Jun Nagao plays with the theme from Paganini’s 24th Caprice. Two alto saxophones mirror each other in music that gathers momentum after a mysterious opening.
Concert notes · Arno Bornkamp
The Japanese composer Jun Nagao (1964) is represented in this programme by the spectacular “PAGANINI LOST” from 2008, the ‘pièce de résistance’ for saxophone and piano trio. In this work, the composer ingeniously plays with the famous theme from Paganini’s 24th Caprice for solo violin. After the mysterious opening, more and more of the theme is revealed, before the composition gathers tremendous momentum. Along the way, it touches on a whole range of emotions: at one moment it swings wildly, at another the music sounds very tender, almost sweet. Nagao’s choice of two (almost identical) alto saxophones is intriguing: they seem to mirror each other musically. Their exciting exchange of questions and answers eventually brings the work to an overwhelming conclusion.
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