“hypnotically swirling lines and propulsive rhythms…brilliantly performed by all concerned and recorded with life-like fidelity.”

FANFARE Magazine FANFARE Magazine

“fantastic virtuosity and lyric beauty”

John Corigliano Pulitzer Prize Laureate, Grammy, and Oscar-winning composer

“One of America’s bright young stars in teaching and in performing…exceptionally gifted.”

Michael Segell Award-Winning Author and Contributing Editor, Esquire Magazine

[REVIEW: John Adams leads Cleveland Orchestra in riveting program] “The three-movement quasi-concerto featuring saxophone soloist Timothy McAllister conjures the dark and mysterious Los Angeles of the 1940s and 50s…McAllister soared beautifully against strings, vibraphone, and solo horn.”

Kevin McLaughlin Cleveland Plain Dealer (April 2024)

“Intriguing conversant duets are delivered by Timothy McAllister on alto or soprano sax alongside pianist Liz Ames. The two create a wide spectrum of moods and colors, forming a graceful unison trail on “Painting With Knives”…The two jab like middleweights on the punchy “Get Up!” and are most jazzy on the bright “Obstacle Illusion”, but throughout the two work well with volleys, relays and responses. Modern sonatas.”

George W. Harris Jazz Weekly (October 2022)

“the main attraction of this enjoyable St. Louis Symphony album, conducted by David Robertson, is Adams’ Saxophone Concerto, composed for the virtuosic Timothy McAllister, who plays it here. Stacked with swing-era allusions, moody 4am interludes and cartwheeling acrobatics, it is unpretentious fun from start to finish”

Richard Morrison The Times London (5/31/14)

“Hailstork’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Strings is a potent distillation of American music, with elements of high church, jazz, and African-American spirituals…the pairing of saxophone and strings created a powerful, minimalist effect; a canvas upon which McAllister painted Hailstork’s complex melodies that commanded every note in his instrument’s range. An electrifying and auspicious premiere.”

Frank Housh Media Room: The Arts in Real Life (6/1/25)

Pierre Jalbert

Saxophone Concerto (2024)
Pierre Jalbert (b. 1967)
I. Luna Nova
II. Speed of Light
Duration: 18 minutes

Written for Timothy McAllister and scored for solo alto saxophone, with an ensemble of orchestral winds (woodwinds and brass) plus percussion and piano. The opening movement, marked “Gently, with a sense of pulse”, explores the saxophone’s lyrical and expressive qualities as the ensemble creates slowly-changing, pulsating harmonies, over which the saxophone plays long, lyrical lines. The second movement, marked “With great energy”, contains frenetic, pulse-oriented music and features the saxophone’s virtuosic possibilities. Eventually, the ensemble gives way to the soloist’s slowly evolving cadenza. As the movement titles suggest, the music was inspired by the phases of the moon and the vastness of space. - Pierre Jalbert

Earning widespread notice for his richly colored and superbly crafted scores, Pierre Jalbert has developed a musical language that is engaging, expressive, and “immediately captures one’s attention with its strong gesture and vitality” (American Academy of Arts and Letters). Among his many honors are the Rome Prize, the BBC Masterprize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Stoeger Award, given biennially “in recognition of significant contributions to the chamber music repertory.” He has drawn inspiration from a variety of sources, from plainchant melodies to the natural world. Recent album releases include his Violin Concerto (2019), String Theory (2021), and Air in Motion (2022), which features the Escher String Quartet and Carol Wincenc.
Jalbert is Professor of Music at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, where he has taught since 1996. His music is published by Schott Music.

More information at Pierre Jalbert’s website HERE.

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