Interview with composer Annika Socolofsky and pianist Nicholas Shaneyfelt on the creation and performance of Annika's piece, Rise, for alto saxophone and bowed piano.

You can find the video here: https://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2019/04/video-premiere-hulting-cohen-shaneyfelt-socolofsky-rise/

And the studio recording here, or most streaming sources: https://www.innova.mu/albums/jonathan-hulting-cohen/second-flight

Program Note 

“Rise” explores the numerous resonances and timbres of the alto saxophone in the way that a vocalist explores the nuanced vocal qualities and expressive micro-variations in sound color at the far reaches of their own voice. The piano serves to magnify these subtle color shifts by acting as a resonator for the saxophone. Much like the sympathetic strings on a Norwegian hardanger fiddle create a spectral sound bed for the fiddle, the pianist uses rosined bow hair to bow the strings of their instrument to timbrally support and conflict with the saxophone's vocal lines.

Interview: Annika Socolofsky & Nicholas Shaneyfelt on "Rise"

Annika Socolofsky is a composer and avant folk vocalist. Described as “unbearably moving” (Gramophone) and “just the right balance between edgy precision and freewheeling exuberance” (The Guardian), her music erupts from the embodied power of the human voice and is communicated through mediums ranging from orchestral and operatic works to unaccompanied folk ballads. She is Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado Boulder and holds her PhD in Composition from Princeton University.

Saxophonist working in and across the classical tradition.

Interview: Annika Socolofsky & Nicholas Shaneyfelt on "Rise"

Jonathan Hulting-Cohen