Stravaganza

Stravaganza is the Italian word for 'eccentric'. The inspiration for the concerto is the fact that Jess Gillam initially learned the saxophone in a carnival, having first tried the stilts and then the drums before finding her musical home. The work is in four movements, and a certain eccentricity or quirkiness pervades throughout. In many ways it is programmatic but the listener may create her or his eccentric fantasies. To my delight, Jess chose the soprano saxophone (the highest in pitch of those in common use) for this particular ‘parade’.
Karl Jenkins, 2020