Saxophone Impressions
Frédéric CHOPIN (1810-1849) and Krzysztof HERDZIN (1970-)
Homage à Chopin [18:20]
Ástor PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
Tango Ballet (arr. Pawel Gusnar) [12:47]
Oblivion (arr. Pawel Gusnar) [4:36]
George GERSHWIN (1897-1938)
Porgy and Bess (arr. Pawel Gusnar and Ryszard Borowski) [20:04]
Ennio (b.1928) and Andrea (b.1964) MORRICONE
Intro Paradiso (arr. Tomasz Szymus) [3:31]
Nino ROTA (1911-1979)
Romeo and Juliet (arr. Tomasz Szymus) [4:45]
Pawel Gusnar (saxophone)
Witold Lutoslawski Chamber Orchestra in Lomza/Jan Milosz Zarzycki
rec. 25-27 November 2011, Lomza Concert Hall, Poland
DUX 0885 [64:05]
This saxophone disc is fun. Take enjoyable source
material - Chopin, Piazzolla tangos, Gershwin, movie scores - and arrange
it for saxophone and chamber orchestra. Add a talented saxophonist and
a pretty darn good band, and you have a fun little hour.
Krzysztof Herdzin, about whom the booklet says nothing, has arranged
five Chopin pieces into a suite. The arrangements are clever: they stray
from the originals in imaginative ways, adding dissonant edge to the
harmonies and wholly new accompaniments, and part of the fun lies in
recognizing how Chopin’s ideas have turned into new ones. Some
might be more successful than others; I didn’t like the mock-Satie
‘Minute’ waltz as much as the rest, and the etude Op. 10
No. 3 has a couple of brief moments where the harmonies border on easy-listening.
Then we’ve got a few Piazzolla tangos - Oblivion by itself
and several more arranged into a ballet - and a suite based on Gershwin’s
Porgy and Bess. The suite does a good job sticking to the opera’s
original order, so it’s not a totally free fantasy after the brief
all-new introduction. Solo sax player Pawel Gusnar is credited as one
of the arrangers. Two encores, from Morricone and Rota, are lovingly
played and beyond reproach.
Unfortunately poor documentation means I can’t tell you much about
the music. The booklet discusses the performers exclusively, so who
Krzysztof Herdzin is, or the origins of the Tango Ballet, or
when or for whom these arrangements were made, is basically a mystery
to me. Plus, somebody (the label? the arranger?) misspelled Hommage
à Chopin by including only one ‘m’, and the Rota
tune comes from Romeo and Julia (!). Finally, there’s the
surprise when you open the plastic SACD-style case and discover this
isn’t a SACD … or even a hybrid.
Still, if you don’t mind not knowing too much about how all these
old favorites got arranged for these performers, and just want to sit
back and enjoy, this will provide you with a great deal of pleasure.
This isn’t an album for profundity, great surprises, or life-enhancing
experiences, but sometimes you need a CD that’s good for background
music while sipping wine with friends, and this is good for that kind
of thing.
Brian Reinhart
