St. Louis Symphony's John Adams' New Saxophone Concerto Performances to be Live Streamed, 10/5-6

Nonesuch Records returns to Powell Hall in early October to record the St. Louis Symphony's October 5-6 performances of John Adams' new Saxophone Concerto. The work was co-commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony and will feature soloist Timothy McAllister. The composer will be in attendance for the performances.

The concerto received critical acclaim at its world premiere performance by McAllister and the Baltimore Symphony, another co-commissioner, in September: "The score deftly fuses classical and jazz elements to create a cohesive, arresting experience," said Tim Smith in the Baltimore Sun. "Adams...has created here a kinetic, ecstatic ride that achieves giddy heights along the way."

Nonesuch held a similar session last season with the STL Symphony, recording its performances of Adams' City Noir. The Saxophone Concerto and City Noir performance will be combined and released by Nonesuch Records at a later date.

The St. Louis Symphony's last release with Nonesuch, in 2009, included John Adams' Dr. Atomic Symphony, and was named "Classical Album of the Decade" by The Times of London.

Saturday's performance will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio 90.7-KWMU and streamed online at www.stlpublicradio.org. Music Director David Robertson, John Adams and Timothy McAllister will all be interviewed live at intermission, just minutes after the concerto is performed.