Denisov, Edison - Sonata
1. Allegro
2. Lento
3. Allegro Moderato
Edison Denisov (1929-1996) was a Russian composer who was a part of the anti-collectivist movement in Soviet music. Born in Siberia, he was taught by Shostakovich and studied at the Moscow Conservatory, later teaching there himself. He immersed himself in the modern scores of Mahler, Debussy, Boulez and Stockhausen, much to the chagrin of the Union of Soviet Composers, who criticised him for being too Western. Denisov the man is a mass of contradictions, whose name alone is a peculiar meeting of cultures, particularly considering that he lived in Russia throughout the cold war. Denisov trained as a mathematician before deciding to pursue composition, which also seems somewhat dichotomous. He once said that “The most important element of my music is…lyricism,” yet much of his output is firmly grounded in the serialist aesthetic, viewed by many as souless and cold. Nevertheless, these paradoxes become coherent when we listen to Denisov’s compositions. Denisov did not write much for saxophone, but there is another sonata, this time with cello. Despite an age difference of twenty-four years, both works draw on very similar material and explore similar sonorities, the latter thus hanging as a pendant from the former.
The Sonata for saxophone and piano has three movements each with their distinct characters, yet linked through subtle harmonic structures. The first movement is a hostile, integral-serialist polemic, much in the vein of Boulez, but with passionate overtones of Shostakovich too. Incisive repeated notes from the piano and saxophone are meticulously woven into the atonal structure. There is a contrast between overiding rhythmic clarity and occasional bars of wild rhythmical outburts. These bars often serve to highlight crucial structural moments in the movement. The majority of the second movement is a soliloquy for the saxophone which explores muffled quarter tones in a brooding manner. These contribute to the general sense of instability established by the assymetrical rhythmic figures and tense silences. The piano interjects only in the closing moments of this movement, before the walking bass line demarcates the final change in mood. The third movement is a skillful marriage of serial harmony and jazz nuance with overlapping tone rows spiralling into one another. The initial scurrying saxophone entry is but the beginning of an increasingly dense and complex discourse in which Denisov the mathematician pits saxophone and piano against one another in a polyphonic war of rhythmic and harmonic tension. Ostinatos and increasingly complicated rhythmic material mark structural sections in this movement, in the same way that hyper-irregular rhythms mark the form of the first. The work was the first of its kind to seriously use extended techniques on the saxophone, liberally employing multiphonics, quarter-tones, altissimo register and slap tongue. These were added in consultation with saxophonist Jean-Marie Londeix to whom the work is dedicated. The work is Denisov’s most often recorded composition and has earned a deserved place in the repertoire.
2. Lento
3. Allegro Moderato
Edison Denisov (1929-1996) was a Russian composer who was a part of the anti-collectivist movement in Soviet music. Born in Siberia, he was taught by Shostakovich and studied at the Moscow Conservatory, later teaching there himself. He immersed himself in the modern scores of Mahler, Debussy, Boulez and Stockhausen, much to the chagrin of the Union of Soviet Composers, who criticised him for being too Western. Denisov the man is a mass of contradictions, whose name alone is a peculiar meeting of cultures, particularly considering that he lived in Russia throughout the cold war. Denisov trained as a mathematician before deciding to pursue composition, which also seems somewhat dichotomous. He once said that “The most important element of my music is…lyricism,” yet much of his output is firmly grounded in the serialist aesthetic, viewed by many as souless and cold. Nevertheless, these paradoxes become coherent when we listen to Denisov’s compositions. Denisov did not write much for saxophone, but there is another sonata, this time with cello. Despite an age difference of twenty-four years, both works draw on very similar material and explore similar sonorities, the latter thus hanging as a pendant from the former.
The Sonata for saxophone and piano has three movements each with their distinct characters, yet linked through subtle harmonic structures. The first movement is a hostile, integral-serialist polemic, much in the vein of Boulez, but with passionate overtones of Shostakovich too. Incisive repeated notes from the piano and saxophone are meticulously woven into the atonal structure. There is a contrast between overiding rhythmic clarity and occasional bars of wild rhythmical outburts. These bars often serve to highlight crucial structural moments in the movement. The majority of the second movement is a soliloquy for the saxophone which explores muffled quarter tones in a brooding manner. These contribute to the general sense of instability established by the assymetrical rhythmic figures and tense silences. The piano interjects only in the closing moments of this movement, before the walking bass line demarcates the final change in mood. The third movement is a skillful marriage of serial harmony and jazz nuance with overlapping tone rows spiralling into one another. The initial scurrying saxophone entry is but the beginning of an increasingly dense and complex discourse in which Denisov the mathematician pits saxophone and piano against one another in a polyphonic war of rhythmic and harmonic tension. Ostinatos and increasingly complicated rhythmic material mark structural sections in this movement, in the same way that hyper-irregular rhythms mark the form of the first. The work was the first of its kind to seriously use extended techniques on the saxophone, liberally employing multiphonics, quarter-tones, altissimo register and slap tongue. These were added in consultation with saxophonist Jean-Marie Londeix to whom the work is dedicated. The work is Denisov’s most often recorded composition and has earned a deserved place in the repertoire.