Saxophone Concerto (Larsson)

Saxophone Concerto
by Lars-Erik Larsson
The composer
Opus	14
Composed	1934 (1934), rev. 1980s
Publisher	Gehrmans Musikförlag [sv] (1952)
Duration	Approx. 20 minutes[1]
Movements	3
Premiere
Date	27 November 1934 (1934-11-27)
Location	Norrköping, Sweden
Conductor	Tord Benner [sv]
Performers	Norrköping Orchestral Association Sigurd Raschèr

The Saxophone Concerto, Op. 14, is a three-movement concertante composition for alto saxophone and string orchestra written in 1934 by the Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson. The piece premiered on 27 November 1934 in Norrköping, Sweden, with Tord Benner [sv] conducting the Norrköping Orchestral Association.[1] The soloist was the German-born American virtuoso Sigurd Raschèr, its dedicatee, whom Larsson had consulted during the compositional process; as such, the concerto incorporated several Raschèr's pioneering techniques—"highly personal tricks and devices".[2] Because the Saxophone Concerto proved too difficult for most soloists (and was therefore oft-neglected), Larsson "simplified" it in the early 1980s to make it more accessible.[2]

Structure

The Saxophone Concerto is in three movements. They are as follows:

1. Allegro molto moderato
2. Adagio
3. Allegro scherzando

Instrumentation

The Saxophone Concerto is scored the following instruments:[1]

• Soloist: Alto saxophone (in E♭)
• Strings: violins, violas, cellos, and double basses

Gehrmans Musikförlag [sv] published the piece in 1953.[1]

Recordings

The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Saxophone Concerto:

Conductor	Orchestra	Soloist	Rec.[a]	Time	Recording venue	Label	Ref.
Jorma Panula	New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra	Pekka Savijoki [fi]	1982	19:19	Concert Hall, Royal Swedish Academy of Music	BIS	[b]
Leif Segerstam	Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra	Christer Johnsson [sv]	1983	19:13	Berwald Hall	Caprice [sv]	[c]
Juha Kangas [fi]	Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra	John-Edward Kelly	1991	20:43	Snellman Hall, Kokkola	Arte Nova	[d]
Yutaka Sado	BBC Philharmonic	Nobuya Sugawa	2007	21:42	Studio 7, New Broadcasting House	Chandos	[e]

Notes, references, and sources

Notes

1. Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
2. J. Panula–BIS (CD–218) 1984
3. L. Segerstam–Caprice (CAP 21492) 1995
4. J. Kelly–Arte Nova (74321 27786 2) 1995
5. Y. Sado–Chandos (CHAN 10466) 2008

References

1. Gehrmans Musikförlag.
2. Skans 1984, p. 4.

Sources

• "Konsert för saxofon och stråkorkester" [Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra]. gehrmans.se. Gehrmans Musikförlag. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
• Skans, Per (1984). Saxophone Concerti (CD booklet). Jorma Panula & New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra. BIS. p. 4–6. CD–218. OCLC 11863759
• Ogata, Eiko (2008). Nobuya Sugawa plays Honda, Yoshimatsu, Ibert, Larsson (CD booklet). Yutaka Sado & BBC Philharmonic. Chandos. p. 6–7. CHAN 10466. OCLC 227034952