New Friday with double ensembles

At this concert, we meet two saxophone quartets: Quasar Quatuor de Saxophones from Montreal and the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet. Both have been exploring contemporary music for decades and have toured worldwide. The quartets have also, individually, been responsible for commissioning and premiering numerous new pieces of music.

There will also be a premiere tonight, featuring music for eight saxophones by Gordon Williamson, a Canadian composer based in Germany. Spanish composer José Evangelista was active in Montreal until his death in 2023, and his music often involves melodies layered on top of each other or echoing themselves.

Swedish Tomner was recently acclaimed for her chamber opera Avskärmad (Shielded), in which she utilized AI technology. Here we hear Palindrome for saxophone quartet. Swedish composer Jenny Hettne often collaborates closely with the musicians. Her piece Swirls and Shades was written for both saxophone quartets performing tonight, and premiered in Montreal in 2019. 

The collaborative project is supported by Statens Kulturråd, Region Stockholm, Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse, Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.

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New Friday is the series for anyone who is curious and interested in exploring the new music of our era. Come early, stay late – the bar will be open before and after the concert with drinks and appetizers.