h2 Saxophone Quartet

Have you ever considered making a New Year’s resolution to hear a fresh composition every month of the year? In some places, such a goal might prove challenging, but Pittsburgh luckily hosts an ample selection of new music. This January, Pitt’s Music on the Edge and The Andy Warhol Museum are delighted to present h2 Saxophone Quartet and Strike Duo (piano and percussion) in programs that highlight leading creative voices in contemporary music. h2 performs on Saturday, January 11th at 8 p.m. at the Andy Warhol Museum (more on Strike later).

Hailed by the Saxophone Journal as “…a virtuosic, tight, beautifully balanced ensemble that also delivers lovely lyrical musical lines.”, the award-winning h2 quartet has been wowing audiences since 2002.  A dynamic and innovative chamber ensemble, h2 constantly seeks to defy perceptions and expectations of the saxophone. h2 takes advantage of the great expressive capacity of their instrument by programming traditional, avant-garde, minimalist, and jazz-influenced works in surprising and compelling ways. h2 has performed throughout the United States, and has performed in Europe, the UK and in Asia. The group has also been featured on PBS’s Backstage Pass. Check out the full episode here! h2 has three recordings available that give listeners a taste of the saxophone’s incredible sonic and stylistic agility. The latter two feature works from some of the most exciting American composers working today, including Takuma Itoh, Marc Mellits, and (Pitt’s own) Amy Williams.

The h2 Saxophone Quartet’s Pittsburgh program will feature recent works from American composers, including William Albright’s Fantasy Etudes, Amy Williams’ Univocity, Bernard Rands’ PRISM: Memo 6b, Matthew Rosenblum’s Mobius Loop (previously performed in Pittsburgh by the Rascher Quartet), and Daniel Wohl’s Microfluctuations in Plainchant (for sax quartet and 8-bit digital audio). So, you can add this show to your list of concerts for the year where you’ll have the opportunity to hear something completely new.  Don’t miss h2’s “incendiary performance!” (-the examiner.com)

 Tickets are available through the University of Pittsburgh Stages Box Office, by calling 412-624-7529, or visiting music.pitt.edu/tickets. Tickets in advance: general admission is $15; students and seniors are $10. At the door: general admission is $20; students and seniors are $15. (No free student tickets at The Warhol.)