Anya Fadina (piano)
Kyle Horch (saxophone)
Yshani Perinpanayagam (piano)

It is a curious fact that, although the saxophone is often thought of as being a “French” or “American” instrument, Eastern European composers were among the earliest to use the saxophone in scores of great quality. Shostakovich and Prokofiev both used the saxophone in orchestral and ballet works during the 1930s-40s, and Glazunov wrote one of the major concertos for the instrument in 1934. With the aid of Ravel, the saxophone is perhaps best known as an orchestral instrument from the famous solo – “The Old Castle” – in his 1922 orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. So, the saxophone and Eastern European music go back quite a long way together. Fairy Tales is an exploration of some of the very fine recital works for saxophone and piano by composers from Eastern Europe. Today, there is a rich repertoire of original and arranged works from which a saxophonist can choose. Beyond the geographic theme, the selected pieces also share other affinities: strands of poetic storytelling, references to folk-music, and magical fairy-tale imagery. The booklet contains informative notes from Kyle Horch on all of the pieces featured on this release.