Alto Saxophone,Piano - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.549423 Composed by Antonin Dvorak. Arranged by James M. Guthrie, ASCAP. Instructional,Romantic Period,Sacred,Standards. Score and part. 12 pages. Jmsgu3 #3494005. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549423). Score: 7 pages, solo part: 2 pages, piano part: 3 pages. Duration: 4:25. Not difficult, but requires sensitivity & dynamic control. Suitable for recitals, church meditations, or school programs. Dvořák Background Antonín Dvořák (1841 –1904) was, of course, a composer from Czechoslovakia. As a matter of fact, he was among the first Bohemian composers to attain universal recognition. It is important to realize that the late Romantic Nationalist period featured composers who used traditional and folk elements to portray the character of their nation. In particular, we see this in the music of Grieg (Norway), Finland (Sibelius), and Smetana (Bohemia).  Dvořák relied markedly on rhythms and other characteristics of Moravian and Bohemian folk music. Ascent to Fame Dvořák was truly a child musical prodigy on the violin. The premiere performances of his compositions notably occurred in 1872 and 1873. He submitted his First Symphony in particular to a German competition, but it failed to win. Consequently, in 1874 he presented two more symphonies to the Austrian State Prize for Composition. Johannes Brahms was the principal of the jury and was accordingly very impressed. They forthwith awarded the prize to Dvořák in 1874, 1876, and 1877. At this point, Brahms thereupon endorsed Dvořák to the publisher Simrock. Later, the publisher commissioned Dvořák to compose the Slavonic Dances, Op. 46. These became popular overnight and, as a result, Dvořák's worldwide status was launched. International Status Dvořák visited England upon invitation nine times. On each visit, he frequently conducted performances of his own compositions. He conducted concerts of his music, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Eventually, the Prague Conservatory in fact appointed Dvořák as a professor. There, to be sure, he wrote his famous Dumky Trio. United States Consequently, the National Conservatory of Music of America appointed him as director in 1892. As a result, Dvořák composed his two most famous symphonic works: the Symphony No. 9 (From the New World), which spread his name universally, and his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, one of the most famous of all cello works. Moreover, he wrote his most celebrated American String Quartet during this time. At the same time, because of his growing recognition in Europe and his homesickness for his own country, he left to return to Bohemia in 1895.  

Alto Saxophone,Piano - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.534135 Composed by Louis Adolphe Mayeur. Arranged by Paul Wehage. Concert,Opera,Romantic Period,Standards. Score and part. 29 pages. Musik Fabrik Music Publishing #3133401. Published by Musik Fabrik Music Publishing (A0.534135). Louis Adolphe Mayeur (1837 - 1894), was a Belgium clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and conductor who spent most of his musical career in France; Entering the French Military in 1855, he was a clarinetist in the Second Régiment of the Cuirassiers (Mounted Calvary) of the Garde Impériale. A student of Klosé at the Paris Conservatory, he received his First Prize in Clarinet in 1860. One of the inner circle of Adolphe Sax (along with fellow Belgiums Jules Demersseman and Jean-Baptiste Singelée, whose “Quartet for Saxophones“ was premièred with Mayeur playing and Demersseman conducting), Mayeur took up the saxophone and was quickly engaged as the saxophone soloist in the Opera House of Brussels, La Monnaie (the Mint). Sax commissioned a number of works from Mayeur for the saxophone, which were published by his company and used in his class at the Paris Conservatory.By 1871, Mayeur was also named Saxophone Solo with the Paris Opera, performing in opears and ballets by Halévy, Meyerbeer, Thomas, Saint-Saens, Massenet,   Délibes and Paladlihe. It would appear that sometime during this period, his relations with Sax became difficult, culminating in his publications of works by Buffet-Crampon, one of Sax’s rival companies and one of the main protagonists in the series of lawsuits which led to Sax’s bankrupcy. Mayeur’s own declining health lead to his death in 1894.The Grande Fantaisie de Concert sur Rigoletto dates from 1877. The contrasting sections use motifs from arias and duets from Verdi’s opera. Florid cadenzas seperate the various sections, but those passages should be played in the manner of “bel cantoâ€� ornamentation, always lyrical and songlike.  Versions are available from Musik Fabrik for Symhony Orchestra (on rental : 2222/2000/Timp/hp/strings) and for Concert Band (for sale).  The score plus solo part for each of the versions is available for sale, as well as the individual parts for the concert band version

Alto Saxophone,Piano - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.749835 Arranged by Evelyn Larter Music. Christian,Christmas,Concert,Jazz. Score and part. 7 pages. Evelyn R Larter #3663481. Published by Evelyn R Larter (A0.749835). This is the beautiful Austrian carol arranged for alto saxophone solo and piano in slow jazz ballad style. It is from a set of international carols commissioned by clarinetist Lydia Calhoun for her CD, Carols for the King from Around the World, released in 2015. For more advanced performers, this perennial favorite is suitable for Christmas concerts and church preludes or offertories; it can be taken at either a moderate or a slower tempo, and is around 5 minutes in length. The MIDI recording is only to give an idea of the piece. See also the versions for cello solo, clarinet solo and solo piano. Parts for an optional string quartet, of moderate difficulty, may be purchased separately. All these versions are available at Sheet Music Press. More carols from the collection will be made available in due course. For more information on my music, please visit www.evelynlartermusic.com or my Facebook page for Evelyn Larter Music.