The protagonist of our Monday concert held on 24th April 2024 at the Willa Lentza as part of the cycle AD ASTRA is the saxophone – a woodwind instrument constructed in the 19th century by Belgian instrument builder Adolphe Sax. The performers are: Italian instrumentalist Raffaele Manuel Padula, Dariusz Samól, and Saxademus Quartet (Wiktoria Kawik, Jianyu Feng, Patrycjusz Pura, Agnieszka Marmol), accompanied by pianist Marek Werpulewski.
The programme consists of pieces by Ruggero Leoncavallo, David Maslanka, Myroslav Skoryk, Henri Tomasi, Antonio Vivaldi, and Stefan Johan Walter.
The event is part of the 15th International Saxophone Festival.
PROGRAMME
Henri Tomasi (1901-1971) – Ballade for saxophone and piano
Ruggero Leoncavallo 18857-1919) – Vesti la giubba (tribute to the composer), arr. Davide Nari (b. 1991)
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) – Concerto in D Minor, RV454, arr. Dariusz Samól
Myroslav Skoryk (1938-2020) – Melody
Stefan Johan Walter (b. 1968) – Inner moments for saxophone solo
David Maslanka (1943-2017) – Mountain Roads
S is for SAXOPHONE
A woodwind instrument (reed aerophone) consisting of a pipe-shaped metal corpus with side holes closed by keys, constructed in 1840 by Adolphe Sax. It exists in seven sizes (two soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass). The instrument gained most renown in popular and jazz music, while in symphony orchestras it is only encountered sporadically.
RAFFAELE MANUEL PADULA graduated from Rodi Garganico’s State Music Conservatory ‘Umberto Giordano’ (saxophone class of Gabriele Buschi), Bologna’s Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini (chamber music class of Guido Felizzi) and the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp (class of Hans de Jong). He has also taken part in numerous masterclasses taught by artists such as Arno Bornkamp, Angel Soria Diaz, Marco Gerboni, Paweł Gusnar, Hans de Jong, Jérôme Laran, Mario Marzi, Massimo Mazzoniego, Federico Mondelci, Francesco Santucci, and Bill Smith.
Padula is the winner of first prizes in the Concorso Internazionale Garganum (2015) and Concorso Alberghini (2017, 2018). He performs with Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra Aquilana, Symfonie Orkest, Symphonic Wind Band of the Conservatoire Antwerp, and Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna.
The artist has released two albums: Hasta que la musica se pare (homage to Astor Piazzolla, with pianist Francesco Monaco) and In Time (with pianist Stefano Bezziccheri).
DARIUSZ SAMÓL graduated from the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven, Belgium (class of Prof. Ed Bogaard) and Wrocław’s Academy of Music (postgraduate studies with Prof. Mieczysław Stachura). Initiator of several ensembles including The ArtSax Duo, Impression Saxophone Ensemble, and Inventia Trio, Samól had premiered several dozen contemporary works by Polish and foreign composers, incl. George Andrix, Sy Brandon, Artur Cieślak, James DeMars, Jaromir Gajewski, Piotr Grella-Możejko, Alicja Gronau, He He, Marek Jasiński, Zhong Juncheng, Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil, Marilyn Shrude, Edward Sielicki, Janusz Stalmierski, and Andreas van Zoelen.
The artist has released three albums of Polish music, as well as publishing books and papers on saxophone music, including Saxophone Music by Polish Composers. Selected Works (Polish and English versions), Saxophone Music by US Composers of Polish Origin, Adolphe Sax and the Nineteenth-Century Saxophone Music.
Samól has performed in Asia, Europe, and North America, both as a soloist and chamber musician. He is a professor at Szczecin Academy of Art, artistic director of Szczecin’s International Saxophone Festival, Etiuda International Festival for Wind Instruments, and Convergent Points Festival.
SAXADEMUS QUARTET
The quartet consists of students from the Academy of Art in Szczecin. Its members (Wiktoria Kawik, Jianyu Feng, Patrycjusz Pura, Agnieszka Marmol) have already scored major artistic successes, confirmed by awards in international competitions in Poland and abroad.
