GSO – French Flair

The Geelong Symphony Orchestra are commencing their 2026 season with an evening of French music from Chopin, Bizet, Debussy and Ravel.

I will be joining the woodwinds for Bolero alongside Mark Franklin on tenor saxophone. The piece was originally commissioned for a ballet and is an impressive experiment in tone colours in the orchestra. Interestingly, the two original orchestral parts are tenor saxophone and a sopranino saxophone in F! Aside for the instrument having never been invented, the two themes do not fit within the range of the hypothetical instrument and need to be finished by a soprano saxophone. It appears no-one was able to communicate to Ravel about the practicalities of the saxophone part and Marcel Mule simply transposed the entire part onto the soprano saxophone.

There is a great interview from Vandoren where he explains the situation:

Fortunately, I had time to prepare a transposed part for my soprano in advance of the first rehearsal. It is worthwhile noting that the theme should continue in the soprano saxophone in the last 3 bars of Figure 15 rather than the tenor saxophone playing it an octave below.

The first rehearsal with Richard Davis was very efficient, just utilising the soloists playing up to figure 11 alongside the snare drum which was placed near the flute section. Whilst each soloist is espressivo, they also have a slightly different articulation written which must always be adhered to. There are a number of tempi to chose from for the Tempo di Bolero moderato assai. Maestro Davis explained that Ravel himself preferred a slower tempo so we’ll be aiming for 66 beats per minute.

It should be a fantastic concert. Get your tickets from the Geelong Arts Centre website: Geelong Symphony Orchestra – French Flair – Geelong Arts Centre

Saturday 21st February
5pm, Costa Hall Geelong