Federico Mondelci – Soprano

Julian Brodski – Alto

Silvio Rossomando – Tenor

Michele Paolino – Baritone

Program

Georg Friedrich Händel: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba

Johann Sebastian Bach: Aria (from Orchestral Suite No.3, BWV 1068)

Isaac Albéniz: Sevilla (from Suite Española)

Eugène Bozza: Andante et Scherzo

Nicola Piovani: Theme from Life is Beautiful(Oscar winner)

Michael Nyman:

Film Suite

Candle fire, from Diary of Anne Frank

The Heart Asks Pleasure First, from The Piano

Here to There, from The Piano

Lost and Found, from The Piano

Chasing Sheep is Best Left to Shepherds, from The Draughtsman’s Contract

Ennio Morricone:

Film Suite

Miserere, from The Mission

Gabriel’s Oboe, from The Mission

Ecstasy of Gold, from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Ástor Piazzolla: Oblivion; Libertango

Nino Rota: Music from the film “8 1/2”

Program Notes

In 1842, when the saxophone created by Adolphe Sax was still in its infancy, Hector Berlioz wrote:

“Its merit, in my opinion, lies in the flexible beauty of its accent, at times somber and calm, at times passionate, dreamy or melancholy, or as vague as the echo of an echo, like the indistinct cry of the breeze in the woods; or rather, like the mysterious vibration of a bell long after it has been rung. No other musical instrument in existence known to me possesses this particular sonority, on the borders of silence, [ … ] the most beautiful low voice known to date in music.”

Since then, the saxophone has come a long way, winning over composers of classical, jazz, and popular music alike. Over time, literature for the sax quartet has also developed, a modern, more easy-going, and light-hearted equivalent of the aristocratic string quartet of the classical-romantic tradition, made up of original pieces and transcriptions. Today’s program is an example of this. Transcriptions of works conceived for other kinds of ensembles include The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba by Händel, the famous Air on the G String by J.S. Bach, and Sevilla (from Suite Española) by Isaac Albeniz. Film music will bring the audience into an imaginative world with soundtracks from famous movies by Ennio Morricone, Nicola Piovani, Michael Nyman, and Nino Rota.

Astor Piazzolla’s famous compositions are perfectly suited to the expressive possibilities of the saxophone.

The Italian Saxophone Quartet, with its 40-year history, is one of the longest-lived groups currently active on the world stage. Shortly after its founding, the ISQ won several important chamber music competitions, including the unanimous First Prize at the prestigious Premio Ancona. Since then, they have given exciting and eclectic performances to adoring crowds from New York to Moscow, Athens to Tokyo.

Over 40 compositions written by eminent contemporary composers have been dedicated to the ISQ. The ISQ has performed the world and/or European premieres of many preeminent composers such as Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, Luciano Berio, Salvatore Sciarrino, Franco Donatoni, Henri Pousseur, and the American composer Joe Harnell.

In 1992 the ISQ organized the 10th World Saxophone Congress in Pesaro (Italy), the birthplace of Rossini, in the city’s historic Rossini Theatre named for the great famous composer. This festival drew an unprecedented 550 soloists and groups from 22 countries worldwide and was awarded the “Kaleidoscope Award” by the Commission of the European Community.

Highlights of the ISQ’s international touring include two concerts on the venerable Dumbarton Oaks series in Washington, DC, and four on the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles; the Bermuda International Festival; the Alicante Festival (Spain), the Kagan Musikfest in Munich (Germany, and the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut (Lebanon).

The ISQ has given over 140 concerts in the last four years alone. Their 2024/25 schedule includes important festivals such as Festival delle Nazioni (Italy), the Palaces of St. Petersburg Festival (Russia), the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Chamber Series (Russia), and the Palaces of Crimea International Music Festival, as well as performances in concert series in the USA, Berlin, Vienna, Cairo, Yerevan (Armenia), and many Italian cities.

The Italian Saxophone Quartet appears by arrangement with Lisa Sapinkopf Artists, www.chambermuse.com