Signum sax foursome who love breaking through boundaries
Sydney Recital Hall (Daily Telegraph)
In its Australian debut, the sax quartet, performs a seamless program of Bach, Weill and Gershwin, showcasing an exemplary sense of balance, clarity and tone.
This acclaimed group brought to bear a seemingly endless variety of tonal colour and effects. The sense of balance, clarity and tone was exemplary.
Adelaide Town Hall (Limelight ★★★★★)
Displaying all the hallmarks of true chamber musicians, these saxophonists brought classy enthusiasm to transcriptions of a diverse repertory.
Melbourne Recital Centre (The Age ★★★★½)
Silence speaks volumes in sax triumph.
… a powerhouse performance that reveals the many colours of the sax to an awestruck audience.
Perth Concert Hall (seasaw Art Magazin)
Opening with a tasteful interpretation of Bach’s “Italian Concerto”, BWV 971, the musicians of the Signum Quartet kicked the concert off with flare and excitement. Each voice was incredibly well balanced as the four saxophonists engaged in a deep conversation of counterpoint. Their physical moment displayed a sophisticated understanding of the piece and how the different voices interacted with one another. Their sound was well rounded, harmonious and cohesive, gave the impression as if they were operating a single instrument. It was sublime.
… the performers were greeted with a rapturous applause and standing ovation.
Canberra Llewelyn Hall (CBR City News)
“The crowd went wild for this work (Bernstein) as they had for all other familiar music in ingenious arrangement played by the Signum wind geniuses. Their wealth of flexible wind sounds and effective programming are welcome Down Under any day.”
Sydney Recital Hall (Arts Guide)
We are so excited to share this news with you. It feels like unreal, especially in this unreal times.
Imagine, you go to the schoolroom, practising your saxophone like crazy. And there is a wardrobe, full of legendary recordings. The one with Karajan, Bernstein, Kleiber. If you play good in the lesson, you are allowed to borrow one CD from this wardrobe… On every of this CDs there is this yellow label.
You start to practise. You practice more. You play. You start to dream.
We are so glad to present to you ECHOES, our first e- album on Deutsche Grammophon @dgclassics coming out on 15th of January 2021.
The album itself is a „Herzenssache“ (google trs. Matter of the heart), intimate, reflecting ourselves In this community in this time. In Our time.
more on:
> SIGNUM is SELMER Paris Artist
We are honored to play on the exceptional instruments crafted by Selmer Paris. Their sound quality, precision, and expressive possibilities inspire us every day and are an essential part of our musical identity.
Thank you, Selmer Paris, for your trust and outstanding craftsmanship!
Through the night with SIGNUM & Kai Schumacher
SIGNUM saxophone quartet
Kai Schumacher, Piano & Prepared Piano
Tranquillity and trance, ecstasy and exhaustion, dream and reality – with this new programme the SIGNUM saxophone quartet embarks upon an odyssey through the realms of possibility and contrast called: The Night. These four multi-award-winning and eclectic artists are among the groundbreakers of the young classical music scene. They virtuosically switch between styles and genres in order to celebrate the night in its most diverse musical facets. For their Goldberg Nights project, they have invited a fifth dream-loving night owl who is also at home in more than one artistic universe: the pianist and composer Kai Schumacher.
The guiding star in the nightly concert heaven is Johann Sebastian Bach, who composed brilliant night music with his Goldberg Variations. They were created for the harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg with the intention that these Variations would soothe into sleep his princely employer, the Count von Keyserlingk. SIGNUM and Kai Schumacher combine excerpts from the Goldberg Variations with the works of other night lovers in music history such as Franz Schubert and Frederic Chopin. For the Romantics, the night was the favourite habitat for melancholy, other-worldly soul excursions. By contrast, two American composers illustrate the sounds of the city that never sleeps: Steve Reich makes minimalist dream worlds pulsate in New York Counterpoint, while his compatriot George Gershwin allows his sleepless thoughts to fly over the brightly lit skyline on a rhapsodic night journey. Finally, Kai Schumacher, as a 21st century artist, includes in the mix the ecstasy produced by the sleepless nightclubs, the tireless laboratories of sound (album: “Rausch”).
Driven into this nocturnal panopticon between deepest black and brilliant colours, we meet ourselves, our fears, hopes, passions and abysses. The Night opens for us a space for reflections and fantasies, a space commonly hidden in the daylight. And the Music of Goldberg Nights is the key to unlock it! A concert programme not only for friends of classical music: exciting and calming, cool and ecstatic, dreaming and wide awake – like the night, which is designed not just for sleeping. And Johann Gottlieb Goldberg already knew that.
The film follows a classical saxophone quartet to Angola, Africa and tries to capture the mysterious
and enchanting feeling called Saudade.
Members of a classical saxophone quartet travel to Angola, Africa, to carry out a workshop with
students of a local music school. Although their mission is to bring their knowledge and experience to
others, they end up leaving with important knowledge and experience themselves. The film follows
the four musicians and takes the viewer on a meditative and exploring paths through Angola
accompanied by classical and contemporary compositions.
The title of the film – SAUDADE – is a Portuguese word used to describe a vague and constant desire
for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present.
Last year I had a chance to travel to Angola, Africa with four classical musicians, film their journey
and try capturing saudade.
Hello to all!
It has been few days since Berlin concert.- nice memories but life goes on and we are back to work.
In the past days we were busy, preparing our Beethoven Project. The premiere of it will take place tomorrow on 24th January (20:30) at one of our favorite festivals.- Folle Journee in Nantes/ France.
The exact dates and times of the concerts you can see at our Website. – exactly where are you now 😉 – at TOUR section.
On the Program:
#BeBEETHOVEN
HAYDN String quartet opus 33 n°1 Hob.III.37
BEETHOVEN/LEITINGER Sonata quasi una fantasia – Adagio Sostenuto from Piano Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 No. 2*
BEETHOVEN Allegro molto, quasi presto from Quartet, op.18 No.2
NAGAO Ewig Beethoven*
*world premiere in Nantes
At this point we would like to mention and to thanks two persons!
Firstly to Jun Nagao who composed a piece especially for us and which is his very personal and intimate reflection on Beethoven music.
Secondly, big thanks and compliment for slovenian jazz man Izidor Leitinger who wrote his very own (jazzy) version of Beethoven’s famous Sonata! Basically a composition, not only an arrangement!
We are excited about the coming days in France and looking forward to enjoy and to share the music of Ludwig van Beethoven!
Your, SIGNUM boys
Hello from Berlin!
Berlin Konzerthaus is a very special concert venue for us, because there we basically played our first “real” concert.- apart from playing at House Concerts, Picknicks and Garten Parties back to that time 😉
It was 17.3.2010 and we still remember the big excitment at the hall and of course crazy “Berlin Night” afterwards.
In beetwen we were back there for two times but it is still huge honor for us and every time like for the first time. Yesterday was it so far again.
On the programme Starry Night with Alexej Gerassimez.
We did not feel nostalgic but were just happy to see so many friends at the hall and we were overhelmed with reaction of enthusiastic audience. This night the crazy party didn’t follow as we had to take early flights back to Köln. – But anyway.- the time for it will come soon again! 🙂
Your SIGNUM boys