On 10 April we met again in Zürich, Switzerland, to immerse ourselves for a few days in the intensity of the 3rd Zürich Sax Fest. Within the framework of this festival and as part of the invited artists, we have offered a concert featuring the music of three of the Spanish composers of the moment: Hèctor Parra, Salvador Brotons and Aaron Siebert. In addition, we were able to share this experience with the talented students of the ZHdK (Zurich University of the Arts) and even receive master classes from great musicians such as Christian Wirth and Lars Mlekusch.
On Wednesday morning, 11 April, we met at Toni-Areal, after an early morning from Helsinki and a night's bus ride from Maastricht. On this first day of meeting, we could listen to a fantastic concert of some of the students of the saxophone class performing chamber music repertoire together with string instruments, listen to the masterclasses of Javier Linares and, of course, start our rehearsals.
Accompanied by summer weather, the second day of the meeting began with more rehearsals and a masterclass with the French saxophonist Christian Wirth, member of the renowned Quatuor Habanera. With him, we were able to work on the first movement Prelude from Maurice Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin. It was a pleasure. Thank you, Christian!
In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to meet Salim(a) Javaid, who discovered some extended saxophone techniques completely new to us and introduced us to the language of composer Pierluigi Billone in an inspiring group lesson. After finishing the day's rehearsals, we attended a very good concert in the Johanneskirche, featuring Christian Wirth, Javier Linares, Juan David Toro, Sebastián Tortosa and Harry White, the latter accompanied by his students from the MKZ Musikschule Konservatorium Zúrich (Conservatory of Zürich). Bravo!
Saturday 14th April was dedicated to intensive rehearsals, also together with the Nemesis Quartet. With this group of Polish musicians, we prepared the first movement Prelude from the Holberg Suite by the composer Edvard Grieg.It was a pleasure to play with you. Dziękuję!
We also had the opportunity to work on the work Fragments Striés by Hèctor Parra with Lars Mlekusch, who gave us very good ideas to take this music we have played so much a step further.
On Sunday morning we performed the works Resiliència, by Salvador Brotons; Fragments Striés, by Hèctor Parra; and The Sobbing of the Phoenix, by Aaron Siebert. We wanted to bring to this third Zürich Sax Fest our interest in contemporary composers, especially from our own country. We closed the concert with Grieg's music together with the Nemesis Quartet, in a saxophone octet formation. We really enjoyed being able to play in the framework of this festival and surrounded by so many friends and musicians we admire, and we hope to play again soon in Switzerland!
The festival ended with a saxophone and electronics concert by the students of the Zürich Saxophone Collective and a Pizza Party on the wonderful roof terrace of the University. On Monday we ended the meeting and returned to our usual destinations, already looking forward to the next Lítore meeting.
We would like to thank Lars Mlekusch for inviting us to be part of this great festival that he and his amazing students organise. It was inspiring to be able to experience the activity of the university from the inside and to enjoy the quality and enthusiasm of the saxophone classroom.We hope to come back very soon.Tschüss!
