Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night's Dream
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade
Vivaldi Four Seasons (Summer and autumn
J.S. Bach Suites (French No. 2 & 5, Orchestral No. 3) and Choral Prelude

Four saxophones and Piano - "THEY DO HAVE SAX APPEAL!"

"The quintet's core repertoire coinsists of well-known masterpieces of all epochs, exceptionally sensitively and cleverly arranged..." for this ensemble from Germany.

Copper + Zinc = Pure Gold
Four Saxophones and Piano Give Classical Music a New Mix

If you combine copper with zinc, and add keys, you get a saxophone. If you put four saxophones together, and add a piano, you get the Alliage (al-ee-aj) Quintett, whose performances of classical music are pure gold. The Alliage Quintett from Germany is probably the world's outstanding saxophone ensemble. Their name means "alloy," to evoke the idea of mixing something old to make something new.

The pieces that the Alliage Quintett will play in the fourth concert of the Chamber Music Corvallis season at LaSells Stewart Center on Tuesday, February 21 at 7:30 pm, were not originally written for saxophones and piano. But they all sound like their composers had the saxophone in mind. If Vivaldi and Bach could have heard the saxophone, they would have loved it. The program includes "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Mendelssohn, "Scheherazade" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "The Four Seasons" by Vivaldi, and short pieces by Bach. Curiosity will be changed to delight from the first notes. The saxophone may be identified with jazz, thanks to giants like Coltrane, Shepp and Rollins, but the four saxophones -- soprano, alto, tenor and baritone -- lend themselves beautifully to classical music.

One of the main works on the program, "The Four Seasons," is both old and new. The young Japanese composer Jun Nagao, who loves both baroque music and the saxophone, has created a contemporary version of "The Four Seasons." Not to worry. The original, beloved work is still there, but swirling around it are modern, jazzy touches.

The members of the Alliage Quintett are German, Armenian, French-Canadian and Korean, yet another "alloy" of international musicians. They will travel from Germany to Corvallis, where they will play their one and only concert this year on the west coast.

The alloys of copper and zinc, saxophones and piano, and four nationalities, promise to make the February 21 concert by the Alliage Quintett pure gold.

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Haydn Quartet in E^b major, Op. 33, #2
Lerdahl String Quartet No. 3
Dvorak Quartet in A^b major, Op. 105

Such security, technical finish, interpretive unity and sheer gusto it sounded as if these young string players had somehow been performing these works together for a good 50 or 60 years... The Daedalus members were so at-one with their composers, we were happily caught off-guard by every emotional surprise they sprang. -The Washington Post

Since we booked the Daedalus Quartet, the ensemble has welcomed two new players.  Violinist Matilda Kaul and Cellist Thomas Kraines bring both musical distinction and years of personal friendship with the founding members of the Quartet.  So the transition has been seamless.  The 'New' Daedalus Quartet flies just as high as its predecessor.

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Mozart Piano Trio in C major, K548
Visconti Lonesome Roads
Schubert Nottorno in E^b major, Op. 148
Babadjanian Piano Trio

This listener has heard many trios, some with famous people in them, some celebrated as ensembles, but never anything to surpass the Triple Helix. -The Boston Globe

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