Gewirtz review
David Steffen
Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Arts
Jonathon Gewirtz's mellow alto saxophone faculty recital attracted an enthusiastic audience despite coinciding with the Super Bowl Feb. 1.
Gewirtz, lecturer in music, performed a collection of five modern saxophone pieces with piano accompaniment. They weren't typical jazz saxophone fare, however. Many were modern classical pieces, subdued and marked by a beautiful, haunting quality.
Some, like Darius Milhaud's "Scaramouche," had a lively feel and closed out with a gentle Latin-flavored swing in the third movement, "Brazileira."
Gewirtz opened his recital with Jacques Ibert's "Concertina Da Camera," a three-movement piece. Saxophone and piano meshed perfectly as Gewirtz exercised his instrument's range of notes.
"Concertina Da Camera's" third movement, Animato molto, as well as Warren Benson's "Aeolian Song" from "Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Strings" and Alfred Desenclos' "Prelude, Cadence et Finale" allowed Gewirtz to show off dizzyingly fast chromatic scales.
Gewirtz demonstrated his ability to play haunting, drawling tones from the saxophone's lower registers in Modest Mussorgsky's arabesque "The Old Castle from 'Picture at an Exhibition.'"
The 55-minute performance kept audience members attentive with a diverse range of music and playing styles. Gewirtz deftly demonstrated the alto saxophone's contrasts, from mellow low notes to crystal-clear high notes. He polished high and low notes alike with a powerful vibrato, all while maintaining a beautiful, silky-smooth tone reminiscent of the English horn.
Gewirtz, lecturer in music, performed a collection of five modern saxophone pieces with piano accompaniment. They weren't typical jazz saxophone fare, however. Many were modern classical pieces, subdued and marked by a beautiful, haunting quality.
Some, like Darius Milhaud's "Scaramouche," had a lively feel and closed out with a gentle Latin-flavored swing in the third movement, "Brazileira."
Gewirtz opened his recital with Jacques Ibert's "Concertina Da Camera," a three-movement piece. Saxophone and piano meshed perfectly as Gewirtz exercised his instrument's range of notes.
"Concertina Da Camera's" third movement, Animato molto, as well as Warren Benson's "Aeolian Song" from "Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Strings" and Alfred Desenclos' "Prelude, Cadence et Finale" allowed Gewirtz to show off dizzyingly fast chromatic scales.
Gewirtz demonstrated his ability to play haunting, drawling tones from the saxophone's lower registers in Modest Mussorgsky's arabesque "The Old Castle from 'Picture at an Exhibition.'"
The 55-minute performance kept audience members attentive with a diverse range of music and playing styles. Gewirtz deftly demonstrated the alto saxophone's contrasts, from mellow low notes to crystal-clear high notes. He polished high and low notes alike with a powerful vibrato, all while maintaining a beautiful, silky-smooth tone reminiscent of the English horn.
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