Saxophone Quartet - George Gershwin: Prelude # 2 - Les Boréades

Saxophone Quartet Les Boréades
Prelude #2 - George Gershwin

Jan Schoemaker - soprano saxophone
Bert Brandsma - alto saxophone
Eduard Heyning - tenor saxophone
Wietze de Vries - baritone saxophone

Category:

Music

Tags:

• saxophone
• quartet
• george
• gershwin
• prelude
• two
• les
• boreades
• soprano
• alto
• tenor
• baritone
• saxes
• sax

[GoellnitzBryce]

The Saxophone is meant for jazz and the blues. Classical saxophone is just a support group.

[ABrandsma]

The saxophone made a bigger contribution to jazz, but it was invented for the military music around 1844. The inventor Adolphe Sax also hoped that it would be used in classical music, but since that world is kind of conservative it was at first not accepted there. (In fact only after 1935)

However, in 1844 Jazz didn't exist at all, so your comment is not accurate.

By the way, since when is George Gershwin a composer of real classical music?????

Kind regards,

Bert Brandsma

[chapter24]

Define 'real classical' music? Is Bartok a composer of real classical music because he used folk tunes? Is Debussy a composer of real classical music because he made use of ragtime in several of his compositions?

In my opinion these composers are equal in their classical writings as Gershwin or Frank Zappa.

[ABrandsma]

I'm not going to define classical nor jazz. I only responded to the comment about saxophone supposed to be meant for jazz & blues.

As I learnt in history class saxophone in it's first time mainly was a succes in military music. Adolph sax had hopes for the sax in symphonic music that alas have never been forfilled. During the 1920's when jazz became popular the sax suddenly rose to fame as well.

Gerswin composed Rhapsody in Blue in 1924. It was heavily critisized by the music establishment...

[ABrandsma]

A pity since it really is a succesfull piece of MUSIC! Several "classical" composers tried ragtime, nobody however as succesfull as Scott Joplin. Gershwin probably is most succesfull as songwriter, Summertime being covered by artists supposed to work in the fields of classical, jazz & pop/rock music. Even Strawinsky tried ragtime and wrote music for Big Band, still Duke Ellington is the best composer for big band history has ever seen. The labels Jazz and classical have several interpretations.

[ABrandsma]

Even Gershwin in 1926 allready said that under the label Jazz so many different kinds of music had been used that is was impossible to give one absolute definition.

Exactly the same can be said about "classical' music.

Personally I find it a pity that saxophones never became really a succes in symphonic orchestras. I'm fortunate in having played sax more than 200 times with symphony orchestra, but there are very few collegues on this entire planet that had so many opportunities.

[ABrandsma]

However the person who stated that saxophone was meant for Jazz/blues was definitly wrong, those types of music simply didn't exist at the time (1844) when the saxophone was invented. But of course the sax was more succesfull in jazz. I'm happy with having studied both Jazz AND classical saxophone, made me a versatile musician with a lot of work.

[shaylen911]

the saxophone ensemble i play in and i are doing this same arrangement... beautiful song, i love your range of dynamics, and the way the tempo and style picked up when moving into the Gb section... very well done.

would love to see Les Boréades play live!

[bigb1925]

Bert,

Beautiful. I enjoy the whole range of music you post...

Thank you for continuing to share with the world.

Mike

[tenorsax120]

Bert,

I'm missing the bass :( Otherwise great playing a tune from the great Gershwin who saw the beauty the saxophone had to offer!