MUSIC
La fille et le saxophone // Femke Steketee & Tobias Borsboom
OUT NOW!
Dreaming, letting go and moving onwards, zest for life, love, adventure, and playfulness; my debut album 'La fille et le saxophone' ensembles these themes. Besides a selection of the works for saxophone and piano that I love the most, I recorded a brand new piece by Dutch composer Celia Swart. Rhaida El Touny, an Egyptian illustrator dedicated to depicting powerful women, made an illustration for each piece on the cd.
Water Works - Syrène Saxophone Quartet //
October 2019
On 17 July 1717, hundreds of boats overflowing with spectators filled the River Thames to see the celebratory boat cruise for King George I of Great Britain up close. For the occasion, George Friedrich Handel composed his Water Music suites performed by fifty musicians also seated on a boat. They were even called upon by the euphoric king to repeat the work three times that evening. It would take almost 125 years for the Belgian inventor Adolphe Sax to enrich the current set of instruments with his family of saxophones and thus lay the foundation for contemporary performance practice where saxophones can no longer be ignored.
It is therefore not surprising that Syrène Saxophone Quartet has now taken a completely new approach to Händel’s famous work Water Music. Armed with modern instruments, the Syrènes enter into a watertight partnership with Händel.
Fresh, Sweet & Sturdy - Syrène Saxophone Quartet //
May 2016
The most unusual element of the music performed by the Syrène Saxophone Quartet on this CD is of course the works themselves: a string quartet transcribed for four saxophones, an orchestral work transcribed for four saxophones, and an original work composed for the same four saxophonists. We should note at this point that the Syrène Saxophone Quartet plays with the subtlety of a string quartet just as well as they play with fiery orchestral temperament, as well as — according to their motto — with sweetness, strength and acerbity. They can even play with a wonderfully ardent rawness, as can be heard in Syrènes, specially composed by me for these four young musicians. - Leo Samama
George Gershwin - The Hague Quartet | The Gents | Johannette Zomer //
January 2012
After recordings of English Renaissance and German romantic music, and twentieth-century works from France, we venture across the ocean to the new world, with a CD that takes us to Broadway. Jetse Bremer has specially arranged the last compositions by George Gershwin for this combination of soloist, choir and instruments. For all of us with a classical background this repertoire is a special challenge, raising the question where classical stops or changes into something else. It is our pleasure to leave the answer to you.
