2025
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Saxophone Concerto
Adolphus Hailstork
“Adams imparts a lighter touch to the orchestration to support the solo alto saxophone’s sinewy lines, played with wondrous dexterity by Timothy McAllister”
“McAllister was the tirelessly virtuosic soloist, playing with rhythmic drive and confident swagger…”
“the concerto’s high point allows Corigliano’s celebrated gift for melody to shine. McAllister’s beautiful playing here lingers in the mind more than the work’s virtuosic moments, dazzlingly rendered though they were.”
“Soloist Timothy McAllister proved brilliantly up to the enormous demands — vast spreads of pitches, disjunct lines that wanted to be as lyrical as possible and some dazzling scurries.”
“REVIEW: Gorgeous Tyshawn Sorey and Thomas Adès concerto double-bill at Lucerne Festival”
“…Sorey’s writing for the solo sax establishes whole another brand of virtuosity, one wrought of long lines, where each note is given its singular identity; a procedure akin to the playing of the concerto’s dedicatee as well as the tintinnabulations of...
“…McAllister’s flexibility of sound, judicious use of vibrato, ease of altissimo, and tonal techniques make it possible to listen without distraction.”
“This was a virtuosic performance by guest soloist Tim McAllister for whom it was written and whom Adams introduced as ‘the best saxophone player in the world today.’ Its angular, leaping melodic outbursts form a contrast to the other pieces on the program, but there are no extended techniques required, just amazing agility in the natural range of the instrument. Its two movements rely on tight rhythmic precision as it proceeds resolutely onwards through a myriad of polyrhythms, its jazz...