Saxophone Concerto (Higdon)
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The Soprano Sax Concerto is a concerto for soprano saxophone and orchestra by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was originally commissioned by the Minnesota Commissioning Club as Higdon's Oboe Concerto and was premiered by oboist Kathy Greenbank and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2005. Higdon later reworked the composition, however, and the piece was premiered in its form as a saxophone concerto on August 3, 2007 at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music by the saxophonist Timothy McAllister and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra under the conductor Marin Alsop.[1][2][3][4]
Instrumentation
The Soprano Sax Concerto has a duration of roughly 17 minutes and is composed in a single movement. Higdon described her inspiration for the work in the score program notes, writing:
I have always been struck by the range of power and beauty that comes from saxophones. I have seen a sax quartet bring a large school room filled with hundreds of children come to a complete halt with one tutti note. Many people don't realize just how much power exists in this group of instruments, and often they may not realize the potential for beauty. The soprano sax in particular produces a tone of warmth and a real agility that allows it to sing like none of the other instruments in this group. So it seemed fitting when I found myself being approached by several saxophonists, to arrange my "Oboe Concerto" for this instrument. There are not a lot of works for the soprano sax in a concerto format; and the ranges of both oboe and soprano are similar. Because the saxophone has more power to it than an oboe, I thought that this instrument would balance the accompanying ensemble quite well, but give listeners a chance to hear its exquisite beauty.[1]
In a later interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Higdon described the composition an "airplane-hotel project," remarking, "I had the piece on my laptop, and I could work on it while I was sitting in a lobby or an airport terminal. The orchestral part stayed the same; it was just a matter of changing some of the solo notes."[2]
The work is scored for a solo soprano saxophone and an orchestra comprising two flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), oboe (doubling English horn), two clarinets, two bassoons, two French horns, two trumpets, one percussionist, and strings.
