Soprano Saxophone

This recording shines a light on Australian composition for the saxophone combined with piano and at times joined by cello, violin and percussion. Some works are adaptations of music originally for oboe made by the composers themselves (Edwards, Hindson, Broadstock), and all recordings are premieres of which two (Chan and Orlovich) were commissioned specifically for this project.

NoXaS Saxophone Quartet was established in 2007 and since then has distinguished itself as a high-quality ensemble with several collaborations with elite Norwegian musicians and ensembles. Its main objective is to perform the best possible repertoire for this type of ensemble format while simultaneously building up a new repertoire together with composers and other performers. Through this work, NoXaS has cemented its position as a significant asset to the Norwegian music scene.

A creative response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent obliteration of livelihoods for freelance musicians, this series of SOLITARY POEMS from 30 international composers aims to ameliorate this situation and simultaneously support the creation of new music for Soprano Saxophone.The Swedish Record label BIS will release its own selection of these Solitary Poems in December 2023.

To date, Kalevi Aho has composed sixteen symphonies and twenty-eight concertos, several operas and a large number of chamber works – a rate of production which is all the more impressive considering the complexity and originality displayed by each new work. On this latest in a long series of BIS releases with Aho’s music, two of his most recent works are performed by the musicians of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra. The orchestra and its artistic director John Storgårds have collaborated with the composer on several projects, and the Concerto for Soprano Saxophone is a commission from the orchestra, at the suggestion of the Swedish saxophonist Anders Paulsson. A specialist on the soprano saxophone, Paulsson also demonstrated the instrument’s capabilities to Aho as part of his preparations.