Marion Bauer's Sonata, Op.22 – transcribed for Alto Saxophone

SOMERVILLE, Mass. - EntSun -- Noteworthy Sheet Music, LLC (NSM) is an online sheet music publisher offering original works by distinguished contemporary composers, re-notated versions or facsimiles of rare historical scores, and arrangements of pieces from the classical repertoire. Selected NSM publications are offered as professionally-printed hard copy editions, and most are available as convenient pdf downloads from the NSM website.

NSM was delighted for the opportunity to work with Paul Cohen on his adaptation of Marion Bauer's Sonata, Op.22, for alto saxophone (and piano). A sought-after saxophone performer and recording artist, Dr. Cohen is also a talented arranger, lecturer, and collector of historical instruments.

From Dr. Cohen's preface, © April 7, 2021, to the NSM edition:
"Bauer composed this sonata in 1932 or 1935.  It originally was written for viola, and dedicated to the memory of her friend and colleague, Albert Stoessel who was a distinguished American violinist, conductor, author, composer, and educator in the 20th century.  Bauer soon after created her own idiomatic transcription for clarinet and piano, and the sonata was published as a work for viola or clarinet in 1951.  It is revealing to see the differences in the viola and clarinet versions. The piano part remains unchanged in both.

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There is a history of music for viola successfully adapted for saxophone by the composers.  Fernande Decruck's Sonata (1943) for saxophone and piano (or orchestra) was originally written for viola, as was Ross Lee Finney's Sonata in A Minor from 1937 (viola and piano), adapted for saxophone in the early 1970s.  Several works for alto saxophone and orchestra written for the American saxophonist Elise Hall were originally written for viola, including Florent Schmitt's Legende (1918) and Choral Variee´ (1903) by Vincent D'Indy.  Adolph Busch composed his Suite for violin and either viola or alto saxophone in 1926, while in 1923 Darius Milhaud replaced the viola with the saxophone in La Creation du Monde literally positioning the saxophone in the viola chair in the string section.
My saxophone adaptation of Bauer's Sonata combines elements of the clarinet and viola versions, creating a version appropriate for the alto saxophone.  This includes changes in range, articulation, phrasing and dynamics to create an idiomatic (though challenging) version for the alto saxophone faithful to the musical intent of the composer."

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Visit the NSM website for additional information about Marion Bauer and NSM's editions of her Sonata transcribed for alto saxophone by Paul Cohen (https://noteworthysheetmusic.com/sheet-music/ensemble-tags/winds/828-bauer-sonata-op-22-alto-saxophone) or for alto flute by Peter H. Bloom (https://noteworthysheetmusic.com/score-descriptions/5-transcriptions-alto-flute/146-bauer-sonata-alto-flute).