Ciudades (Cities)

Score and parts (PDF) available on this site

saxophone quartet or clarinet quartet € 35,-  (clarinet quartet: bassethorn + alternate Bb clarinet both included)

trio (soprano saxophone or oboe, baritone saxophone or violoncello, piano) € 20,- (3 movements) (for oboe /violoncello contact composer)

saxophone quartet and big band € 80,- (2 movements)

saxophone quartet and wind orchestra € 120,- (3 movements)(3 versions)

saxophone quartet and chamber orchestra (3 movements, NA yet) € 120,-

saxophone quartet and string orchestra (all movements) € 180,- (for clarinet version contact composer)

clarinet quartet and large symphony orchestra € 80,- (Sarajevo)

Ciudades’ (Cities) is a series of musical sketches of cities that have a special meaning to Lago. It is a work in progress and Lago adds new sketches now and then. The various city portraits can be performed as a suite or as stand-alone pieces: when played as a suite the order of the movements can be decided freely by the performing quartet.

‘Córdoba’ (Spain) depicts the town in Andalucia where Lago and his musical friends busked in front of the famous ‘Mezquita’ in their student years, wandering through the south of Europe and travelling from one adventure to the other. Lago lost his heart to Córdoba.

‘Sarajevo’ (Bosnia and Herzegovina) is dedicated to Lago’s many friends in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the nineties of the last century the town was hit by a cruel civil war. In the beginning of this milennium Lago was invited to help re-establishing a saxophone class at the Sarajevo Academy of Music and together with ‘Musicians Without Borders’ and his friend Adnan Cico he founded the ‘Winds of Change’; Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first wind ensemble. A group of young musicians, each of them affected by the country’s recent history.

‘Addis Ababa’ is an energetic description of the capital of Ethiopia and inspired by Lago’s collaboration with the Ethiopian singer Minyeshu. They worked together at the famous New Year’s Concert by the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw in 2007.

‘Montevideo’ (Uruguay) is a tango ballad dedicated to ‘The Second Capital Of Tango’, often overshadowed by its brother town Buenos Aires at the other side of the Rio de la Plata.

‘Köln’ (Germany) was the first city outside of the Netherlands visited by Lago at the age of 8 and this movement circles around the river Rhine, the town centre and its cathedral and quotes J.S. Bach’s Art of the Fugue and breathes nostalgia. (2014)

‘Tokyo’ (Japan) is a song of amazement, energy, exoticism and joy. Japan’s capital was frequented by Lago on several tours with the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet and the city never stops to intrigue him. (2015)

Córdoba, Sarajevo and Addis Ababa have been recorded by the Amstel Quartet, and later by quite a few other saxophone quartets worldwide.

At the request of the NDR Big Band and the Amstel Quartet Lago made versions of Addis Ababa and Córdoba for big band and saxophone quartet, and later adapted these two movements for Wind Orchestra and saxophone quartet on the request of the (Portuguese) Elle Quartet.

For the International Saxophone Week 2012 at Amsterdam Conservatorium Lago also made versions of Montevideo, Sarajevo and Addis Ababa for soprano sax, baritone sax and piano.

At the request of the NAKK (Nieuw Amsterdam Klarinet Kwartet/New Amsterdam Clarinet Quartet) Lago made versions for clarinet quartet of all Ciudades (Eb, Bb, bassethorn/2nd Bb, basscl)

Recordings

Ciudades were recorded by

• the Amstel Quartet (four Ciudades) on their CD ‘Amstel Tracks Now’
• Fukio on ‘Time in Motion’
• the Ferio Quartet on  ‘FLUX’
• the Whoop Group on ‘Crimes’
• etc…. (please inform me and I will include a link to your CD here too!)