Saxophone Concerto (Larsson)

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 [sv] conducting the Norrköping Orchestral Association.[1] 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 several Raschèr's pioneering techniques—"highly personal tricks and devices".[2] Because the Saxophone Concerto proved too difficult for most soloists (and was therefore oft-neglected), Larsson "simplified" it in the early 1980s to make it more accessible.[2]

Saxophone Concerto
by Lars-Erik Larsson
The composer
Opus14
Composed1934 (1934), rev. 1980s
PublisherGehrmans Musikförlag [sv] (1952)
DurationApprox. 20 minutes[1]
Movements3
Premiere
Date27 November 1934 (1934-11-27)
LocationNorrköping, Sweden
ConductorTord Benner [sv]
PerformersNorrköping Orchestral Association
Sigurd Raschèr

Structure

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The Saxophone Concerto is in three movements. They are as follows:

  1. Allegro molto moderato
  2. Adagio
  3. Allegro scherzando

Instrumentation

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The Saxophone Concerto is scored the following instruments:[1]

Gehrmans Musikförlag [sv] published the piece in 1953.[1]

Recordings

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The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Saxophone Concerto:

Conductor Orchestra Soloist Rec.[a] Time Recording venue Label Ref.
Jorma Panula New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra Pekka Savijoki [fi] 1982 19:19 Concert Hall, Royal Swedish Academy of Music BIS
Leif Segerstam Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Christer Johnsson [sv] 1983 19:13 Berwald Hall Caprice [sv]
Juha Kangas [fi] Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra John-Edward Kelly 1991 20:43 Snellman Hall, Kokkola Arte Nova
Yutaka Sado BBC Philharmonic Nobuya Sugawa 2007 21:42 Studio 7, New Broadcasting House Chandos

Notes, references, and sources

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Notes
  1. ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
  2. ^ J. Panula–BIS (CD–218) 1984
  3. ^ L. Segerstam–Caprice (CAP 21492) 1995
  4. ^ J. Kelly–Arte Nova (74321 27786 2) 1995
  5. ^ Y. Sado–Chandos (CHAN 10466) 2008
References
Sources
  • "Konsert för saxofon och stråkorkester" [Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra]. gehrmans.se. Gehrmans Musikförlag. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  • Skans, Per (1984). Saxophone Concerti (CD booklet). Jorma Panula & New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra. BIS. p. 4–6. CD–218. OCLC 11863759
  • Ogata, Eiko (2008). Nobuya Sugawa plays Honda, Yoshimatsu, Ibert, Larsson (CD booklet). Yutaka Sado & BBC Philharmonic. Chandos. p. 6–7. CHAN 10466. OCLC 227034952