Starry Night Alexej Gerassimez & SIGNUM saxophone quartet

• Alexej Gerassimez (b. 1987): Rebirth:
• 1 Rebirth: I. Exploring Chaos 03:02
• 2 Rebirth: II. A Vision of Purpose 02:52
• John Psathas (b. 1966): Connectome:
• 3 Connectome: I. Pashupatastra 03:49
• 4 Connectome: II. Farewell to the Flesh 07:17
• 5 Connectome: III. Rom in Space 06:48
• John Williams (b. 1932):
• 6 E.T.: Flying Theme (Arr. For Percussion and Saxophone Quartet) 03:53
• 7 Star Wars: Cantina Band (Arr. For Percussion and Saxophone Quartet) 04:06
• Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934): The Planets, Op. 32:
• 8 The Planets, Op. 32: Uranus (Arr. For Percussion and Saxophone Quartet) 06:07
• 9 The Planets, Op. 32: Venus (Arr. For Percussion and Saxophone Quartet) 08:32
• 10 The Planets, Op. 32: Jupiter (Arr. For Percussion and Saxophone Quartet) 08:21
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918):
• 11 Clair de Lune (Arr. for Percussion and Saxophone Quartet) 04:35
• Total Runtime 59:22

Info for Starry Night

On the album “Starry Night”, a new release from Berlin Classics, Alexej Gerassimez and the SIGNUM saxophone quartet explore new musical terrain. The unprecedented combination of percussion and saxophone quartet offers an innovative and inventive voyage in sound. Its focus is on infinity: it places familiar classics like Holst’s “The Planets” alongside contemporary works like Gerassimez’s own composition “Rebirth”. “Starry Night” shows off the five virtuosos in all their musical versatility and love of experimentation, as they journey through the cosmos and visit distant galaxies.

In choosing the repertoire, the musicians took their inspiration from the great questions that have face humanity: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going to?

Musically, the pieces lead us into deep space, but also into the depths of human subconsciousness – into our dreams, fears and longings. A realm of contrasting experiences opens up, familiar and amazing, comforting and stimulating, romantic and other-worldly.

“Starry Night” presents a many-faceted programme, including the composition “Rebirth” by Gerassimez and the commissioned work “Connectome” by New Zealand composer John Psathas, which explores three future scenarios for humankind in its three movements. Will the human race one day overcome its seemingly insoluble social problems, leave planet Earth and populate outer space?

The arranged John Williams pieces “Flying Theme” from the film E.T. and “Cantina Band” from Star Wars are just as extra-terrestrial in their musical ambience. Further destinations on this journey into space embrace the heavenly bodies Uranus, Venus and Jupiter from Gustav Holst’s suite “The Planets”. Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” brings Alexej Gerassimez and the SIGNUM saxophone quartet back to earth, from which they look up into the sky again at what they have just experienced.

The five musicians are universalists of the new classical era. Gerassimez is as musically versatile as his instruments. He captures our imagination with a repertoire that ranges from Classical through Jazz to Minimal. His own compositions are characterized by idiosyncratic sounds and the love of breaking through sound barriers. The SIGNUM saxophone quartet is powered by new challenges and just such encounters of the musical kind as are to be heard on“Starry Night”. The multi-prizewinning ensemble plays on the great stages of this world – as a quartet, with choir, with orchestra or in the family show they created themselves.

Alexej Gerassimez, percussion
SIGNUM saxophone quartet

Alexej Gerassimez
Percussionist Alexej Gerassimez, born 1987 in Essen, Germany, is as multi-faceted as the instruments he works with. His repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary and jazz to minimal music whilst also performing his own works.

As a soloist, Alexej Gerassimez is a guest with internationally renowned orchestras (including NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Münchner Philharmoniker, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, SWR Symphonieorchester, Rundfunksinfonieorchester Berlin) under the baton of conductors such as Tan Dun, Kristjan Järvi, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Jonathan Stockhammer, John Axelrod and Michel Tabachnik.

The Düsseldorf Tonhalle has commissioned a new percussion concerto for Alexej Gerassimez from the New Zealand composer John Psathas. The world premiere will take place in June 2020 as part of the worldwide "Pastoral Project", which was launched jointly with the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat on occasion of the celebrations for Beethoven's 250th birthday (BTHVN 2020).

Alexej Gerassimez will follow in the 2019-2020 season as a soloist invitation to orchestras in Germany, Greece, France and Finland. He is also a soloist and an enthusiastic chamber musician. His partners include pianists Arthur and Lucas Jussen and jazz pianist Omer Klein. With the SIGNUM saxophone quartet, Alexej Gerassimez will embark on a "journey through the universe" in the newly conceived programme "Starry Night" from January 2020.

Highlights of the 2018-2019 season included Alexei Gerassimez's Japanese debut, the start of a three-year residence at the Konzerthaus Dortmund as "Junger Wilder" and participation in the three-year sponsorship program of the "stART academy von Bayer Kultur". Alexej Gerassimez celebrated great successes in spring 2019 with his new concept program "Genesis of Percussion" at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, Konzerthaus Dortmund and the Heidelberger Frühling.

His own compositions are characterized by the exploration of rhythmic and acoustic possibilities as well as by the creation of individual sounds and the joy of crossing borders. Accordingly, Alexej Gerassimez integrates not only the usual percussion and melody instruments but also objects from different contexts such as bottles, brake discs, barrels or ship propellers. His first CD published by GENUIN, which also includes his own works, was received enthusiastically by the press.

Concerts have led the winner of the ARD Music Competition to China, South Korea, the USA, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and to festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Bonn Beethovenfest and the Niedersächsische Musiktage. He is a regular guest at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and in the summer of 2017 he performed over 20 concerts as artist in residence.

In January 2017 Alexej Gerassimez participated in Sasha Waltz's choreographic and musical exploration of space as part of the opening ceremony of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Since then he has performed amongst other things as a soloist with the NDR Radio Philharmonic under the direction of Tan Dun in the Great Hall of the Elbphilharmonie and will return there in June 2020 together with the SIGNUM saxophone quartet.

Since November 2017 Alexej Gerassimez is professor for percussion at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich.

This album contains no booklet.