Eugène Bozza's Aria for Alto Saxophone - Improvised Piano Solo

Eugène Bozza's Aria is a staple for classical alto saxophonists, and my 9-year-old daughter, Emilie, wanted to learn it. However, the alto sax is a transposing instrument in E♭, meaning the written music is a major sixth above concert pitch. To make it easier for Emilie to practice with the piano initially, I began by transposing the saxophone part down a sixth to blend with the piano accompaniment. This was an interesting challenge for me, as I'm used to transposing up a tone for Emilie’s soprano saxophone.
I couldn't find a piano solo version of Bozza's Aria in IMSLP. So, in this video, I'm improvising both the saxophone and piano parts together, as I do for Emilie while she's learning the piece. I also noticed some inaccuracies in the publicly available MuseScore transcription of the piece and attempted to correct them by ear as well as incorporate certain textural changes we hear in concert performances.
Bozza's Aria for saxophone and piano is still under copyright. Copyright laws vary by country, but generally, a work is protected for the lifetime of the author plus 70 years. Eugène Bozza died in 1991, so his works would be protected until at least 2061. The piece is published by Alphonse Leduc, which actively manages its copyrights.
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[@ChimaEnwere]

One of the very first pieces I learned as a collaborative pianist several years ago! 😊

[@31Alden]

Exquisite. Thank you, Paul.

[@elzbietaborysawska4134]

Miła aria na poranne przebudzenie❤

[@flaviohamaoka]

Thank you! Bravo!!

[@SergeyL-me7of]

You've thought of and executed everything perfectly, it's interesting to listen. Thanks

[@isabellenowak9792]

Parfois, les mélodies reflètent magnifiquement notre état d'âme 🎶Très beau 🎶Merci Paul 🎶

[@JoeFiumara]

Sounds great 👍

[@trevorguy63]

Thanks for your insights in the description!

[@lactobacillusprime]

WOW

[@ВераКурочка-ь1л]

🌹💓 Настроение

[@НинаЩербак-б4и]

Thanks❤

[@jh-nl8yf]

너무 좋아요. 잘 듣고 갑니다.

[@mgoo5713]

👍👍👍🎹🎹🎹

[@coz_DS]

When are you going to video more sculpture?

[@Skochel]

Can someone explain how the piece is being played regarding the right hand please? Im new to reading this style of sheet music

[@PaulBartonPiano]

@Skochel: The Aria is written for alto saxophone and piano. Alto saxophones are "transposing instruments" - the note they sound is different from the note written on the sheet music. Think of it like a code. To play this music on piano alone, the saxophone part needs to be changed so it matches the piano part. Why it's tricky: The saxophone part is written a "6th" higher than it should sound on the piano. That means every note needs to be shifted down. It's like the saxophone music is in a different language, and we need to translate it for the piano. Instead of writing out a new piano part, I improvised. I already knew the melody well from accompanying daughter on the saxophone. The trickiest part was making the shifted saxophone melody fit with the existing piano part, especially where they overlap. Think of it like this: Imagine you have a recipe with instructions in Celsius, but your oven uses Fahrenheit. You need to convert the temperatures so the dish comes out right. That's basically what's happening with the music.

[@Skochel]

@ awesome, thanks! I actually goofed and said right hand instead of left, though i think your explanation works for that as well. Cheers!

[@Hengni-uu9gu]

can you play the elephants Jeff buckley please

[@EggMCMUFFIN-e4l]

Why not just notate using G minor?

[@PaulBartonPiano]

Why? see comment above.

[@Avelinakushnir]

Thanks ❤