Standards

Description

The saxophone quartet repertoire is and has always been a paradox; since the ensemble itself is still seen by many people as a rarity, the assumption quickly follows that there must not be much repertoire. The fact is that the saxophone quartet is a very common chamber ensemble and has been since shortly after its invention. In universities and conservatories it is as common to find saxophone quartets as it is string quartets. Since the ensemble itself is almost 150 years old it follows that that there is a large volume of repertoire, larger than even many saxophonists are aware. The problem is that, while there is great breadth in the literature there is not a corresponding depth. This is not unusual the same can be said for the music of just about any instrument its just that due to the relatively late invention of the saxophone we missed having music written for us by many of the great composers throughout history, and so by comparison to string quartets (for example), we saxophonists come up admittedly short in the area of masterworks….