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New York Rising

American Music for Saxophone Quartet

New Hudson Saxophone Quartet
Paul Cohen soprano saxophone
David Demsey tenor saxophone
Avi Goldrosen alto saxophone
Tim Ruedeman baritone saxophone

Joseph Trapanese composer
Aaron Copland composer
Robert Sirota composer
Percy Grainger composer
David Noon composer

Christopher Brellochs alto saxophone
Ulrich Krieger alto saxophone

Release Date: November 15, 2024
Catalog #: RR8111
Format: Digital
20th Century
21st Century
Chamber
Saxophone

Paul Cohen and The New Hudson Saxophone Quartet return to Ravello Records with NEW YORK RISING. Showcasing their well-blended sound and ability to turn on a stylistic dime, the ensemble navigates works by several American composers, from the title track’s evocations of a young man’s excitement, curiosity, and determination in the Big Apple to arrangements of Aaron Copland’s Suite from Our Town and Simple Gifts, and more. The ensemble is joined by guest artists Christopher Brellochs and Ulrich Krieger, both alto saxophonists, throughout the program.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 New York Rising (2003): Prelude Joseph Trapanese New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 3:46
02 New York Rising (2003): Chorale Joseph Trapanese New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 3:25
03 New York Rising (2003): Fugue Joseph Trapanese New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 2:04
04 Suite from Our Town (1939): The Story of Our Town Aaron Copland, arr. Paul Cohen New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 2:52
05 Suite from Our Town (1939): Conversation at the Soda Fountain Aaron Copland, arr. Paul Cohen New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 2:15
06 Suite from Our Town (1939): The Resting-place on the Hill Aaron Copland, arr. Paul Cohen New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 3:04
07 Diners (2009): Road Trip Robert Sirota New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 2:04
08 Diners (2009): Breakfast at the Miss Florence, Northhampton, Massachusetts Robert Sirota New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 2:32
09 Diners (2009): Neon Robert Sirota New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 1:11
10 Diners (2009): Lunch at Moody's, Waldoboro, Maine Robert Sirota New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 6:03
11 Diners (2009): taking the N train to Dinner at the Neptune, Astoria, Queens Robert Sirota New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 3:05
12 Lisbon (1943) Percy Grainger Ulrich Krieger, alto saxophone; New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 1:22
13 Saxophone Quartet #1 (2001): Allegro David Noon Christopher Brellochs, alto saxophone; New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 4:00
14 Saxophone Quartet #1 (2001): Variazioni David Noon Christopher Brellochs, alto saxophone; New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 8:22
15 Saxophone Quartet #1 (2001): Fugue David Noon Christopher Brellochs, alto saxophone; New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 4:06
16 Simple Gifts (1939) Aaron Copland, arr. Paul Cohen New Hudson Saxophone Quartet | Paul Cohen, soprano saxophone; David Demsey, tenor saxophone; Avi Goldrosen, alto saxophone; Tim Ruedeman, baritone saxophone 3:26

Paul Cohen plays a 1925 Buescher curved soprano on this recording, with a Caravan mouthpiece and D’Addario #3.5 reeds. Avi Goldrosen (alto), David Demsey (tenor) and Tim Ruedeman play alto and tenor Caravan and Bilger baritone mouthpieces, with D’Addario 3.5-4 reeds.

Session Producer Paul Cohen

Tracks 1-6, 12 & 16
Recorded in 2005 at Town Hall in New York City NY
Session Engineer David Miller

Tracks 7-11
Recorded in 2014 at Oktaven Audio in Yonkers NY
Session Engineer Ryan Streber

Tracks 13-15
Recorded in 2017 at LeFrak Hall, Queens College in Queens NY
Session Engineer Joseph Patrych

Mastering Chris Sulit

Executive Producer Bob Lord

A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Jeff Leroy

VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Publicity Chelsea Kornago
Digital Marketing Manager Brett Iannucci

Artist Information

New Hudson Saxophone Quartet

Ensemble

The New Hudson Saxophone Quartet is a rare combina­tion: an ensemble dedicated to presenting American music with a string quartet approach and a beautiful, blending instrumental sound. Their repertoire can range from commissioned works by Robert Sirota and David Noon to classic original repertoire by 19th-century American composers Caryl Florio and the 20th century Alec Wilder.

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Paul Cohen

Saxophonist

Paul Cohen is a sought-after saxophonist for orchestral and chamber concerts and solo recitals. He has appeared as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Richmond Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Charleston Symphony, and the Philharmonia Virtuosi. His many solo orchestra performances include works by Debussy, Creston, Ibert, Glazunov, Martin, Loeffler, Husa, Dahl, Still, Villa-Lobos, Tomasi, and Cowell. He has also performed with a broad range of orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera (NYC), American Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, New Jersey Symphony, Oregon Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, Group for Contemporary Music, Greenwich Symphony, and New York Solisti.

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Joseph Trapanese

composer

Joseph Trapanese (b. 1984) is best known for his score work for blockbuster films like Tron: Legacy, Straight Outta Compton, The Greatest Showman, Oblivion and the Raid series. As a composer, arranger, and producer for movie, television, cheater, and video game music, he has collaborated with a number of mainstream musical acts such as Daft Punk, M83, Mike Shinoda, and Dr. Dre. Solo work includes films such as Stuber, Arctic, Robin Hood, Only The Brave, Earth to Echo, and two installments of the Divergent series.

Born in Jersey City NJ, Trapanese earned his B.M. in Classical Composition from the Manhattan School of Music where he wrote a number of concert pieces. He went on to study at UCLA for his M.A. and taught electronic music composition at the school from 2008–2011. In 2016, he became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Robert Sirota

composer

Over four decades, composer Robert Sirota (b. 1949) has developed a distinctive voice, clearly discernible in all of his work — whether symphonic, choral, stage, or chamber music. Writing in the Portland Press Herald, Allan Kozinn asserts: “Sirota’s musical language is personal and undogmatic, in the sense that instead of aligning himself with any of the competing contemporary styles, he follows his own internal musical compass.”

Sirota’s works have been performed by orchestras across the US and Europe; ensembles such as Alarm Will Sound, Sequitur, yMusic, Chameleon Arts, and Dinosaur Annex; the Chiara, American, Telegraph, Ethel, Elmyr, and Blair String Quartets; the Peabody, Concord, and Webster Trios; and at festivals including Tanglewood, Aspen, Yellow Barn, and Coo­perstown music festivals; Bowdoin Gamper and Bowdoin International Music Festival; and Mizzou International Composers Festival. Recent and upcoming commissions include Jeffrey Kahane and the Sarasota Music Festival, Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Palladium Musicum, American Guild of Organists, the American String Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, the Naumburg Foundation, Concert Artists of Baltimore, and yMusic.

Recipient of grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, United States Information Agency, National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and the American Music Center, Sirota’s works are recorded on Legacy Recordings, National Sawdust Tracks, and the Capstone, Albany, New Voice, Gasparo and Crystal labels. His music is published by Muzzy Ridge Music, Schott, Music Associates of New York, MorningStar, Theodore Presser, and To the Fore.

A native New Yorker, Sirota studied at Juilliard, Oberlin, and Harvard and divides his time between New York and Sear­smont ME with his wife, Episcopal priest and organist Victoria Sirota. They frequently collaborate on new works, with Victoria as librettist and performer, at times also working with their children, Jonah and Nadia, both world-class violists.

For complete information, visit www.robertsirota.com

David Noon

composer

David Noon was born of Pennsylvania Dutch, Welsh, and American Indian heritage in Johnstown PA on July 23, 1946. His formal musical education began at the age of 8 when he learned to play clarinet. Subsequently, he took bassoon, flute, piccolo, and piano lessons. Throughout his childhood, he frequently performed in choirs, bands, orchestras, and chamber music ensembles. During his collegiate years at Pomona College, he continued to sing and play bassoon and piano. He also began the systematic study of composition. His composition teachers have included Karl Kohn, Darius Milhaud, Charles Jones, Yehudi Wyner, Mario Davidovsky, and Wlodzimierz Kotonski.

Following his undergraduate education, he attended New York University to study medieval music with Gustave Re­ese. After receiving an M.A. in Musicology at NYU, he attended Yale University, where he received an M.M.A. and a D.M.A. in composition. In 1972–1973, he was a Fulbright Fellow in composition at the Music Conservatory in Warsaw, Poland. From 1973–1976, Noon caught music theory and composition and supervised the advanced ear-training program at the School of Music at Northwestern University. In 1976, he was composer-in-residence at the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos NM. From 1996–1998, Noon was Composer Artist-in-Residence at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. A prolific composer, Noon has written 265 works including chamber music, orchestral works, and choral compositions. He has written 12 string quartets, three piano concertos, the opera R.S.V.P., and many works featuring percussion. He has also written two books of poetry: Postcards from Rethymno and Bitter Rain; seven histori­cal novels: The Tin Box, Googie’s, My Name Was Saul, Monkey Boy, The Last Lotus, Hounds & Jackals, and La Fenice; two faux memoirs: Half Truths and Final Assignment; and six Nadia Boulanger mysteries: Murder at the Ballets Russes, The Tsar’s Daughter; Death in the Tomb, The Organ Symphony, Tarnished Gold at the Olympics, and Curtain Call. He was on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music in New York City from 1981–2011, where he was Chairman of the Music History Department (1981–2007), Chairman of the Composition Department (1989–1998) and Dean of Academics (1998–2006). He was named Dean emeritus in 2011. In 2007–2008, Noon was a visiting professor of musicology and composition at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China. Noon resides in New York City, Venice, Italy, and on the Greek island of Crete.

David Demsey

tenor saxophone

David Demsey is Professor of Music and Coordinator of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic since 1995, including three world tours as well as the Metropolitan Opera conducted by James Levine, and with the Kirov Orchestra led by Valery Gergiev. As a jazz performer, he has been a member of the Water Gap Jazz Orchestra directed by Phil Woods since 2014, and has appeared with such diverse artists as trumpeters Clark Terry and Randy Brecker, bassists Milt Hinton and Rufus Reid, pianists Mulgrew Miller, James Williams, and Jim McNeely. His article Improvisation and Concepts of Virtuosity is the final essay in the Oxford Companion to Jazz. He published the transcription book John Coltrane Plays “Giant Steps” (Hal Leonard), and has written two books on composer Alec Wilder. He was a Contributing Editor for Saxophone Journal and Jazz Player magazines, and is a Selmer Saxophone Clinician.

Avi Goldrosen

alto saxophone

Avi Goldrosen performs with several orchestras in the NYC region, including the Plainfield Symphony, Long Island Philhar­monic, Livingston, Charleston Symphony, New Jersey Pops, Rutgers, and Juilliard Orchestras, and has performed under the conductors Lawrence Leighton Smith, Richard Auldon Clark, Sabin Pautza, Mark Gould, David Briskin, and Randell Behr. Goldrosen’s chamber music playing includes performances with the New Juilliard Ensemble, New Jersey Saxophone En­semble, and recent tours with the New York Theater Ballet. Goldrosen performs regularly with the Saxophone Sinfonia, and is a member of the Garden State Symphonic Band.

Tim Ruedeman

baritone saxophone

Saxophonist Tim Ruedeman, praised for his “elegant and pure sound” (Saxophone Journal) and noted as “versatile and vir­tuosic” (Philadelphia Inquirer), has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Bridgeport Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, Mostly Mozart Festival, Lincoln Center Festival, International Contemporary Ensemble (I.C.E.), Absolute Ensemble, and is a founding member of Flexible Music and the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet. He has appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic CONTACT!, Greenwich Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, S.E.M. Ensemble, soundScape festival (Italy), and Hanover Winds. An active jazz and commercial player, he has toured and recorded with Tony Bennett, David Foster, Diana Krall, Rostam of Vampire Weekend, the Walkmen, Paul Shaffer, Christopher Cross and appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, Live with Michael and Kelly, and Good Morning America. Ruedeman serves on the faculty of NYU, C.U.N.Y. Queens, and William Paterson University, and holds a B.M. from Oberlin and an M.M. and Ph.D. from NYU.

Christopher Brellochs

alto saxophone

Christopher Brellochs has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall in New York City to Saint Merri in Paris, France. He performs with orchestras, wind groups, chamber ensembles and in solo recitals across the nation. His current project, “Music of the Gilded Age in the Hudson Valley,” includes the research, performance and presentation of music performances in historic mansions, and the creation of documentary films.

In 2011, he recorded the world premiere of Aaron Copland’s complete incidental music for Quiet City, which he brought to life from the unpublished manuscript. His adaptation was critically acclaimed and is now published by Boosey and Hawkes, Copland’s exclusive publisher. The recording received radio play on National Public Radio “Weekend Edition” and “Per­formance Today,” and print reviews in Gramophone (Awards 2011). Introducing new music from 1939 by Aaron Copland caused a revelation in the music world, and it continues to be widely performed.

Brellochs teaches saxophone at Vassar College and is chair of the Dutchess Community College Academy of Music where he teaches Music Theory, Aural Skills, History of Music and conducts the Mid-Hudson Community Orchestra.

Ulrich Krieger

alto saxophone

Ulrich Krieger is a versatile saxophonist in contemporary composed and free improvised music as well as a composer of chamber and electronic music. He studied saxophone, composition, and electronic music at the UdK Berlin (University of the Arts) and the Manhattan School of Music New York and performed with orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ensemble Modern, Musikfabrik, and many more.

He has collaborated with Lou Reed, LaMonte Young, Phill Niblock, Text of Light, Lee Ranaldo, John Duncan, Zbigniew Karkowski, Merzbow, Thomas Köner, Hans-Joachim Hespos, Ensemble Modern, Berliner Philharmoniker, Soldier String Quartet, and Zeitkratzer, just to name a few.

Krieger has lived in Southern California since 2007 where he is associate professor on the composition faculty at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

Notes

New York Rising was written mostly in a room overlooking the city, either at sunrise or sunset, both times when New York comes to life with its amazing energy. The second movement is dedicated to my grandfather, who passed away on the same day I finished the sketches for the Chorale.

Over 15 years have passed since my saxophone quarter was completed, but the strong memory of its composition has not faded. It is a snapshot of my first year living in New York City, when I was full of the excitement and wonder any new college student will experience there. More importantly, his music has come to represent my spirit of curiosity and determination, and is a reminder of who I am becoming as a freshman gazing over the city from a small practice room on 122nd St. and Broadway in 2003.

I am forever grateful to Paul Cohen, The New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, and their studio of distinguished student artists who have championed my music for saxophone. This recording has been long in the making, and I’m excited to finally share it with you.

— Joseph Trapanese

Aaron Copland composed the music for the movie adaptation of Thorton Wilder’s play Our Town in 1940. Steeped in the Americana sound and spirit that he created in the mid 1930s, Copland’s score is a quiet, dignified, and solemn work as befits the play’s small-town New England setting. The score for Our Town received an Oscar nomination for best music.

After the release of Our Town, Copland arranged music from the film score into both an orchestral work and a short three movement piano suite. My arrangement for saxophone quartet was adapted from the piano suite. I have always been enamored with the music (and the play/movie) and thought that the colorful and sustaining sonorities of the saxophone quartet could add yet another dimension to the work. Our Town, with its sense of calm and nostalgic evocation of New England hymn tunes, draws from the movie’s title music as well as noble vignettes of daily life in Grover’s Corners NH at the dawn of the 20th century.

It is of interest to saxophonists to note that some of the themes Copland used in Our Town were originally part of the inciden­tal music he composed for the play Quiet City, scored for clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, and piano. This play received just two previews and was never publicly produced. Copland reworked some of its music into the orchestral work Quiet City for trumpet, English horn, and orchestra. Our Town incorporates musical themes from the play that Copland did not include in the orchestral Quiet City.

Copland is no stranger to the saxophone, having used it on occasion throughout his music. In addition to his original wind ensemble scoring (Outdoor Overture, Emblems, Red Pony Suite), Copland scored for the saxophone in the Symphony #1, Piano Concerto, film score to The City, Saga of the Prairie, The Second Hurricane, and the original music to the play Quiet City. Later in his life, Copland expressed renewed enthusiasm for the saxophone, and expressed interest in his music being adapted for saxophone quartet. That enthusiasm has been sustained by Copland’s estate and Boosey and Hawkes, Copland’s publisher, who requested my adaptation of Four Piano Blues for saxophone quartet (also published and recorded on the American Muse CD by the NHQ). Boosey and Hawkes now publishes my saxophone arrangements of Copland, including Four Piano Blues, Our Town and Simple Gifts for saxophone quartet, and New England Countryside, Grover’s Corners, and Suite from Our Town for saxophone choir.

— Paul Cohen

Robert Sirota wrote Diners for the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet. Inspired by three of his favorite diners. Sirota stated, “I have always loved diners — their food, their architecture, and their vibe. For some time, I have wanted to compose a work based upon my diner obsession. The first two movements of this piece are inspired by a hearty breakfast at the Miss Florence in Northampton MA. The third movement cakes us to lunch at Moody’s Diner on Route 1 in Waldoboro ME, which is something of a holy retreat for my family. Finally, The Neptune in Astoria, Queens, is the quintessential urban Greek diner: the perfect place to cap off your day with a dinner of swordfish souvlaki while the elevated N train rumbles past your window.”

Percy Grainger’s relationship with the saxophone was both joyous and far-reaching. He included the saxophone — some­ times singly, other times within a complete family — in many of his orchestral, chamber, band, and solo works. Grainger was convinced of the ideal musical qualities of the saxophone from his very first encounter with the instrument. In a 1943 round letter co his friends, he reminisced:
Around 1904, Balfour Gardiner & I heard our first sax-reed (a tenor) near Frome, Somerset. A man in a country band played one to us. I knew then and there that I was hearing the world’s finest wind-tone-tool — the most voice-like, the most mankind-typed.

His enthusiasm was such that he owned both a soprano and baritone, and he enlisted in a World War I armed forces band playing the soprano saxophone! His extensive public writing about the saxophone was effusive in praise, extolling its virtues to the highest degree. A typical example comes from the preface to Lincolnshire Posy, in which Grainger asserts: “…to my ears the saxophone is the most expressive of all wind instruments — the one closest to the human voice. And surely all musical instruments should be rated according to their tonal closeness to man’s own voice!”

Grainger was especially interested in the sonority of instrumental families, and his particular favorite was the family of saxophones. For many years he wanted to write for saxophone ensemble, but was unable to find an appropriate group to try out his works. In the summer of 1943, Grainger had a particularly strong and interested group with which to work, and he enthusiastically wrote out saxophone ensemble parts to many of his own arrangements and original settings.

This version of Lisbon, (better known as the first movement of Lincolnshire Posy, the work for Wind Ensemble) was written by Grainger on August 2, 1943 while on the summer faculty of Interlochen. This is not an arrangement, but an original setting by Grainger for the saxophones.

Percy Grainger, (1882—1961) was an Australian-born, European trained, American composer, pianist, and conductor who was also known for his work in collecting folk music. Grainger first appeared publicly as a pianist at age 10. He achieved a reputation as a brilliant concert pianist beginning in London in 1901. In 1906 Grainger became a friend of Edvard Grieg, under whose influence he began collecting and recording English folk songs by means of wax-cylinder phonographs. He seeded in the United States in 1914, continuing his career as a virtuoso pianist and composer, creating innovative works for orchestra, wind band, and chamber ensembles.

— Paul Cohen

Saxophone Quartet #1 was written for Paul Cohen and the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet on a commission from Dr. and Mrs. Norland Berk as a memoriam for their son, Jordan Berk, who was a student at the Manhattan School of Music. Noon’s other works for saxophone include Ars Nova op. 67 (1982) for soprano saxophone and piano, Partita op. 103-B (1989) for soprano saxophone and guitar, Three Masks for soprano saxophone and string quartet and Hymn Variations op. 108 (1991) for soprano saxophone, violin, violoncello, and piano, and Grand Partita for saxophone choir.

Simple Gifts, best known as a section of the ballet Appalachian Spring, is based on the now famous Shaker melody. Copland wrote an engaging set of variations that became the defining music of the ballet. He later set Simple Gifts as a separate work for wind ensemble (Shaker Variations) which is the basis for my arrangement for saxophone quartet.

— Paul Cohen