Debussy:
Rhapsody for alto saxophone & piano (or orchestra), L. 98
Indy:
Choral varié, Op. 55
Maurice:
Tableaux de Provence
Schmitt, F:
Légende, Op. 66
Tomasi:
Concerto for Saxophone

The saxophone has a strange ‘semi-detached’ relationship with the symphony orchestra, and is widely considered to be more at home in a jazz setting. However, many composers have been seduced by the sound and wide range of colours and sonorities the instrument produces. From Glazunov’s concerto to presentday composers, the repertoire has grown to include some fascinating works.

This CD ‘Légende’ gathers together French works with a very Mediterranean feel.

The sultry sound of the saxophone is used to tremendous effect in Schmitt’s exotic Légende. Tomasi’s imposing concerto and the vibrant Tableaux de Provence by Paule Maurice will be discoveries for most listeners, and welcome ones as well.

Theodore Kerkezos is one of the leading saxophonists of his generation, and a champion of modern music. He is also active in preserving and bringing to a wider audience the repertoire for his instrument – much of which is little known.

This CD is a fascinating programme of unusual repertoire, and the highly evocative music conjures vivid images of the south of France.

The Guardian

7th October 2010

***

“He's a tremendous instrumentalist, approaching everything he does with fire and commitment...Most of these composers associate the saxophone with sensuality and gorgeousness, and sometimes, more awkwardly, with orientalist notions of the foreign. The major work here is Debussy's Rapsodie with its sultry evocation of Moorish Spain.”

The Telegraph

8th October 2010

****

“Debussy’s Rapsodie, Florent Schmitt’s Légende and Vincent d’Indy’s Choral varié all hauntingly exploit the mellow reedy timbre, and Kerkezos, together with the LSO, finds a refined range of colouring and expression for each. A disc full of surprises.”

The Independent

22nd October 2010

***

“Debussy's Rapsodie...drew on Parisian street vendors' cries for some motifs, investing the material with an urban bustle, though it was also infused with a Moorish flavour – a blend of the exotic and the urbane which also found in Tomasi's Concerto Pour Saxophone Et Orchestre and Schmitt's Légende”