“Escapades” for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra

Recognized as a living legend of our time and still creatively active, composer JOHN WILLIAMS turns 94 on February 8^th . Whether writing for film and television, or creating symphonic, concert, and chamber works, his music continues to captivate with its vivid imagery, memorable themes, and richly layered sound. The three‑part concert suite ESCAPADES FOR SAXOPHONE AND ORCHESTRA is inspired by John Williams’s Oscar‑nominated score for Steven Spielberg’s film Catch Me If You Can (2002), starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the young Frank Abagnale Jr., whose astonishing exploits confound the FBI, and Tom Hanks as the pursuing agent. Set in the 1960s, the story prompted Williams to look back to his own formative years in the 1950s, when he performed as a jazz pianist in New York nightclubs. In the introductory note to the published film score, he writes that his aim was to evoke an impressionistic memoir of the progressive jazz movement that was then so popular . For Williams, the timbre of the solo alto saxophone is ideally suited to the narrative of the concert suite, which weaves together a variety of musical idioms. The instrument’s virtuoso melodic lines, often doubled by the vibraphone and supported by the double bass, are shaped in the spirit of the ornamental gestures characteristic of jazz improvisation. The concise main theme recalls his early film work and his collaboration with Henry Mancini on titles such as The Pink Panther and Charade, for which Williams performed as the pianist on the original recordings. The first movement, “Closing In,” evokes the often humorous cat‑and‑mouse investigation. The harmonically rich second movement, “Reflections,” provides a contrasting mood and portrays the fragile relationships within Abagnale’s fractured family—his constant “escape” in the film is shown as a reaction to his parents’ divorce. The third movement, “Joy Ride,” offers a vivid soundscape accompanying Frank’s wild flights of fantasy that took him all around the world before the law finally reined him in. The premiere of Escapades was conducted by John Williams at a concert celebrating the 205th anniversary of the United States Marine Band on July 12^th , 2003, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In 2016, Williams recorded the work in Los Angeles for the album The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration Part III, released by Sony Classical, with soloists Dan Higgins (who also performed on the original film soundtrack) on alto saxophone, Michael Valerio on double bass, and Austrian percussionist Martin Grubinger on vibraphone. The recording won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement.