Maria Grenfell, Fanfare for a City

From the composer: "Fanfare for a City begins with a brief opening brass chorale hinting at things to come, a fanfare with a sense of excitement and jubilation culminating in a return to the opening chorale written in Bach style that would never have been written by Bach.  Fanfare for a City was commissioned by the Symphony Australia for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s 2001 fanfare series, celebrating 100 years of Federation in Australia."

Alexander Glazunov, Alto Saxophone Concerto
with Roy Allen, saxophone

As the saxophone was still relatively novel in the orchestra world during his lifetime, Alexander Glazunov became fascinated with the new timbre and color this instrument had to offer. By scoring his saxophone concerto with string accompaniment, Glazunov heightens the lyricism and sonorous quality of this jazz icon.

Antonín Dvořák, Symphony No. 9 in E minor ("New World")

Once Johannes Brahms gave the work of Antonín Dvořák's his stamp of approval, the young Czech composer quickly rose to international fame. That fame took him across the sea to North America, where he traveled throughout the United States, from the East Coast to the Midwest. While here, he became captivated by Native American music and African-American spirituals. Dvořák said, "I am convinced that the future music of this country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies. These can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition, to be developed in the United States. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them." So when the New York Philharmonic commissioned his newest symphony in 1893,  Dvořák quoted "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," incorporated characteristics of the Native American melodies he studied, and musically represented the wide open prairie landscapes of Iowa, where he completed this beloved work.