Andrzej Olejniczak and a Symphonic Orchestra

The concert features three main works:

Concerto for Soprano Sax and Symphonic Orchestra by an American composer Mark Kuss. The work consists of three parts which are connected with one another. The first part is a kind of variation. The second part is a fast-paced rondo. The main theme, played at the beginning by the saxophone, is a palindrome. It can be played forward and backward and will sound the same. It contains features of an Irish dance. Sadness permeates the final part of the concerto which is played at a low pace.

Focus Suite by Eddy Sauter – composed in 1961, a first unique attempt to combine jazz saxophone with a „classical” orchestra and its beautiful and modern sound. One of the most original features of this work is that the saxophone part has not been written in the score. There are only suggestions of the composer as to where the solo improvisation should take place and sporadicly written melodies.

Jazz Concerto for Sax and Orchestra by Krzesimir Dębski – written in 2008 for Andrzej Olejniczak with whom the composer played in jazz groups for many years. The work includes jazz themes composed for String Connection.

„Knowing Andrzej’s great performance abilities, and his unconstrained improvisation talent, I have left a lot of free space for his solo cadence”.
(Krzesimir Dębski)

This project came into being in 2013 in collaboration with Polish Radio Orchestra directed by Krzesimi Dębski in Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio in Warsaw.

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