Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

The Sonata for Soprano Saxophone and Piano was completed in 1978 for Brisbane multi-woodwind player Roy Thompson. As the soprano saxophone does not have a particularly large repertoire, Thompson asked the composer to write a virtuoso work that he could perform in various recital programs and that would feature its generally powerful tone colour and capability for technical flexibility. In four movements, the work is demanding for both performers, following a moderate-fast-slow-fast pattern that covers a wide range of expressive and virtuosic playing.

Work Details

Year: 1978

Instrumentation: Soprano saxophone in Bb, piano.

Duration: 34 min.

Difficulty: Advanced — This is a challenging work for both players (particularly the saxophonist).

Contents note: I. Fantasy -- II. Scherzo -- III. Cantilena -- IV.Finale.

Dedication note: Dedicated to Roy Thompson.

First performance: 1979. Nickson Room, University of Queensland, QLD.

This is an early work that has received only a single performance, to the composer's knowledge. The present edition has been revised in some minor details, although the majority of the music remains unchanged in the forty years or so since it was written. The influence of Hindemith can still be seen in a small way, although its virtuosic and romantic character would become a constant in the rest of Spiers's music of the 1980s.