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Maslanka Sonata

13K views 27 replies 16 participants last post by  Adam W 
#1 ·
Is the Maslanka Sonata available with orchestra or band accompaniment? It says "Sonata for Saxophone and Piano" so I'm not sure if anyone has scored it for orchestra, but I think it would sound great.
 
#2 ·
No. There is a Maslanka Concerto (for alto saxophone and band) though, and a piece called "Hell's Gate" which is for three saxophones and wind ensemble.
 
#4 ·
I find that the Concerto is very similar to the Sonata. If you still want to do for a concerto competition maybe pick one movement. They are all about 10 minuets long (with the exception of the slightly shorter second movement).
 
#6 ·
I think that it's also fair to mention that it wouldn't be advised to try and create a piano reduction.

Maslanka is very strict on his pieces being performed for their original intention. This also includes giving multi-section works a full performance (which isn't always easy to program with his some of his pieces...).
 
#7 ·
What really kills me about the Concerto is that halfway through the third movement could almost be a wonderful, extremely intense ending to the piece. If Maslanka had stopped writing after the first 2 1/2 movements, we as listeners and performers would have missed out on the other half of this incredible piece, but we'd still have beautiful piece of music and it would be so much easier to fit into a performance! :)

But I love the piece as a whole - maybe even more than the Dahl. I really, really hope I'm able to program it some day.
 
#8 ·
I like some of Maslanka's music, but his saxophone music has really disappointed me. His concerto is not much more than a drawn out song. It seems on this work, and others, he has become lazy. He has not shown the same musical invention with his concerto as he has with some of his symphony's for band.
 
#9 ·
Couple reasons so few people will ever play the Maslanka Concerto. First, no reduction. It doesn't matter that his intentions were to have the work performed with large ensemble because that's true of every composer who writes a concerto (in this case, the fault lies with performers for programming concerti in reduction - NEVER should that happen!). A reduction is an unfortunate neccessity so that players can audition on the piece for concerto competitions. The second problem is finding a band director willing to surrender almost their entire program to a saxophone concerto (this was a problem with the 1949 Dahl as well) when they could just as easily program one of Maslanka's Symphonies (which are better works than the Concerto). Third, the Sonata is better and easier to program (but even then, it's hard to program a recital around such a long work). Great music and a great composer, but sometimes the pieces are just too long. This seems to be a common thread among minimalist composers...
 
#10 ·
Really a problem with the performers? I dont think every performer has the luxury to perform with a large ensemble, an unfortunate necessity but a necessary one. The U of A just performed Maslanka's 7th symphony, some people in the band seem to hold Maslanka on a pedestal for that, maybe because he writes symphonies for band. To me, the work just seems busy and loud, just me though...
 
#12 ·
It's not just U of Alberta band people that hold Maslanka on a pedestal...most people who are into wind ensemble music regard him as an important composer. And he is - for the wind ensemble medium. He's also written a lot for college bands, and is willing to go meet with them which has also propped up his status.
 
#11 ·
Absolutely the fault of the performer. There's plenty of saxophone music besides concerti and to not program that music I think is a little lazy. However, this is a seperate matter from universities that expect concerti to appear on student recitals - this is even more wrongheaded since it teaches bad habits to students.
 
#18 ·
.... and this reduction is also not intended for performance of any kind; only for rehearsals purposes.

Steve P
I was wondering how you would rehearse this without a piano reduction...
 
#19 ·
Nope. It's the exact opposite of situations, really. Instead of with piano (the worst possible situation), he performs it with the IU Wind Ensemble (the "best possible situation"). Ensemble wise, and with all do respect to the other groups, the IU Wind Ensemble sounds better than the North Texas Wind Symphony (with Harvey Pittel), and much better that the University of Arizona Wind Ensemble (with Joseph Lulloff).

If you haven't heard it or purchased it yet, it's a C.D. that you have to own.
 
#28 ·
hopefully it's not with piano...
Nope. It's the exact opposite of situations, really. Instead of with piano (the worst possible situation), he performs it with the IU Wind Ensemble (the "best possible situation"). Ensemble wise, and with all do respect to the other groups, the IU Wind Ensemble sounds better than the North Texas Wind Symphony (with Harvey Pittel), and much better that the University of Arizona Wind Ensemble (with Joseph Lulloff).

If you haven't heard it or purchased it yet, it's a C.D. that you have to own.
UNT performed that with Pittel? Are you sure you aren't thinking about UT since Jerry Junkin headed the consortium that originally commissioned the piece? I'm just interested to know since I am a student at UNT right now a and a fan of Maslanka's work, and while one of his large band works shows up here about every year, I never heard about the Saxophone Concerto being programmed. I would be curious to here a recording if it was.
My apologies to the great state of Tey-hoss and it's wind ensembles... ;)
 
#22 ·
It is an amazing CD, no doubt about it. I feel very fortunate to have been in the ensemble when the Creston was recorded. It was an incredible experience. The hardest part was paying attention to my part and not being totally engrossed in what Dr. Murphy was doing!
 
#25 ·
UNT performed that with Pittel? Are you sure you aren't thinking about UT since Jerry Junkin headed the consortium that originally commissioned the piece? I'm just interested to know since I am a student at UNT right now a and a fan of Maslanka's work, and while one of his large band works shows up here about every year, I never heard about the Saxophone Concerto being programmed. I would be curious to here a recording if it was.
 
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