Warren Benson

Mixed.
The slow movement from Benson’s Concertino, Aeolian Song has long been a standard in the saxophone repertoire, and for good reason. It is entrancingly beautiful, and a joy to play. Typically heard for alto saxophone and piano, this publication introduces Benson’s alternate version adding an equally gratifying soprano saxophone part in dialog with the alto. This newly-available version is fully compatible with the existing accompaniments for orchestra and for wind ensemble.
The slow movement from Benson’s Concertino, Aeolian Song has long been a standard in the saxophone repertoire, and for good reason. It is entrancingly beautiful, and a joy to play. Typically heard for alto saxophone and piano, this publication introduces Benson’s alternate version adding an equally gratifying soprano saxophone part in dialog with the alto. This newly-available version is fully compatible with the existing accompaniments for orchestra and for wind ensemble. A recording of this scoring is available at https://youtu.be/C--nk5rUK0M?si=kutG_DcnKjR1tnFu
Of the many solo works composed for Sigurd Raschèr, the saxophone’s original pioneer and virtuoso, few have attained the popularity of Warren Benson’s CONCERTINO, and in particular, its second movement.Marked slowly, peacefully, this drone-based tour de force of harmony, unchanging yet remaining ever-fresh, has taken on a thriving life of its own as a solo work in scorings with wind ensemble, orchestra, and piano reduction, known by the movement’s original subtitle, AEOLIAN SONG.Less familiar is an extra bonus Benson added when creating the orchestral version of the concertino. While the first and third movement were adapted as a direct rescoring of the original wind ensemble accompaniment, the composer added a soprano saxophone obbligato in the second movement of the orchestral version, specifically as an opportunity for the soloist’s daughter, the equally celebrated saxophonist and pedagogue Carina Raschèr, to perform alongside her father. The added soprano part works beautifully in dialog with the standard solo alto part, and is equally compatible with all three scorings of the movement.Theodore Presser Company is grateful to Professor Stephen C. Page of The University of Texas at Austin, for rediscovering and encouraging us to publish the resulting version for two saxophones and the original piano reduction, and for his supervision of this edition.A performance of this version featuring Dr. Page may be heard on all major streaming platforms.

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