“Its greatest merit, in my opinion, lies in the transformable beauty of its accent, at times heavy and calm, at times passionate, dreamlike or melancholy, or indefinite [...] like the mysterious vibrations of a bell long after it has been struck.“
Hector Berlioz in an early appreciation of the saxophone
Even before jazz musicians came to appreciate the fullness of tone, richness of nuances and sonic flexibility of the saxophone, French composers made the most of the instrument’s poetic qualities praised by Berlioz. Despite this, the instrument has not to date been able to establish itself in the classical orchestra - its idiosyncratic tone, ever-present and fluctuating between vocal urgency and jazz associations, is not sufficiently compatible with the classical-romantic sonic ideal. This recording presents the works not in their customary adaptation with piano accompaniment, but in their original instrumentations for soloistic saxophone and orchestra. Only in this way can the works’ great instrumental variety and compositional originality be shown. They come from the French repertoire - with the exception of the Fantaisie-Caprice of the Belgian Absil - and were composed between 1903 and 1971. Four of the five works (with the exception of Debussy’s Rapsodie) are world premiere recordings of the original versions with orchestra or chamber ensemble.
Dominique Tassot is one of the leading saxophone soloists internationally. Invitations to perform as an orchestral soloist have led this prize winner of international competitions to numerous European symphony orchestras. A special concern of Dominique Tassot’s is the dissemination of large-scale but unknown original literature for saxophone and orchestra, which is reflected in the present production.
The conductor and hornist Manfred Neuman began his career as a hornist at the Cologne Opera before becoming a member of the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1976. His activity as a guest conductor regularly leads him to symphony orchestras at home and abroad.
The Munich Radio Orchestra was founded in 1952 and has since then constantly developed into a sound body with an enormously broad artistic spectrum. Since 1998 its Music Director has been Marcello Viotti.
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Hector Berlioz in an early appreciation of the saxophone
Even before jazz musicians came to appreciate the fullness of tone, richness of nuances and sonic flexibility of the saxophone, French composers made the most of the instrument’s poetic qualities praised by Berlioz. Despite this, the instrument has not to date been able to establish itself in the classical orchestra - its idiosyncratic tone, ever-present and fluctuating between vocal urgency and jazz associations, is not sufficiently compatible with the classical-romantic sonic ideal. This recording presents the works not in their customary adaptation with piano accompaniment, but in their original instrumentations for soloistic saxophone and orchestra. Only in this way can the works’ great instrumental variety and compositional originality be shown. They come from the French repertoire - with the exception of the Fantaisie-Caprice of the Belgian Absil - and were composed between 1903 and 1971. Four of the five works (with the exception of Debussy’s Rapsodie) are world premiere recordings of the original versions with orchestra or chamber ensemble.
Dominique Tassot is one of the leading saxophone soloists internationally. Invitations to perform as an orchestral soloist have led this prize winner of international competitions to numerous European symphony orchestras. A special concern of Dominique Tassot’s is the dissemination of large-scale but unknown original literature for saxophone and orchestra, which is reflected in the present production.
The conductor and hornist Manfred Neuman began his career as a hornist at the Cologne Opera before becoming a member of the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1976. His activity as a guest conductor regularly leads him to symphony orchestras at home and abroad.
The Munich Radio Orchestra was founded in 1952 and has since then constantly developed into a sound body with an enormously broad artistic spectrum. Since 1998 its Music Director has been Marcello Viotti.