Javier Oviedo on the Saxophone

Album Review of "The Classical Saxophone: A French Love Story"

Oct 15, 2009

Though the saxophone is often associated with jazz, Javier Oviedo reminds audiences that this versatile instrument is actually quite classical in origin.

There are some instruments that have become so synonymous with other genres of music that one forgets that their origins are, in fact, quite legitimately classical. The saxophone is such an instrument. Though long associated with jazz icon John Coltrane, the saxophone was invented in the 1840s by the Belgian musician Antoine-Joseph Sax.

The son of an instrument maker, Sax was fascinated by musical instruments and went on to study the clarinet and flute at Brussels University. He envisioned an instrument that would serve as a bridge between the brash brass instruments and the quavering woodwinds. Hence, the saxophone was born.

Though the instrument was Belgian in origin, Sax later brought the saxophone to Paris, and the saxophone became a part of several French orchestras and military bands. A great deal of the classical saxophone repertoire stems from French composers.

Javier Oviedo: Classical Saxophonist Recovering the Roots of His Instrument

In his album The Classical Saxophone: A French Love Story, the musician Javier Oviedo once again reminds audiences of these long-forgotten origins. In Oviedo's hands, the mellow beauty of the woodwinds combines with the powerful "oompf" of the brass. The result is sheer auditory elegance.

In pieces such as Grovlez's Suite for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, lush winds, shimmering harps and movie-star strings exude a fairytale romance, and Oviedo's saxophone weaves through the differing characters like a flirty ingénue.

In other pieces, such as Concerto in E-flat Major, Op. 109, Oviedo highlights the warm yet melancholy timbre possible on the classical saxophone. Precise yet ever tender, he executes technical passages with clear emotional sensitivity.

Track Listing: An Album of French Composers

Reflecting the French influence on the instrument, Oviedo performs works mostly by French masters. Fittingly, one of these composers is Louis Mayeur, a protégé of Antoine-Joseph Sax and avid advocate of the saxophone. Many of these pieces are receiving their first world premiere recording through Oviedo's album. The track listing is as follows.

The Orchestre Pasdeloup: Conducted by Jean-Pierre Schmitt

Javier Oviedo joins the Paris-based Orchestre Pasdeloup on The Classical Saxophone. Currently conducted by Jean-Pierre Schmitt, the orchestra has a long and illustrious history in France. The Orchestre Pasdeloup has premiered works by most great French composers, including Bizet, Franck, Ravel and Saint-Saëns.

Sources

The copyright of the article Javier Oviedo on the Saxophone in Modern Classical Musicians is owned by Sarah Canice Funke. Permission to republish Javier Oviedo on the Saxophone in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.