A saxophone recital of music by american composers

Includes recorded audio files in WAV and MP3 formats, 70:34 in lengthThe graduate saxophone recital performed by Jonathan Cruz with collaborative pianist, Brian Hanke, presented on April 2, 2008, consisted of four extended length pieces for saxophone by American composers. They were selected specifically to reflect various styles of the last three decades of twentieth century musical literature. \ud The consideration of the saxophone's brief existence compared to that of other wind instruments proved to be a challenge in selecting a program. The following pieces which span a range of only twenty-four years were carefully chosen: Concerto by Karel Husa, Suite by Dan Higgins, Sonata by David Maslanka, and Sonatina by Melvin Solomon. These challenging pieces individually required the performer to demonstrate the saxophonist's adaptability to perform a variety of musical styles. \ud The saxophone, an instrument invented approximately 160 years ago, has only recently been enthusiastically embraced by composers of classical music. Today a capable saxophonist can select music from a wide variety of musical genres, this abundance of repertoire being primarily the result of several major considerations, the first of which would be transcriptions of compositions written for other instruments. In addition, composers, especially contemporary ones, have taken considerable interest in the saxophone's wide-ranging timbral effects, its tone which many consider to be similar to that of the human voice, and an exceptionally wide range of dynamics. \ud The works selected for inclusion in this recital are nothing less than an expression of the inspiration composers often find in writing for this relatively young musical instrument. This paper will delve into the evolution of musical composition for the saxophone in to the factors that lead the performer to choose these specific pieces for this recital