View Inside

Listen to an Excerpt  X

by William Price

Lead time before shipping:
2-3 days

Pushover for alto saxophone, percussion (2) and piano

Duration: approx. 12 minutes.

Composed by William Price, for alto saxophone, percussion (2 players) and piano. 1 Full Score and 3 Parts. Contemporary Classical. 34 pages. 8 1/2 X 11 inches, Booklet. Published by IROM Music Publishing.

Composed during the summer and fall of 2004, PUSHOVER was originally conceived as a duo for saxophone and marimba, however, during the early stages of the creative process the instrumentation began to expand and evolve into its present form.

The title of the work refers to a concept that I had in mind during the initial stages of composition, that I am a "sucker" for the saxophone; I can't help it. Regardless of musical genre, I love the sound of the instrument. It is lush without the sentimentality of the clarinet and aggressive without the nasality of the double reeds; the saxophone is the best of both worlds and transcends style and genre. So, due to this "fetish" I tend to compose for the saxophone whenever the occasion arises. And consequently after every work that includes a saxophone I vow not to write another piece for it until "some undetermined length of time" has passed. But as with most promises we make to ourselves, I usually break mine when it comes to this wonderful instrument. Hence, I am a pushover. Therefore, using this axiom as a guiding force, I decided to compose a work that would "push" not only me, but the performers and the audience as well; I wanted to create an engaging work that would require a maximum amount of concentration, especially in the first and fourth main sections of the piece where the music becomes increasingly more technically challenging. Musically, technically, and emotionally, Pushover drives the performers and audience to the edge.

Premiered April 15, 2005 by saxophonist Joshua Thomas on the North American Saxophone Alliance Region 8 Conference, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT.