“The saxophone is a ubiquitous musical instrument, but only in certain contexts. Jazz, most obviously, as well as rock and pop,” writes Joshua Kosman in Wednesday’s (4/6) San Francisco Chronicle. “Classical music? Not so much. There have been a number of concertos written for the instrument since its creation in the 1840s by Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax, and there are some well-known solos in the standard orchestral repertoire. But classical saxophone is still an underrepresented musical vein. Timothy McAllister is working to change that. The American virtuoso has introduced dozens of new works … including [saxophone] concertos by John Adams, Jennifer Higdon and John Mackey. This week, he joins the San Francisco Symphony for the world premiere of John Corigliano’s ‘Triathlon,’ [which] calls for the soloist to play three different forms of the instrument: soprano, alto and baritone.” McAllister says, “The original intent was always for the instrument to be part of the symphony orchestra…. But we have to recognize just how crucial it became as a jazz instrument…. We have continued to champion the original idea that Adolphe Sax had in mind.”
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