New Century Saxophone Quartet: 2009-2010 Repertory

New Century Saxophone Quartet
2009-2010 Repertory

NOTES:
1. On a case-by-case basis, presenters may draw on the repertory below to customize programs.
2. All programs, including those here, must be approved through BesenArts before being considered confirmed.
3. Programs as of May 31, 2008, subject to change.

Download New Century Saxophone Quartet programs in PDF format.

CLASSICS PROGRAM
1. J.S. Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (three to four contrapuncti)
2. Jean Baptiste Singelée: Premier Quatuor, Op. 53 (1857)
    OR— David Lang: Revolutionary Etudes (2006, commissioned by NCSQ)
—Intermission—
3. Alexander Glazunov: Quartet for Saxophones in B-flat major, Op. 109 (1934)
4. George Gershwin (1898-1937), arr. Riojas: Selections from Porgy & Bess (1935)
    OR— W.A. Mozart, arr. Boatman: Variations in C major, K. 265 “Ah, vous dirai-je Maman”
5. Astor Piazzolla, arr. Voirpy: L’histoire du Tango (1985)

CONTEMPORARY PROGRAM
1. J.S. Bach: Contrapunctus No. 1, from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
    David Lang: Etude No. 1: (lyrical and hard), from Revolutionary Etudes (2006)
    Bach: Contrapunctus No. 4
    John Fitz Rogers: Prodigal Child (2004)
    Bach: Contrapunctus No. 9
    —Intermission—
2. Prodigal Child (2004)    John Fitz Rogers (b. 1963)
3. O Waly Waly Variations (1999)    Ben Johnston (b. 1926)
    OR— Franciscan Chant (2005, commissioned by NCSQ)    Barbara Kolb (b. 1939)
4. Heartbreakers (1999)    Jacob ter Veldhuis (b. 1951)
    OR— Drastic Measures (1976)    Russell Peck (b. 1945)

JAZZ- & ROCK-INSPIRED PROGRAM
1. Lenny Pickett: Saxophone Quartet No. 2 (1995, commissioned by NCSQ)
2. Jacob ter Veldhuis: Heartbreakers (1999)
    —Intermission—
3. Bob Mintzer: Contraption (2001, commissioned by NCSQ)
4. David Lang: Selections from Revolutionary Etudes (2006, commissioned by NCSQ)
5. Astor Piazzolla, arr. Voirpy: L’histoire du Tango (1985)
6. Russell Peck: Drastic Measures (1976)

LIGHT PROGRAM
1. Bob Mintzer: Contraption (2001, commissioned by NCSQ)
2. J.S. Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (two to three contrapuncti)
    OR— W.A. Mozart, arr. Boatman: Variations in C major, K. 265 “Ah, vous dirai-je Maman”
3. Leonard Bernstein, arr. Boatman: Selections from “West Side Story” (1961)
4. Richard Rodgers, arr. Boone: My Favorite Things (1959)
—Intermission—
5. Astor Piazzolla, arr. Voirpy: L’histoire du Tango (1985)
6. George Gershwin, arr. Riojas: Selections from Porgy & Bess (1935)
7. Russell Peck: Drastic Measures (1976)
8. Bernstein, arr. Riojas: Slava! (1977)

THE ART OF FUGUE

Option A — with Misha Films animation
One of the following works as the first portion of the program:
1. Jean Baptiste Singelée: Premier Quatuor, Op. 53 (1857)
    David Lang: Revolutionary Etudes (2006, commissioned by NCSQ)
    Other alternatives available on request
—Intermission—
2. J.S. Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (twelve contrapuncti and chorale)

Option B — with or without Misha Films animation
J.S. Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (complete)
A complete, 80-minute program

“A New Century Christmas”

The New Century Saxophone Quartet’s holiday album, “A New Century Christmas” (Channel Classics 14698) was released in 2000 to wild critical acclaim and was featured on National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition,” leading to a Command Performance at the White House. This program from one of America’s most innovative ensembles is now available in concert.

“A New Century Christmas” is a series of delightful and moving arrangements of holiday standards by over a dozen composers from the worlds of classical, jazz, and popular music. Among the composers who joined in the fun were Lenny Pickett (leader of the Saturday Night Live Band), Ben Johnston, David Ott, Ronald Rudkin, and Lawrence Dillon.

“The aural equivalent of spiked eggnog. … Mixes festivity and funk; Lenny Pickett’s hilarious klezmer-style ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentle Mensch’ is alone worth the price of admission.”
—Chicago Tribune

“The New Century Saxophone Quartet has avoided gimmicks in this remarkable reinvention of carols that is the freshest Christmas CD I’ve heard in years. … The result are Christmas carols that come alive, rescued from the bin of repetition and jaded familiarity. … Throughout, the quartet performs sensitively, always keeping the carols — and their spirit — at the forefront.”
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“An unusual take on familiar Christmas songs. … Will particularly appeal to saxophone fans as well as anyone looking for holiday music with a little different bent.”
—Denver Post

“The New Century Saxophone Quartet is a breath of fresh air. … A New Century Christmas is unique. It presents amusing and ingenious arrangements of Christmas tunes by a diversity of living composers, and the results are fun and original. By refusing to be gulled by the Christmas hype, the quartet has created something fresh and irreverent — and it will probably still sound good long after the turkey has become soup.”
—BBC Music Magazine

Sample Program A (full length)

Contraption	Bob Mintzer
Selections from “The Art of Fugue”	J.S. Bach
Selections from “West Side Story”	Leonard Bernstein
—Intermission—
The First Noel	arr. Ben Johnston
We Four Kings	arr. Ben Boone
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming	arr. Arthur Frackenpohl
In Dulci Jubilo	J.S. Bach, arr. Frackenpohl
My Favorite Things	Richard Rodgers, arr. Boone
O Holy Night	arr. Laurence Dillon
God Rest Ye Merry Gentle Mensch	arr. Lenny Pickett
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming	arr. Glenn Haynes
In the Bleak Midwinter	arr. Glenn Haynes
O Little Town of Bethlehem	Lewis Redner, arr. David Ott
The Last Noel	arr. Laurence Dillon
Silent Night	Franz Gruber, arr. Gordon Goodwin

Sample Program B (45 minutes, no intermission)

The First Noel	arr. Ben Johnston
We Four Kings	arr. Ben Boone
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming	arr. Arthur Frackenpohl
In Dulci Jubilo	J.S. Bach, arr. Frackenpohl
My Favorite Things	Richard Rodgers, arr. Boone
O Holy Night	arr. Laurence Dillon
God Rest Ye Merry Gentle Mensch	arr. Lenny Pickett
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming	arr. Glenn Haynes
In the Bleak Midwinter	arr. Glenn Haynes
O Little Town of Bethlehem	Lewis Redner, arr. David Ott
The Last Noel	arr. Laurence Dillon
Silent Night	Franz Gruber, arr. Gordon Goodwin