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Trouble finding good, challenging alto sax duetsg

6K views 22 replies 13 participants last post by  bluesaxgirl 
#1 ·
Hello everyone! I know I haven't been prevalent on the forum lately, but I am need of your help.

For solo ensemble this year, I have decided to perform a duet with another good player. We are currently searching for challenging duets but everything we find isn't well...much of a challenge. Our band library is limited since we both play at a higher level of music that is available to us. We have searched the Internet with no avail as well.

My question is: are there any good, challenging, and notable duets for two alto saxophone players? We are both considered to play at the college level (all region/all state players) so any suggestions in the advanced category would be appreciated. :)

Thank you in advance!
 
#2 ·
Here are a few that should keep you busy:

Hindemith - Concertpiece
von Koch - Birthday Music for Sigurd Rascher
Lacour - Suite en Duo

and if you are feeling particularly adventurous:

Cockcroft - Slap Me
Engebretson - An Arc in Solitude
Lauba - Ars (2 sopranos)
 
#6 ·
Oi, BSG! Why didn't you update us on that essay you had to do for university entrance. I think I suggested you write about Bob Dylan or Wagner (ok i may have had a drink or two that evening).

It's upsetting for us old folks to burn up our few remaining brain cells giving advice and then not hear the outcome. Consider yourself told off. :)
 
#10 ·
Oi, BSG! Why didn't you update us on that essay you had to do for university entrance. I think I suggested you write about Bob Dylan or Wagner (ok i may have had a drink or two that evening).

It's upsetting for us old folks to burn up our few remaining brain cells giving advice and then not hear the outcome. Consider yourself told off. :)
I'm sorry I didn't update! Will you offer my late gratitude? :) I wrote about Dylan's album. I did some research on it and found out it would be a great essay topic. Granted, the essay limit was 300 words, but I was able to sum up how fascinating the album was due to the political tensions that engulfed the era and how his album was a form of effective protest. I really believe (from what I remember, I wrote the essay 2 months ago) that it was creative, what is what the admissions staff was looking for. I couldn't have pulled it off without your great idea! I should hear from the college I submitted the essay to in April.
 
#11 ·
You could try John David Lamb's "Six Barefoot Dances." I haven't seen the score for a while so I don't remember the difficulty of it but it's a great duet for two altos. I do remember the first part does have a little altissimo but it's not that difficult. May be on the short side of things if you're looking for a longer piece.

Hindemith and von Koch are also excellent choices. If you don't have it already, check out Lawrence Gwozdz's "Raschèr International" album. He performs Erland von Koch's "Birthday Music for Sigurd Rascher" alongside Steffen Hass, soprano player for the Tetraphonics Saxophone Quartet.

And as a side note, if you do end up playing the von Koch, be sure to check out his Saxophone Concerto (there's a recording by Sigurd Rascher out). It's another great piece in the rep that you will probably enjoy.
 
#19 ·
We decided on Six Barefoot Dances. It was the most appealing because we could actually hear it before we ordered it (and we liked it), and we have the option to play barefoot. :)

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! There are still some duets that some of y'all suggested that I want to play in the future.
 
#22 ·
Back when, we played one of the short duets/etudes for two alto saxophones from Victor Morosco, who also composed Blue Caprice. It was a fun little contemporary piece.
 
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