Alexander Tcherepnin

As the title suggests this Sonatine interprets musical elements of sport. With this in mind Tcherepnine's Sonatine is a highly amusing energetic and fun piece to play for saxophonists. Russian born composer Alexandre Tcherepnine (1899-1977) moved to Paris with his family in 1921 following the increasingly hostile political environment in Russia. During WWII Tcherepnine's composing activities virtually stopped. However just before doing so he composed his Sonatine Sportive. The first movement interprets boxers with pulsating quavers in the piano partrepresenting a defence. Movement two suggests a rest that the two players take before the 'racing' third movement written in the form of a canon. With such stimulating and imaginative creativity Tcherepnine's Sonatine is essential to the saxophonist's repertoire.

One of Tcherepnin?s favourite instruments was the cello for which he wrote about ten works (for example the Georgian Rhapsody other works for violoncello and orchestra and several ensemble and solo pieces). He worked together with cellists such as Paul Grümmer Paul Tortelier Pierre Fournier and Gregor Piatigorsky and for this reason his cello works seem to be especially well suited to the instrument. Although Tcherepnin liked to point out the similarity between the cello and a baritone voice he always did justice to the whole range of the instrument even in the highest thumb positions. Georgian Tatar Russian and Kazakh folk music provided the inspiration for Songsand Dances op. 84.