Composer: Gabriel Prokofiev
Performer: Branford Marsalis, Joby Burgess
Orchestra: Ural Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Alexey Bogorad
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Signum
Release: 2019
Size: 0.97 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Saxophone Concerto
01. I. Andante Deciso – Molto Pesante
02. II. Scherzo – Con moto
03. III. Largo mesto
04. IV. Allegro Mechanico
Bass Drum Concerto
05. I. Lento Scuro (Bass War)
06. II. Largo Mesto (In the Steppes)
07. III. Allegro Moderato Leggiero (Four to the Floor)
08. IV. Allegro Brilliante (May Speed)
In his new Saxophone Concerto, Gabriel Prokofiev explores a side of classical music usually seen as forbidden by modern contemporary composers: melody. This aspect was incorporated at the request of the soloist, Branford Marsalis, allowing Prokofiev to revisit characteristics of the classical tradition not usually heard in contemporary music, giving the saxophone an open canvas.
Prokofiev’s Bass Drum Concerto shows the versatility of the instrument, despite only being used in a very basic fashion in classical music as a whole. Prokofiev experiments with how the bass drum is struck, where it is struck, and what it is struck with throughout the piece, producing a variety of sounds, colours and textures.
“Mechanised, percussive toccata brilliance sits beside a certain melodiousness in the Saxophone Concerto, featuring Marsalis. And with Burgess as soloist, the Bass Drum Concerto is a plausible 22 minutes.” (Sunday Times)