The development of the saxophone compositions of Paul Creston
Guiseppe Guttoveggio, best known as Paul Creston (1906 - 1985), could be considered one of America's most prominent composers. His compositions, numbering over one hundred and fifty, include piano pieces, songs, chamber works for various instruments, choral works, symphonic band compositions, orchestral works, and symphonies. Much of his music has been performed by major orchestras and performing artists around the world. Creston is particularly recognized for his contributions to the literature of the "neglected instruments." His works for harp, accordion, marimba, trombone, and saxophone continue to be very popular with performers and audiences alike. Letters contained in the Creston Collection validate that many musicians are deeply appreciative of the work that Creston did to promote their instruments. During the early 1930s, when the saxophone was mainly associated with concert and military bands, vaudeville and the growing jazz movement, the solo alto saxophone compositions by Creston played an important role in the development of the literature for concert saxophone. His four works for solo saxophone, the Suite for E-flat Alto Saxophone and Piano, Opus 6, Sonata for E-flat Alto Saxophone and Piano, Opus 19, Concerto for E-flat Alto saxophone and Orchestra, Opus 26, and Rapsodie for E-flat Alto Saxophone and Organ, Opus 108, are actively studied and performed today. Creston's first three compositions for the saxophone were written for concert saxophonist Cecil Leeson. Those compositions served as a catalyst for more American composers such as Anton Billoti, Burnet Tuthill, Bernard Brindel, and Bernard Heiden to write for the saxophone. The purposes of this study are: 1) to provide historical information on each of Creston's four compositions for solo saxophone; 2) to provide detailed information pertaining to the important performances of each composition; and 3) to disclose data contained in the Paul Creston Collection that illustrates how these compositions contributed to the development of concert literature for the saxophone. Research data was obtained from holographic manuscripts, scrapbooks and published documents. The majority of these materials were from the Paul Creston Collection located in the Miller Nichols Music/Media Library at the University of Missouri-Kansas City
Thesis, Dissertation, English, 1996