Gabriel Prokofiev

Saxophone Concerto;

Bass Drum Concerto

Branford Marsalis (saxophone),

Joby Burgess (bass drum);

Ural Philharmonic Orchestra/

Alexei Bogorad

Signum Classics SIGCD584 53:35 mins

It was 13 years ago when Gabriel Prokofiev composed his first ever concerto – for Turntables and Orchestra. The form has since become integral to his ongoing exploration of the relationships between protagonists traditional and nontraditional – orchestra versus sometimes unexpected soloist/s. Also between styles classical and ‘nonclassical’, which was the title of a club night and record label he founded in 2004.

Neither concerto on this enjoyable album departs from inherited concepts of concerto form, or from recognisably classical idioms; while both incorporate elements of jazz, disco, hip-hop and more, their style is distinctively post-minimal with homages to Stravinsky and others – including, as it happens, the composer’s grandfather, Sergei Prokofiev. Enticingly rhythmic and built from contrasting motifs, both feature melodic reflection and are cast in four movements.

The Saxophone Concerto (2016) was written for the excellent Branford Marsalis in soulful, alternately sharp and languid guise. Pitched against Alexei Bogorad’s Ural Philharmonic Orchestra – spirited here and with percussionist extraordinaire Joby Burgess in the ensuing Bass Drum Concerto (2012) – it’s an inventive marriage; not of opposites so much as partners relishing the push-pull of diverse yet complementary material.

From lyrical swoops to edgy syncopations and off-kilter pounding, sound itself is key, as indeed it is in the Bass Drum Concerto, where thunder and menace are off-set by taps, rattles and delicate whispers redolent of an entire percussion section. It shouldn’t need saying that the bass drum is a multifaceted instrument capable of great subtlety, and Prokofiev and Burgess prove it.

Steph Power

PERFORMANCE ★★★★

RECORDING ★★★★