An analysis of Divertimento for Alto Saxophone and Piano by Charles Wuorinen
Benjamin L. Crouch · NC Digital Online Collection of Knowledge and Scholarship (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) · 2014
This paper presents an analysis of Charles Wuorinen's Divertimento for Alto Saxophone and Piano in four parts: an analysis of the work's form, a study of pitch-class and motivic content related to form, a study of rhythmic conflict within the piece, and a textural analysis drawn from Wuorinen's re-composition of the work for string quartet, which was completed shortly after the original composition. My examination of the piece from these varied perspectives is intended to enable performers to give more meaningful performances of Divertimento. The analysis includes interviews with saxophonist Christopher Ford, who commissioned and premiered the work, as well as with Charles Wuorinen.