The hot Italian summer of 1982; four young Dutch saxophonists rehearsing in Via Aurelia in Rome; the beginning of a sensational, pioneering chamber-music ensemble: the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet. Then came: Concerts throughout the world from Suntory Hall in Tokyo to the Gewandhaus in Leipzig – not to mention the little church in Marken-Binnen in the Dutch province of Noord-Holland and a municipal centre in Oristano, Sardinia which smelt of beer.
Radio and television performances from Washington, DC to Tirana, Albania. Broadcasts on the Emmeloord Patients’ Radio Network to TV Wolgograd.
Currently nine CDs to the group’s name, one of which won an Edison and international praise, setting a new standard for saxophone quartets the world over.
Collaboration with artists from all disciplines, including dance and theatre (Peter Drost, René Groothof), as well as a great many musicians: pianists Ivo Janssen and Juan Pablo Dobal, bandoneon players Gustavo Toker and Carel Kraaijenhof, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, the Georgian women’s choir Mzetamze, the gamelan ensemble Multifoon, Slagwerkgroep Den Haag, the Japanese saxophone quartet Trouvère, the Hague Residentie Orchestra, the Limburg Symphony Orchestra and others.
Over seventy world premieres of works by ter Veldhuis, Goldstein, Keuris, Andriessen and many others. The group gives compositions the chance to grow and plays pieces frequently so that they are heard often.
Astounding and ambitious arrangements. String quartets by Ravel, Debussy and Shostakovich. The Art of Fugue, the sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. Pushing boundaries for our one great love: the saxophone quartet.