Roland Szentpali - Roland Szentpáli: 3 Concertos (2020)

This album features three concertante works by the Hungarian composer Roland Szentpáli (b. 1977) for symphonic wind band: a virtuoso tuba concerto, with the composer as soloist; a rhapsody featuring clarinet, saxophone and the smoky tones of the tárogató, a folk instrument that sounds like a feral clarinet; and a double concerto in which Szentpáli takes up the saxhorn. The infectious rhythmic drive of all three works has its origins in the same folk traditions that inspired Bartók, and the scoring has the wallop of the big-band sound – and the solo performances are nothing less than astonishing.