Belgian-born Adolf Sax developed saxophones in 1841 in order to provide a family of concert instruments for orchestras and bands which would bridge the gap between woodwind and brass sections. They were made of brass and played with a single clarinet-style reed. Apart from occasional use by Bizet in 'The Fair Maid of Perth' (1866), music from which was later transferred into L'Arlesiennne, the instruments failed to find a regular place in symphony orchestras. However, in the C20th, a revival of interest in the solo capacity of the alto sax in particular returned the saxophone to concert use. This disc provides a fine and unusual compilation of such music, superbly played by internationally acclaimed soloist Mario Marzi.

Marzi's assured technical skill is founded on his phenomenal breath control, and his ability to produce a range of tone colours from the alto sax. As well as its warm and nasal characteristic tone, he can make it sound like an oboe, cor anglais, oboe d'amore or horn. Golden toned, liquid and seemingly effortless cantilenas are a particular feature of his playing on this disc, showing that the singing powers of the instrument can easily convey poetry and emotion.

Although the programme is of 20th century works, listeners need have no fear; all the pieces are very approachable; several of them being well-known characters in the history of modern music:-
Glazunov, Concerto in E flat major for alto saxophone and strings Op. 109 (1934)
Debussy, Rhapsodie for orchestra and saxophone (composed for sax and piano 1904, transcribed for orchestra in 1919 by Debussy, orchestration later completed by Roger-Ducasse)
Ibert, Concertino da camera for alto saxophone and eleven instruments (1935)
Milhaud, Scaramouche. Suite for saxophone and orchestra (2-piano version 1935, orchestral version 1937)
Villa-Lobos, Fantasia for saxophone and chamber orchestra (1948)
Milhaud, La création du monde, ballet for orchestra Op. 81 (composed 1923)

Orchestral support is provided by the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, conducted by Hansjorg Schellenberger. Their lush string tone cushions the soloist most effectively in Glazunov's romantic and melodious concerto, and soloists from the orchestra used in the Ibert and Milhaud's 'La création' give sterling support to Marzi. At times in the full orchestral works one might wish for a little more energy and sparkle in response to Marzi's dazzling virtuosity and heart-felt phrasing.

The Arts engineers provide a 5.1 multichannel recording at 96K/24bits, and list no less than 20 Neumann and Schoeps mikes being employed. The Auditorium di Milano in Italy is rather on the dry side (even in MC) for my taste, although there is just sufficient ambience for the sound not to feel claustrophobic. The sound-stage is quite narrow, and front-to-back perspective of the orchestra is not very evident, thus giving generalized rather than well-focussed location of instruments. Despite multi-miking, the large and diverse percussion section in the Villa-Lobos piece regrettably lacks impact, and the overall orchestral sound is generally short on deep bass despite the LFE channel. However, the solo sax is quite well-balanced; its miking with a stereo pair of Neumann KM 184s rather than the usual single spot gives plenty of heft and detail to the instrument's tone with only a nominal amount of key-noise and few breath sounds. Many will be happy with the multi-miked approach adopted here, but I feel a more open approach would have given the music more atmosphere and realism. The SACD on this disc was also transferred at a pretty high level, and I had to rapidly back off on the volume control in order to take down the over-loud saxophone solos.

A special word of praise goes for the splendidly detailed programme notes in the multi-lingual booklet.

Despite a few quibbles, this is a delightful and very entertaining disc. Rightfully so, it focusses attention on Mario Marzi's often breathtaking solos, and at the same time affords a conspectus of the versatility of the alto saxophone and the response of C20th composers to its possibilities. Enjoy!

Copyright © 2009 John Miller and HRAudio.net

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