Piano Reduction including solo part. Par DENISOV EDISON. The catalogue of Edison Denisov's works includes 16 concertos. It was a genre to which he returned time and again throughout his life, from the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra of 1972 to the Double Concerto for Flute, Clarinet and Orchestra of 1996. In Denisov's music the role of the soloist, or rather the protagonist, is extraordinarily important, not so much for its virtuosity as for its confessional character. The solo part is a monologue distinguished by poetic diction and a very personal message from the composer. The dramaturgical conception of the Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra, a reworking of the Viola Concerto of 1986, draws on traditional sonata form, thereby reaffirming the ubiquitous classicism in Denisov's thought. In this late work, we find all the typical features of his style: sinuous melodic lines layered into dense contrapuntal textures, and an interplay of orchestral colours, with pure sonorities contrasting with complex mixtures of sounds. It is a perfect dramaturgy that governs the evolution of the music to the very end. The first movement assumes the role of a sonata-allegro, with the standard formal sections of exposition, development, recapitulation and coda. The second movement is an Adagio for strings. The third takes the form of a little contrasting intermezzo that introduces both new thematic material and a new range of colours. Here tunefulness gives way to pointillism enriched with sonic effects. The only movement with a virtuosic solo part, its nervousness and inner tension set it worlds apart from the second and fourth movements that surround it. The fourth movement assumes the traditional form of a final set of variations. It is the dramaturgical and semantic heart of the concerto. The theme of the variations is Franz Schubert's Impromptu in B-flat major, op. 142, which in this case is 'born' from the celesta as the product of a dodecaphonic string cluster. This finale represents Denisov's homage to his great mentor, Schubert's music being for him a symbol of eternal and universal beauty. 'The attentive listener', Denisov stressed, 'will recognise that the Impromptu theme is already suggested very slowly in the course of the three preceding movements, not only thematically, but also psychologically. That's what makes the appearance of the Schubert theme sound so natural.' The variations relate to the variation genre less in their form than in their spiritual and conceptual metamorphoses. It is, one might say, 'music round about Schubert'. (Ekaterina Kouprovskaia-Denisova)/ Répertoire / Saxophone Alto et Piano

Play-Alongs Bekannter Stücke Aus Irland Schottland Wales Dem Cornwall und Der Bretagne-Martin Tourish is an accordionist composer and musicologist from Co. Donegal now based in Dublin. Celtic music is in his blood for his ancestors were noted collectors of dance music manuscripts dating back to the 19th century. With many recordings to his credit he now offers his expertise to performers wishing to explore the rich culture of Irish and other Celtic music on a variety of instruments. ?World Music Celtic? presents material from the Irish Scottish Welsh Cornish and Breton traditions. It makes no great technical demands on the players but Tourish points out that notation of this music is often ?skeletal? hence it is important to gain a knowledge of theindividual traditions in question and naturally he offers plenty of information on performance practice. The collection spans three centuries from the blind bardic harpists of the 18th century to the international performers of the present day. Tourish accepts that this volume can only scratch the surface of a multi-faceted genre but hopes you will see it as a stepping stone to delve deeper into recordings festivals and the very communities whence this music comes. ?World Music Celtic? is available in four formats each with complete recordings and backing tracks on CD: as solo versions for violin flute or saxophone (with piano) and in an ensemble version for two melodic instruments (C Bb or Eb) piano guitar bass and bodhrán.