Erich Wolfgang Korngold is one of the most celebrated late romantic composers in the 20th century. A child prodigy whose brilliance was celebrated by Mahler and Richard Strauss, Korngold wrote his first opera, Die tote Stadt at the age of 23. Korngold was committed to late romantic harmony, he was unmoved by the new stylesContinue reading “Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Die Kathrin; the jazz age opera Nazi’s tried to destroy”
Category Archives: saxophone
Saxophone Mythbusters: Ibert’s Concertino da Camera is NOT Bebop
In the saxophone world, I sometimes hear saxophone professors proclaim ideas that are based on questionable knowledge of the history of saxophone literature and performance practice. After recently hearing from not one professor, but two, that Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera is bebop I feel the need to provide a quick refresher of the relationshipContinue reading “Saxophone Mythbusters: Ibert’s Concertino da Camera is NOT Bebop”
Rethinking Elise Hall
On the 100th anniversary of her death, The Legacy of Elise Hall–now available from Leuven University Press– provides a new outlook on Hall’s life and legacy as one of the major performers and concertizers of the saxophone. In various dissertations, articles and books, most writing on Hall has been colored with misogyny, talks of herContinue reading “Rethinking Elise Hall”
Nazis, Napoleon and the Saxophone, pt. 2, how Nazis weaponized gender to change the image of the saxophone
In a previous post on the opera Napoleon by Edmund von Borck, I made the argument that this opera works as a piece of wartime propaganda. The only piece of the opera that doesn’t fulfill the propaganda use is the style of the music and the use the saxophone in the orchestration. Wasn’t the saxophoneContinue reading “Nazis, Napoleon and the Saxophone, pt. 2, how Nazis weaponized gender to change the image of the saxophone”
Selmer high pitched alto saxophone, the mystery continues….
Last year, a reader emailed me to inform me on his unique Selmer Cigar Cutter saxophone pitched in E. It turns out it was a high pitched alto saxophone. Selmer was not in the business of manufacturing high pitched saxophones, based on the information from Selmer there were only 10 made in the year ofContinue reading “Selmer high pitched alto saxophone, the mystery continues….”
Kommisar Rondart, the opera that led Sigurd Rascher to Edmund von Borck
All of the entries in my database have one thing in common, they all received a premiere, if not on an opera stage, then as an orchestral work. This opera defies that simple distinction, it never premiered on the stage. Despite that absence, Kommisar Rondart by Edmund von Borck is essential to saxophone history, asContinue reading “Kommisar Rondart, the opera that led Sigurd Rascher to Edmund von Borck”
Selmer high pitched alto saxophone? Possible answers to why this exists…
I’ve been researching possible explanations to why Selmer made a handful of high pitched saxophones in 1932. For background on the saxophone, check out the initial post here, and the response. Just to reiterate, Selmer has no history of manufacturing high pitched woodwinds, based on the information about this saxophone Selmer only manufactured 10 highContinue reading “Selmer high pitched alto saxophone? Possible answers to why this exists…”
A Selmer Cigar Cutter in E? Some Answers and more Questions…
A reader emailed me to tell me about his 1932 Selmer Cigar Cutter Saxophone in E, so I wrote about the saxophone here to see if I could find more information. Many readers responded that this saxophone is not tuned to E, but is a high pitched E flat. I needed more information on theContinue reading “A Selmer Cigar Cutter in E? Some Answers and more Questions…”
the Operatic Saxophone 