Sunday, September 9, 2012

one

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon an interesting recording of Philip Glass's Violin Concerto No. 1. This version was arranged and performed by Australian saxophonist Amy Dickson on the soprano saxophone. Being quite familiar with the original work, I was interested to hear how she would nuance the strengths of the saxophone's unique sound as opposed to that of the violin. Upon listening I was glad that she did not attempt to imitate the sound, articulations, or vibrato of the violin, as some other performers of transcribed music are wont to do. While it may be appropriate in certain performances, I believe this piece is not one of those instances. Her interpretation of the piece is particularly fascinating to me as a saxophonist; according to the background information, she taught herself how to circular breathe in order to be able to perform this piece. I feel that Dickson interpreted this piece with careful consideration as to the composer's intent, as well as performing it with the style unique to saxophone literature, rather than violin.


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