Devreese, Frédéric - Ostinati
1. Ostinato
2. Blues
3. Finale
Frédéric Devreese is a Belgian composer who specialises in film music and conducting. After studying with his father, Devreese received further formal training firstly in Brussels and then in Rome at the Accademia Santa Cecilia. His compositions have received several awards, particularly his work for stage and screen. As a conductor for the BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, Devreese has travelled all over the world but has recently committed much of his time to the promotion of Flemish music.
Ostinati was written for the renowned Belgian saxophonist Francois Daneels and was also the imposed piece at the 1998 International Adolphe Sax Competition in Dinant. The piece is really a concerto for saxophone with string orchestra but because Devreese's piano writing is so convincing, the piece works as well with piano as it does with strings. The first movement is a complicated 11/16 groove which draws on a unique harmonic palette to set the mood. The erroneously titled Blues is actually a sinister Andante, whose relentless menace rises to a hideous crescendo evoking pain and malice. After a tense opening, the final movement settles into a triple-metre groove, only to be interrupted by the saxophone's cadenza. Sporadic ejaculations from the piano here punctuate the lively solo melody. The piece concludes with the return of the energetic tri-metricity heard previously.
2. Blues
3. Finale
Frédéric Devreese is a Belgian composer who specialises in film music and conducting. After studying with his father, Devreese received further formal training firstly in Brussels and then in Rome at the Accademia Santa Cecilia. His compositions have received several awards, particularly his work for stage and screen. As a conductor for the BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, Devreese has travelled all over the world but has recently committed much of his time to the promotion of Flemish music.
Ostinati was written for the renowned Belgian saxophonist Francois Daneels and was also the imposed piece at the 1998 International Adolphe Sax Competition in Dinant. The piece is really a concerto for saxophone with string orchestra but because Devreese's piano writing is so convincing, the piece works as well with piano as it does with strings. The first movement is a complicated 11/16 groove which draws on a unique harmonic palette to set the mood. The erroneously titled Blues is actually a sinister Andante, whose relentless menace rises to a hideous crescendo evoking pain and malice. After a tense opening, the final movement settles into a triple-metre groove, only to be interrupted by the saxophone's cadenza. Sporadic ejaculations from the piano here punctuate the lively solo melody. The piece concludes with the return of the energetic tri-metricity heard previously.