Trio - Sax, Flute and Piano

Trio for Saxophone, Flute and Piano.
Not quite a common chamber ensemble but I think the combination of the instruments work very well. I had the privilege of performing with Rik Noyce, flutist and Anton Smirnov, pianist at Mt. San Antonio Gardens in Pomona, California on June 14, 2022.

We had two original pieces for this ensemble (bolded below), then I had three of my pieces with piano and Rik (flutist) had two pieces. French composer, Charles Koechlin’s Épitaphe de Jean Harlow, Op.164 (1937) is perhaps one of the first pieces that were ever composed for the three instruments. It was written as a tribute to Hollywood star actress, Jean Harlow who had a short-lived life of 26 years. Los Angeles composer and a good friend of mine, Adrienne Albert’s Japanese Garden was originally written for two string instruments but later arranged for two saxophones and many other instrumentations. I would like to write about this piece and about Adrienne in another blog post later this summer.

Here is the Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) - Romance from the Gadfly Arranged for alto saxophone and piano.

The program as follows:

Takashi Hoshide (b.1962) - Bravo Sax for alto saxophone and piano

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950)- Épitaphe de Jean Harlow, Op.164 (1937) For alto saxophone, flute and piano

Eric Ewazen (b.1954) - Sonata No. 1 for flute and piano
II. Andante teneramente
I. Allegro leggiero

Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
- Nocturne
- D'un matin de printemps

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) - Sonatina in G Major, Op. 100 B. 183 (1893) Arranged for soprano sax and piano
I . Allegro risoluto
II. Larghetto
III. Molto vivace
IV. Allegro

Adrienne Albert (b.1941): Japanese Gardens Arranged for alto saxophone, flute and piano

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) - Romance from the Gadfly Arranged for alto saxophone and piano

You can listen Adrienne Albert’s Japanese Gardens performed live on YouTube: