“The initial impulse for my tenor saxophone concerto cam in march 2010, when I attended a concert of experimental jazz by Esa Pietilä at the Concert Halla of  Helsinki Conservatory . After the concert , in the pub next door, Esa remarked that there was very little viable music for tenor saxophone and orchestra, and asked me if I would be interested in composing  something for the instrument in the future. Impresssed by Esa´s prformances, I agreed to do so. A few years latwer, the Pori Sinfonietta and the Lappeenranta City Orchestra co.commissioned teh piece, and in the late spring of 2015 I was finally able to compose it.

After 2010 I had attended a number of concerts where Esa Pietilä was performing, and started the actual process of composition.. Esa gave me a thorough introduction to tenor saxophone and its capabilities. After all this, the actual writing of the work took place quite quickly and with great enthusiasism.”

Desription of dramaturgy:

The concerto is in single movement, but it is divided in number of sections with contrasting expressive qualities. The opening tempo is unhurried, and the tenor saxophone starts off in its lower register, creating a very long melodic arch which after 70 bars, gradually rises to the instrument´s upper register. An inturlude dominated by the soloist (Interludio I) the leads to a second, fast and virtuosic main section (Vivacissimo, leggiero). An other interlude follows, leading to a calm, mournful passage (Andante, dolente), initially dominated by musical motifs that resemble sighs. In this section, tehn soloist also has to play a number of passages with icro-intervals and multiphonics.

The Andante dolente is followed by an Allegro ritmico which marks the the climax of the entire concerto. The oriental goblet drum (darabuka) gradually takes centre stage and begins to play very complex rhythmic patterns in the background, with a strong Arabian influence. This section builds up a huge, culminating ina cadenza in which the soloist improvises his virtuoso phrases above the rhythm of the goblet drum. The work ends with a peaceful epiloque. here the tenor saxophone at times plays in a manner reminiscent of pizzicato strings. The work finally fades away into silence.

The concerto makes full use of the tenor saxophone´s potential, but does not present all its expressive possibilities right from the start. Instead, the instrument´s tonal and expressive possibilities are radually extended in a series of new directions.

Esa Pietilä gave the first performance of the concerto on 10th of March 2016 at concert by the Pori Sinfonietta conducted by jan Söderblom.

— Kalevi Aho