From Bach to Bebop: Exploring the Saxophone in Three Concert Works by William Bolcom

Abstract

William Bolcom (b. 1938) is an award-winning American composer, pianist, and arrangerwith a massive compositional catalog for solo instruments. A major figure in the revival of ragtime music in the 1970s, Bolcom has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, a National Medal of Arts, and a Grammy award for his work. This document examines three of William Bolcom’s concert works for saxophone: Concert Suite, Concerto for Soprano Saxophone, and Concerto Grosso for Saxophone Quartet. Through an analysis of these compositions’ formal structure, harmony, rhythm, and techniques idiomatic to the saxophone, I identify and discuss Bolcom’s unique blend of traditional compositional techniques with stylistic elements of American popular genres such as blues, jazz, ragtime, and dance. This is done by examining Bolcom’s treatment of traditional forms such as the instrumental suite, classical solo concerto, and the Baroque concerto grosso and identifying the ways in which Bolcom honors tradition while also defying expectation using his unique compositional voice. By examining Bolcom’s works for saxophone and how they illustrate his overall compositional style, this study adds to the existing body of research on Bolcom’s works for piano, violin, and other solo instruments. A comprehensive biography that tracks Bolcom’s compositional and stylistic development is also provided. I conclude that Bolcom’s works for saxophone display a masterful fusion of classical and American music traditions that function as a tour of his eclectic compositional styles.