Solitary Poems SACD & Dolby Atmos release
The Solitary Poems for Soprano Saxophone project is a creative response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent obliteration of livelihoods for freelance musicians.
It was inspired by American violinist Jennifer Koh who launched a similar project in the United States called Alone Together.
Anders Paulsson’s musicianship attracted 30 international composers to write pieces for him and the 23 world premières presented on this SACD were selected by BIS executives Rob Suff and Robert von Bahr. All the compositions were given generously to Anders Paulsson by all these composers in order for him and them to keep growing artistically during the pandemic when all concerts and touring came to a standstill. Most of the composers had never written for soprano saxophone before so they explored every imaginable expression possible through manyZoom meetings with high fidelity audio and Paulsson’s test recordings of their first drafts. Some pieces turned out to be extremely virtuosic while others were more contemplative and lyrical.
After hearing Paulsson’s recordings of their music, most composers voluntarily offered to compose concertos for him as they realized the extraordinary potential of the soprano saxophone as a classical soloist instrument.
