo quartet is often integrated into the accompanying group in the fashion of a Baroque concerto grosso.

Two chorale melodies appear in the concerto, We Should Now Praise Christ, and Only Trust in God to Guide You. I have used chorale melodies in my music for many years. These melodies open something deep in me. The chorales have transformed my composing, and my composing has absorbed and transformed the chorales. My use of the chorales is not about preaching the Christian faith, but feeling the full power of melodies that have grown out of the earth, and through centuries of human experience. They have been my doorway to the roots of our musical language.

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Illinois State University Symphonic Winds (Stephen Steele, conductor)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Dordt University (Sioux Center, Iowa) Wind Symphony (Onsby Rose, conductor) - 7 May 2022
Washington and Jefferson College (Washington, Penn.) Wind Ensemble (Clint Bliel, conductor) - 24 October 2021
Heidelberg Wind Ensemble (Melbourne, Aus.) (Stephen Carpenter, conductor) – 18 August 2018
Lone Star Wind Orchestra (Dalla, Tx.) (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) – 29 April 2018
Brooklyn (N.Y.) Wind Symphony (Jeff W. Ball, conductor) – 11 March 2018
College Conservatory of Music (Cincinnati, Ohio) Wind Symphony (Glenn Price, conductor; Oasis Quartet) - 2015

Works for Winds by This Composer

Alex and the Phantom Band (2002/2015)
Angel of Mercy (2015)
California (2016)
A Child's Garden of Dreams (1981)
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble (1999)
Concerto for Marimba and Band (1990)
Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble (2015)
Concerto for Piano, Winds, and Percussion (1979)
Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble (2012)
Concerto No 2 for Piano, Winds, and Percussion (2002)
Concerto No 3 for Piano and Wind Ensemble (2016)
Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble (2007)
Crown of Thorns (1991)
Desert Roads (2005)
Fanfare-Variations on the Chorale Melody "Durch Adams Fall" (Through Adam's Fall). See: Recitation Book
First Light (2016)
Four Pieces for Band (1980)
Give Us This Day (2005)
Golden Light (1990)
Heart Songs (2001)
Hell's Gate (1997)
Hohner (1999)
Hosannas (2015)
Husa (2016)
Hymn for World Peace (2014)
Illumination (2013)
In Memoriam (1990)
Laudamus Te (1995)
Letter to Martin (2015)
Liberation (2012)
Little Concerto (1990)
Mass (1995/2005)
Montana Music: Chorale Variations (1993)
Morning Star (1997)
Mother Earth (2008)
Mountain Roads (1997)
On This Bright Morning (2013)
Peace (2012)
Prelude on a Gregorian Tune (1981)
Procession of the Academics (2008)
Quintet for Winds Number 2
Recitation Book (2006)
- Fanfare-Variations on the Chorale Melody "Durch Adams Fall" (Through Adam's Fall) (2006)
Remember Me (2013)
Requiem (2013)
Rollo Takes a Walk (1980)
Saint Francis (2015)
Sea Dreams (1998)
The Seeker (2016)
Song at the End of Time
Songs for the Coming Day (2012)
Song Book (2001)
Symphony No. 2 (1987)
Symphony No. 3 (1991/2007)
Symphony No. 4 (1993)
Symphony No. 5 (2000)
Symphony No. 6 (2004)
Symphony No 7 (2004)
Symphony No 8 (2008)
Symphony No. 9 (2011)
Symphony No. 10 (2018)
Tears (1994)
Testament (2001)
Traveler (2003)
A Tuning Piece: Songs of Fall and Winter (1995)
ufo dreams (1999)
Unending Stream of Life (2007)
Variants on a Hymn Tune (1995)

Resources

Maslanka, D. (2012). Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble [score]. Maslanka Press: New York.
Perusal score