PRISM Quartet
Zachary Shemon, soprano saxophone
Robert Young,* alto saxophone
Matthew Levy, tenor saxophone
Taimur Sullivan, baritone saxophone
*Appearing in place of PRISM Quartet member Timothy McAllister
“Although I have played with and composed for saxophonists for years, The Book of Days is my first work for saxophone quartet. I jumped at the chance to collaborate with the flexible virtuosos of the PRISM Quartet. The Book of Days consists of seven movements, one for each day of the week. Each movement has its own musical character. Some of the music is loud and dissonant; some is quiet and still. Some movements are jazzy and frantic; others are more contemplative. There is a continuous dialogue between the piano, which is partly composed and partly improvised, and the saxophone quartet.” —Uri Caine, pianist and composer of The Book of Days.
Uri Caine was born in Philadelphia and began studying piano with Bernard Peiffer and composition with George Rochberg when he was a teenager. Since moving to New York in 1985, Caine has recorded 33 albums as a leader, including projects with his ensemble performing his own arrangements of Bach, Mahler, Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, and Schumann. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for The Othello Syndrome (Winter and Winter) in 2009. Caine has received commissions to compose music for many reputable ensembles around the world, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Vienna Volksoper, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Arditti Quartet, and the Beaux Arts Trio.
