Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra in Es major, Op.109

In the classical concert repertoire, the CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND STRING ORCHESTRA, OP. 109, in E‑flat major by ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV, written in 1934, is among the most celebrated and frequently performed works for the instrument. Glazunov is a central figure in Russian musical culture, his talent recognized from an early age. A conductor and teacher, he served as director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1905—formally until 1930—guiding the institution through the turbulent revolutionary years and the establishment of Soviet power. As director, he supported young musicians, including financially; among those he encouraged was Dmitri Shostakovich. In 1928, Glazunov left the Soviet Union, officially for health reasons, though his departure was also driven by his disagreement with increasing political interference in cultural life and in the work of musicians. He spent several years traveling throughout Europe and the United States before finally settling in Paris. Glazunov had a keen interest not only in the piano but also in wind instruments. As a child, he learned to play the clarinet, and later the trombone, trumpet, cello, viola, and French horn. It is therefore no surprise that on March 21^st , 1932, he shared with his friend, the composer Maximilian Osseyevich Steinberg, the idea of writing a saxophone quartet. The premiere of his now‑famous Saxophone Quartet (also associated with Op. 109) took place at a private concert in Paris in 1932. The composer expressed his enthusiasm:the performers are such virtuosi that it is impossible to imagine that they play the same instruments as we hear in jazz. What really strikes me is their breathing and indefatigability, light sound, and clear intonation. Impressed by the performance of the Saxophone Quartet on December 14, 1933, the renowned saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr asked Glazunov to compose a concerto for the instrument. By April 4^th , 1934, the work was nearly complete. Raschèr, then living in exile in Copenhagen, traveled to Paris to review the score, and together they finalized several tempos and a new cadenza. The world premiere of the Concerto took place on November 26^th , 1934, in Norrköping, Sweden, with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and Raschèr as soloist. The Saxophone Concerto is one of Glazunov’s final and finest works, highlighting both the romantic lyricism and the virtuosity of the instrument. Its three movements, lasting roughly fifteen minutes, unfold without interruption. Rich in melodic invention, the concerto develops through a series of “metamorphoses” (as Raschèr described them) in which thematic material from the introduction and first movement is continually transformed, creating a cohesive musical arc. In the slow central section, the saxophone’s virtuoso lines intertwine with the orchestra’s lyrical themes, and shifts in tempo and dynamics lead naturally into the soloist’s brilliant cadenza. The concluding fast movement takes the form of a fugato, a hallmark of Glazunov’s style. It is almost certain that the seventy‑year‑old composer never heard a public performance of his Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra, as its first Paris performance in 1936 took place after his death on March 21^st of that year.