Flux: Original Works for Saxophone Quartet [Ferio Saxophone Quartet] [Chandos: CHAN 10987]

Having already won many prizes and awards (The Philharmonia/Martin Musical Ensemble, Royal Over-Seas Leagues Ensemble Competition, Tunnell Trust Award) and appointed St John’s Smith Square Young Artist of the year for 2016 17, the Ferio Saxophone Quartet is Europe’s most exciting up-and-coming ensemble of its kind. This, its debut commercial CD, features original works written for saxophone quartet. Composers range from Gabriel Pierné and Jean-Baptiste Singelée to Eugène Bozza and Guillermo Lago (who wrote The Wordsworth Poems specially for the Quartet this year). Through this choice of repertoire, the Ferio Quartet is inviting listeners to experience a number of musical styles and moods, playing works from the time of the saxophones invention right up to the present day.
If anything, these brief comparisons confirm just how gifted the Ferios really are; they also underline the sheer presence and tonal sophistication of this new recording. I’d say the Chandos sound compares very favourably with that of the Tetraphonics album (Cybele). In short, Flux is the perfect calling card, and it should win the group lots of new friends and followers. It also bodes well for the rest of this series. What a fabulous foursome; bar-raising musicianship and sound. –BBC Music Magazine, July’17It may have been in the heart of stately St James, but the launch of the debut CD by the youthful Ferio Saxophone Quartet (Chandos) was a very lively affair, with the players demonstrating casual but enthusiastic virtuosity in their very specialist repertoire. –Classical CD Choice, July’17Playing and music alike sport an irresistible exuberance. –Financial Times, August’17