Eason, Robert (DM Saxophone)

A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO KLONOS FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO BY
PIET SWERTS
by
Robert Eason
Submitted to the faculty of the

Jacobs School of Music in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree,
Doctor of Music
Indiana University
December 2020
Accepted by the faculty of the
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Music
Doctoral Committee
______________________________________
Otis Murphy, Research Director and Chair
______________________________________
William Ludwig
______________________________________
Kathryn Lukas
______________________________________
Andrew Mead
December 8th, 2020
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This document was written over a span of four years, and there are many people who
aided in its completion. First, I want to sincerely thank Dr. Piet Jozef Swerts for the immense
time and effort invested in creating a substantial catalog of music for the saxophone, and his
willingness and generosity to help me at every stage of this project. The saxophone community
has greatly benefited from his compositions, and I'm thankful for his kindness and friendship.
To my committee, Prof. Kathryn Lukas, Prof. William Ludwig, Prof. Andrew Mead, and
my research director, Dr. Otis Murphy, thank you so much for your guidance. Dr. Murphy, I have
cherished our lessons and conversations, and I cannot begin to thank you enough for your
mentorship and encouragement. You have been an incredible role model as a person, musician,
and studio teacher, and I am sincerely thankful for the opportunities I have had to learn from you.
To my parents, Susan and Robert, who have given me their unwavering support and
encouragement since the day I was born. From the car rides to and from my kindergarten piano
lessons, to my guest artist recitals, you have always been my greatest champions.
To my wife, Adrianna, who has shown me incredible patience and love throughout the
completion of this document: I truly could not have finished this without your support and
strength.
To my daughter Nora, may you have a love for music, regardless of your life’s path.
Know that your smile and laughter gave me the energy to finish this.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iii
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ iv
List of Examples ............................................................................................................................. vi
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. x
List of Appendices .......................................................................................................................... xi
Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2: Klonos For Alto Saxophone And Piano (1993) .............................................................. 5
Historical Background ............................................................................................... 5
Analysis .................................................................................................................. 13
Pedagogical Considerations ...................................................................................... 66
Performance Suggestions ......................................................................................... 70
Alternative Fingering Suggestions ............................................................................ 71
Practice Strategies ................................................................................................... 83
Original Version And Errata ..................................................................................... 89
Versions Of Klonos ................................................................................................. 94
Chapter 3: Other Works For Saxophone ...................................................................................... 115
Quintet for Alto Saxophone And String Quartet (2002) ............................................ 115
Dance of Uzume for Alto Saxophone and Concert Band (2004) ................................ 117
Kotekan for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra (2006)......................................... 119
iv
Le Tombeau De Ravel for Soprano Saxophone and Piano (2009) .............................. 122
Hat City Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2013) ............................................. 125
Black Paintings for Saxophone Quartet (2015) ........................................................ 127
Paganini Capriccio for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2015) ....................................... 129
Quite A Ride for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2016).................................................. 130
Mai Tai: Habanera for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2016) ........................................ 131
Horta Suite for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2018) ................................................... 132
Lake Of Love for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2020) ................................................. 134
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 151
v
LIST OF EXAMPLES
Example 2.1: Klonos, mm. 13–15 .................................................................................................. 18
Example 2.3: Sonata, III. Allegro moderato by Edison Denisov, mm. 56–57 .............................. 25
Example 2.9: Dwei etiudy, mm. 1–6 .............................................................................................. 37
Example 2.10: Klonos, mm. 61–69 ................................................................................................ 39
Example 2.12: Klonos, mm. 93–101 .............................................................................................. 46
Example 2.13: Klonos, mm. 142–145 ............................................................................................ 57
Example 2.15: Klonos, mm 61–67. ................................................................................................ 68
Example 2.16: Klonos, mm 9–15. .................................................................................................. 69
Example 2.17: Klonos, m. 55. ........................................................................................................ 72
Example 2.23: Klonos, E-flat alto saxophone part, mm. 27–28 .................................................... 82
Example 2.24: Klonos, E-flat alto saxophone part, mm. 6–15 ...................................................... 83
vi
Example 2.25: Klonos, mm. 4–11. ................................................................................................. 87
Example 2.26: Klonos, piano part, m. 104 ..................................................................................... 92
Example 2.27: Klonos for saxophone quartet, mm. 23–29 ............................................................ 95
Example 2.28: Klonos for alto saxophone and piano, mm. 23–29 ................................................ 96
Example 2.29: Klonos for saxophone quartet, baritone saxophone, mm. 149–157 ..................... 107
Example 2.30: Klonos for saxophone quartet, mm. 168–173 ...................................................... 108
Example 2.31: Klonos for saxophone quartet, mm. 206–214 ...................................................... 109
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1: Klonos, mm. 1–6 ......................................................................................................... 13
Figure 2.2: Pitch collection and notable subsets in the introduction of Klonos ............................. 15
Figure 2.3: Klonos, mm. 6–12 ....................................................................................................... 17
Figure 2.4: Comparison of Klonos, mm. 23–24,............................................................................ 24
Figure 2.5: Klonos, m. 15, m.70, m. 16, m. 76 .............................................................................. 40
Figure 2.6: Klonos, mm. 70–85 ..................................................................................................... 42
Figure 2.7: Klonos, mm. 102–112 ................................................................................................. 52
Figure 2.8: Klonos, mm. 116–124 and mm. 4–12, Alto Saxophone .............................................. 54
Figure 2.9: Klonos, mm. 129–138, mm. 17–26, Alto Saxophone.................................................. 56
Figure 2.10: Klonos, mm. 146–149 ............................................................................................... 59
Figure 2.11: Klonos, mm. 154–162 ............................................................................................... 60
Figure 2.12: Klonos, mm. 163–165, mm. 56–58, Alto Saxophone................................................ 61
Figure 2.13: Klonos, mm. 182–185, mm. 75–78, E♭ Alto Saxophone .......................................... 61
Figure 2.14: Klonos, mm. 152–155, mm. 204–207 E♭ Alto Saxophone ....................................... 62
Figure 2.15: Voice leading for mm. 216–219 of the E♭ Alto Saxophone part. ............................. 65
Figure 2.16: The standard range and the altissimo range of the E♭ Alto Saxophone. ................... 67
Figure 2.17: Klonos, E-flat alto saxophone part, mm. 6–15 .......................................................... 84
Figure 2.18: Klonos, E-flat alto saxophone part, mm. 186–187 .................................................... 84
Figure 2.19: Altered rhythmic patterns .......................................................................................... 85
Figure 2.20: Klonos, mm. 186–187 with altered rhythmic patterns imposed ................................ 85
Figure 2.21: Klonos, mm. 70–77 as written and with articulated subdivisions ............................. 88
Figure 2.22: The range of the saxophones in a traditional saxophone quartet. .............................. 94
Figure 2.23: Klonos, version for saxophone quartet compared with version for alto saxophone and
piano, mm. 16–24 .................................................................................................................. 97
viii
piano, mm. 30–37 .................................................................................................................. 99
Figure 2.25: Klonos for saxophone quartet, mm. 43–47 .............................................................. 101
piano, mm. 97–101. ............................................................................................................. 102
piano, mm. 94–101. ............................................................................................................. 103
piano, mm. 105–109 ............................................................................................................ 105
piano, mm. 142–143 ............................................................................................................ 106
Figure 2.35: Klonos, soprano and tenor saxophone parts for quartet version compared with
piano’s right hand from original version, mm. 216-227 ..................................................... 111
Figure 2.31: Klonos, baritone saxophone part for quartet version compared with piano’s left hand
from original version, mm. 216-227 ................................................................................... 112
Figure 2.32: Ranges of the instruments in a saxophone ensemble consisting of bass, baritone,
tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones ................................................................................... 113
Figure 3.1: Setup diagram for Kotekan ........................................................................................ 119
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Diagram of Form in Klonos .......................................................................................... 11
Table 2.2: G6, G#6, A6.................................................................................................................. 73
Table 2.3: E6, F6, G6, A6 .............................................................................................................. 76
Table 2.4: F6, G6 ........................................................................................................................... 78
Table 2.5: E6, E#6, F#6, G6, A♭6 .................................................................................................. 80
Table 2.6: F#6, G6, A6, B♭6 .......................................................................................................... 82
x
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix: Interview and Selected Correspondence with Piet Swerts ........................................135
xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Biographical Sketch
Piet Jozef Swerts was born on November 14, 1960 in the town of Tongeren, a city
in the Belgian province of Limburg and the oldest city in Belgium. There was no
previous musical history in Swerts’ family, and he became interested in writing stories at
age 8. Swerts began music lessons at the nearby music academy, and his focus shifted
from writing stories to composing music at age 11, and he scored his first orchestral work
when he was 15. In 1974 Swerts began attending the Lemmens Institute through a
university preparatory program, and he continued his studies at the institute until 1989.
Though he studied piano with Robert Groslot and Alan Weiss, Swerts never enrolled in a
composition course. Swerts describes himself as autodidactic, or self-taught, and from an
early age his compositional skills grew from “obsessively” pouring over as many scores
as he could gather:
I started collecting pocket scores… I studied like crazy... Still now I know
the whole repertoire of classical music – I know it backwards! 1
Two composers that had an early influence on Swerts were Ludwig van
Beethoven and Claude Debussy. In an interview, Swerts referenced a time in his youth
when he even refused to play music from other composers, which he acknowledged was
“ridiculous, of course.” When Swerts was 14, he began to study Hector Berlioz’s Grand
Traité d’Instrumentation et d’Orchestration Modernes, and he deeply analyzed the score
1
Piet Swerts, interview by author, January 16th, 2019.
1
excerpts that were included with the text. 2 Berlioz’s resource became a fundamental
component of Swerts’ self-directed study, and he internalized the compositional
techniques he observed.
After graduating, Swerts would go on to pursue a master’s degree at the Lemmens
Institute, and his dissertation would closely examine the harmonic language of Witold
Lutoslawski. Swerts traveled with his piano teacher, Robert Groslot, to interview
Lutoslawski in Paris, and he remarked in an interview with the author that “between my
twenties and thirties, I was very much influenced by Lutoslawski and his new way of 12-
tone harmonic language.” 3 Indeed a few of Swerts’ works employ motives or ideas that
are infused with a hue of Lutoslawski’s unique approach to harmony and intervals.
With aspirations to be a concert pianist, conductor, and composer, Swerts earned
1st prize diplomas in piano, counterpoint, harmony, fugue, chamber music, orchestral
conducting, accompanying, and composition. Swerts began his teaching career at the
Lemmens Institute and has served on the faculty since 1982. He has written for large
orchestra with choir and soloists, chamber orchestra, motion picture soundtrack, piano,
organ, string quartet, wind instruments, brass instruments, concert band, voice, and
recorder. Swerts maintains an active career as a pianist, and he frequently performs his
own music, having written over 40 works for piano. Recently, Swerts composed a cycle
of 24 sonatas in all major and minor keys. 4 In 2011 Swerts earned his Ph.D. at the
2
3
Ibid.
4
Piet Swerts, 24 Straight Strung Piano Sonatas, 2018.
2
Catholic University of Leuven, and the subject of his dissertation was the polyphonic
canonic compositional techniques in the late 15th century.
Swerts has earned several prizes and accolades including the Baron Flor Peeters
Prize (Apocalyps for organ, 1983) the Belgian Artistic Promotion Prize (Ardennes for
soprano and piano, 1985), the Camille Huysmans Prize (Droombeelden for chamber
orchestra, 1986), the Composition Prize of the Provence of Limburg (Capriccio for guitar
and chamber orchestra, 1986), the SABAM Prize (Rotations for piano and orchestra,
1987), the Gazet van Antwerpen Prize (Symphony no. 1 for orchestra, 1989), the Dutch
Prize for Vocal Music from the Province of Brabant (Ten Quatrains by Paul DeVree for
three to eight part mixed a capella chorus, 1993), the International Queen Elisabeth Prize
for Composition (Zodiac for violin and orchestra, 1993), the 1994 Ten Outstanding
Young People award from the Jaycies organization, and the Composition Prize from the
Province of Flemish Brabant (Antifona for concert band, 2007).
Swerts’ compositions have often been featured as compulsory works in
international competitions. Rotations for piano and orchestra was the compulsory work in
the 1987 Queen Elisabeth Competition.5 Klonos for alto saxophone and piano was a
required work in the 1994 Tromp Muziek Concours. Zodiac for violin and orchestra was
a compulsory work in the 1993 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Kotekan for saxophone
and string orchestra was a compulsory work in the 2006 Adolphe Sax International
Competition.6 Paganini Capriccio was selected as the compulsory work in the Golden
5
Queen Elisabeth Competition website. https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/competitions-details-the-
competition-rounds-seances/activities/final-piano-1987/ (accessed June 26th, 2020).
6
Adolphe Sax International Competition website. http://sax.dinant.be/en/competition (accessed June 26th,
2020).
3
Saxophone Competition held in Kiev, Ukraine in 2017, of which Swerts participated as a
member of the jury.
In addition to his career as a composer, pianist, and conductor, Swerts also runs
his own publishing firm, Zodiac Editions. After many copyright issues with previous
publishers, it became clear to Swerts that the most advantageous way to ensure his music
appeared exactly how he intended was to self-publish. 7 Most of Swerts’ music is self-
published through Zodiac Editions, but his concert band works and small educational
pieces are published by De Haske (Hal Leonard), Heinrichshofen, and YPress.
7
At one point, Swerts counted as many as 500-600 errors in the publisher Ascolta’s attempted second
edition of Klonos for alto saxophone and piano.
4
CHAPTER 2: KLONOS FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO (1993)
Historical Background
Klonos is Piet Swerts’ first composition for alto saxophone and piano, and it was
originally published in 1993 by Ascolta Music Publishing in Houten, The Netherlands. In
this first edition, Swerts noticed that the Ascolta Music Publishing company was
responsible for numerous mistakes in the printed music, and the company was not
making the sheet music easily available for purchase. After negotiating with Ascolta for
several years, Swerts was eventually able to recover ownership of the publishing rights to
Klonos. He then published a revised version of Klonos in 2007 under the entity Zodiac
Editions, which Swerts owns and operates. Klonos was commissioned by the Foundation
Dr. Ir. Th. P. Tromp Muziek Concours, and it was written specifically for the 1994
Tromp Muziek Concours as a compulsory work.
The Tromp Muziek Concours is a biennial music competition held in Eindhoven,
The Netherlands since 1971, and each year’s competition was for a specific instrument. 1
The 1994 Tromp Muziek Concours was held for saxophonists, and the jury consisted of
prominent members of the saxophone community including Jean-Marie Londeix,
Krzystof Herder, and Federico Mondelci. The first and second prize winners from the
1
In 2010 the Tromp Muziek competition became Tromp Percussion Eindhoven, and now it hosts a festival
and competition that only pertains to percussionists.
5
1994 competition were Simone Otto 2 and Raaf Hekkema, respectively. 3 During the
competition, the first performance was given by saxophonist Nadine Kauffmann.
After the 1994 Tromp Muziek Concours, Klonos was selected as an optional work
in the 1998 Adolphe Sax International Competition in Dinant, Belgium, where it was
performed several times throughout the duration of the competition. Named after the
saxophone’s creator, the Adolphe Sax International Competition is one of the
saxophone’s most high-profile events, and it is regarded in the saxophone community as
one of the instrument’s most significant competitions. Since the 1998 Adolphe Sax
competition, Klonos quickly gained immense popularity, and it has gained a foothold as a
standard work in the saxophone’s repertoire.
Because of the demanding nature of Klonos, the composition has been included
on the repertoire lists of the following international competitions: 2002 Adolphe Sax
Competition, 2010 Adolphe Sax Competition, 2012 Aeolus International Competition in
Düsseldorf, Germany, 2012 International Saxophone Competition of Łódź, Poland, and
2017 Osaka Chamber Music Competition (arranged for SATB saxophone quartet) in
Osaka, Japan.
A unique title, “klonos” is a Greek word referring to a strong or violent muscle
spasm, and Swerts composed with that image in mind. The following quote is from the
liner notes of Otis Murphy’s album Memories of Dinant, in which Swerts elaborates on
the meaning of the title:
2
Tromp Muziek website: https://www.tromppercussion.nl/history-of-winners/ (accessed May 1st, 2018).
3
Hekkema, Raaf http://www.raafhekkema.com/?page_id=20 (accessed May 1st, 2018).
6
…a cramp-like contraction of the muscles, associated with the heavy
movements that some saxophonists make during the fire of playing (for
example, think about free jazz)…The work is… a bravura-like fantasy
with a more subtle, yet intense middle section. Klonos finishes with a
wild, even more virtuosic reprise. For the gifted saxophonist, it is quite a
ride. 4
4
Otis Murphy. Memories of Dinant. (RIAX, 1999).
7
Forms and Themes
Klonos is written in an ABA’ form with a coda. The A and A’ sections of Klonos
are very closely related with motivic ideas and textures. In section A’ Swerts restates
material from section A, but with embellishments that develop and lead to new material.
All of this serves to continue ratcheting and building tension that finally breaks in the last
measures of the composition. The additional unifying characteristics of the outer sections
are their texture, harmony, meter, and rhythms.
Swerts creates contrast in the B section by greatly changing the texture, harmony,
and tempo. On a macro-organizational level, the overarching themes within Klonos are
the juxtaposition of opposing forces: major and minor, augmentation and diminution,
duple and triple, and the driving energy of the A/A’ sections in comparison with the
ethereal stasis of the B section. On a micro-organizational level, Swerts links each of the
smaller sections together by using motivic ideas that are based on the same intervals and
harmonies.
Rhythm and Meter
Swerts often uses the piano’s left hand and right hand independently, but they
work together to create a complex framework of interlocking rhythms and motives that
outline the boundaries of the phrases and smaller sections. The saxophone plays
improvisatory-like riffs that weave through the piano’s textures and ostinati, and the two
parts come together in unison rhythms in the most climactic points of the work. The
8
meter within Klonos varies greatly, and throughout the work Swerts uses the following
time signatures: 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 9/8, 12/8, 15/8, 4/4, 3/16, 5/16, and 12/16. The meter is
sometimes consistent for the duration of a phrase or motivic idea, but Swerts switches
between time signatures frequently as new and different phrases begin. Rhythms shift
frequently between duple, triple, and quintuple subdivisions, and occasionally all three
are present within a single measure. Swerts also employs polyrhythms that overlay
additional layers of rhythms that do not fit regularly within the given meter. There are
also passages in which the saxophone part sounds in a meter that is different from the
piano’s underlying metric framework, and this is often notated by grouping the beams
across barlines. These rhythmic and metric superimpositions underpin Swerts’ writing
throughout the work.
Harmony
Swerts’ writing in Klonos is not atonal, but rather it employs pitch centers which
are solidified by repetition of motives and intervals. Many sections also employ an
ascending chromatic pedal point that begins moving at a relatively slow pace and gains
velocity as it ascends. Swerts employs chromatic, octatonic, hexatonic, and augmented
harmonies to embellish melodies. In keeping with the theme of juxtaposition, Swerts also
uses what he refers to as “Figure X” in his own notes. 5 Swerts’ “Figure X” begins as a
major triad with an added minor third, but as Klonos develops, the figure evolves to also
5
Piet Swerts, personal notes: 2.
9
include additional pitches that are a semitone below the perfect 5th and the root. The
resulting figure is a hexatonic collection of two major triads that are a semitone apart. As
an example, the hexatonic collection built on C would be as follows: B, C, D#, E, F#, G.
Nearly the entirety of the A and A’ sections are drawn from hexatonic collections and
three and four-note fragments of the chromatic scale. As mentioned earlier, the chromatic
scale plays a structural importance as well as being a smaller-scale collection of notes or
fragments often employed within the saxophone’s melodies and piano’s textures.
Similarly, the B section of Klonos utilizes the chromatic scale, or semitone, in
similar ways. The semitone provides structural significance between phrases as well as
occurring as part of the motives that develop within the section. Also, whereas the A and
A’ sections are built upon minor thirds that are one semitone apart, the B section employs
material that is built on augmented triads that are one semitone apart, thus revealing an
additional layer of juxtaposition within the large-scale context of the work. In summary,
the semitone and the interval of the third, both major and minor, play an integral role in
the composition of Klonos.
Form
Klonos is written as a through-composed work that has an ABAꞌ form with a brief
coda. Swerts has written with a style that clearly maintains twentieth-century
characteristics while still existing loosely within a grounded, traditional form. Table 2.1
shows a formal diagram of Klonos with all of its main sections and smaller subsections.
The outer sections’ tempo is eighth note equal to 168, and the interior section’s tempo is
10
dotted quarter equals 40. The different sections within Klonos are not tonal in a
traditional sense, but rather the sections are delineated by motives and ostinati in the
piano part. Because of this, pitch centers or harmonic collections are listed for each
section instead of key areas. While many sections in Klonos have stable, clear pitch
centers, some sections have been given the label “chromatic 6” or “hexatonic 7” to denote
pitch collections that are tonally ambiguous.
Table 2.1: Diagram of Form in Klonos

Allegro (eighth note = 168)
A
a b c d e f
1-15 16-29 30-37 38-55 56-69 70-85
a e chromatic chromatic b-flat b-flat
Andante moderato (dotted quarter = 40) Allegro (eighth note = 168)

(A cont.) B Aꞌ (Recapitulation)
codetta g h aꞌ
86-92 97-101 102-112 113-127 128-141
chromatic hexatonic chromatic a e
(Aꞌ cont.)
i dꞌ eꞌ iꞌ coda
142-162 163-176 177-193 194-215 216-229
c b b-flat a-sharp chromatic
The ABAꞌ form is one that has been established through centuries of music, and
Swerts poured over the traditional classical forms in his youth. In an interview with the
6
The label “chromatic” is applied when there is singular no tonal center, however the harmony is
consistently ascending or descending by semitone throughout the section.
7
The label “hexatonic” is applied when the harmony consists of two augmented arpeggios that are 1
semitone apart, thus comprising a six-note collection.
11
composer, Swerts said that “form” was one of the most important aspects in his
compositional process:
… but I think I’m always occupied with form. I think form makes the
huge essential difference between the best composers and a good, average
composer. Form is everything. For me, the music of Beethoven and
Mozart are eternal because of the quality of the shape and form. 8
Table 2.1 shows that each of the main sections is delineated with clear tempo
changes, resulting in a fast-slow-fast relationship between the three main sections. In
addition to tempo, the large sections are also set apart by their drastically contrasting
textures. The Aꞌ section of Klonos is of particular interest because of its variance on the
traditional ABAꞌ form. The material from the A section reappears in the Aꞌ section with
embellishments that closely resemble the ornaments that would accompany a da capo
section of music from the Baroque era. This concept of ornamenting or embellishing on
material that is repeated well documented throughout western tonal music. 9 Jazz
musicians also embellish the “head” or melody of a tune, and this fits Swerts’ visual
image perfectly. Section Aꞌ is also differentiated from section A by the sections g and gꞌ
which are entirely new materials that do not occur in section A. These interesting
developments will be studied in-depth in the corresponding analysis section of this
chapter.
8
Piet Swerts, interview by author, 16 January 2019.
9
Jack Westrup, Grove Music Online.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-
9781561592630-e-0000007043?rskey=rmBiy4&result=1 (Accessed on April 22nd, 2019).
12
Analysis
The piano introduction that begins Klonos contains motives that will be repeated
and developed to build nearly the entire piece. Most of the material in the opening and
closing A/Aꞌ sections can be traced to the motives and intervals in the opening few bars.
The first six measures are comprised of two building blocks that Swerts inverts and
manipulates to develop compositional material: a dyad composed of A0 and A1 in the left
hand, and a dyad composed of a minor third in the right hand. The left hand’s octaves
serve to punctuate the meter, while the right hand’s dyads transpose up and down by
semitones and minor thirds as the material evolves. Mm. 4–6 are a restatement of mm. 1–
3, but Swerts adds additional transpositions of the minor thirds in m. 6. This motivic
process of adding and expanding upon the smaller units is a device employed frequently
throughout the duration of the work. Figure 2.1 shows the introduction with the semitone
motion annotated.
Figure 2.1: Klonos, mm. 1–6

© 2007 Zodiac Editions. Used with permission.
13
From mm. 1–6 the following pitch classes are stated: A, B♭, C, D♭, D, E♭, E, F,
G♭. This comprises the nine-pitch scale that Swerts uses, and there are notable
combinations that give the scale its versatility. Figure 2.2 shows the collection of pitches
as well as certain subsets that Swerts uses to imply an evolving swatch of sonorities that
particularly resembles octatonic scales and diminished harmonies. Swerts transposes and
develops these motives throughout the work, which allows him numerous possibilities
just from the material in these first six measures. In addition to the minor thirds in the
opening bars, the split-third chords and chromatic scale will gain increasing importance
throughout the opening and closing A/Aꞌ sections. Figure 2.2 shows that both the split-
third chords and chromatic passages can be extrapolated from the pitch class content of
the first six measures.
14
Pitch classes used
Subsets of minor thirds
Subsets of split-third chords
Subsets of notes one semitone apart, or partial chromatic scales
Figure 2.2: Pitch collection and notable subsets in the introduction of Klonos
At the end of m. 6 the alto saxophone enters with two 32nd notes tied into m. 7
and then descends through two different arpeggiated split-third chords. Swerts often links
multiple split-third arpeggios together by finding common tones, and m. 7 is the first
example of this in Klonos. Swerts has linked an A split-third arpeggio with a D♭ split-
third arpeggio by using the E (F♭) and D♭ as common tones, and this allows him to imply
very colorful and unstable harmonies.
15
The next few measures proceed with melodic fragments which flow through more
split-third arpeggios and short chromatic motives, and the rhythms employed are very
syncopated and often skirt downbeats. These 16th-note and 32nd-note syncopations can
be hazardous for the saxophonist because of the fast-paced tempo and the interlocking
nature of the two parts. Often, when the saxophonist is sustaining a tied note, the piano
will play a note to complete or fill in the rhythm. Mm. 7–15 continue with the same
rhythmic devices and textures. Additionally, Swerts uses hemiola, or 2:3 polyrhythms,
four times in this opening section in mm. 7, 8, 11, and 12. In this excerpt, the saxophonist
plays the triplet 16th notes while the pianist plays the duple 16th notes. This rhythmic
device is a reoccurring aspect of Klonos that Swerts develops throughout the work.
Swerts continues to develop the material in mm. 11–12 by adding syncopated
16th notes displaced an octave lower between the chromatic fragments. Figure 2.3 shows
analysis of mm. 6–12 with labelled polyrhythms and instances of split-thirds arpeggios
and chromatic scale fragments. The split-thirds arpeggios in Figure 2.3 are labelled by
their root pitch.
16
Swerts often varies the chromatic passages by displacing at the octave and
reordering the notes within the fragment. This first happens in mm. 13–15 where Swerts
employs fragments of chromatic scales that ascend, descend, reorder, and displace at the
octave. In beat two of m. 13, the saxophone part descends chromatically with an out-of-
order G♭, and beat three ascends chromatically. Beat one of m. 14 descends with a similar
figure to the previous measure, and beat two ascends chromatically, reorders, and
displaces the F♮ up an octave. The dotted 16th note C♮ at the end of the measure begins
17
another chromatic fragment that is reordered, ascending, and again displaces up an
octave. The last chromatic figure of m. 15 ascends without octave leaps and transitions to
a new section. Example 2.1 shows mm. 13–15.
Example 2.1: Klonos, mm. 13–15

Until m. 16, the left hand of the piano part has only played dyads of the pitch
class A, usually in the lowest octave of the piano or one octave higher. Swerts repeats
the pitch to show stability in rhythmic and motivic ideas, creating a rigid, mechanical
texture that the saxophone part can swirl around. For the first 15 measures the left and
right hand in the piano part have not played simultaneously; but instead, they alternate
between the dyads in the left hand and the minor thirds moving by semitones in the right
hand. While the saxophone part will remain quite fluid throughout the work, the changing
texture of the piano part clearly shows the structural points and where transitions occur.
In Example 2.1, m. 15 shows the right hand of the piano changes from dyads to
triads, and upon closer study we see that the minor thirds remain intact, and Swerts has
18
constructed the triads by adding a note above the previous figures. In m. 15 the minor
third dyads descend by one semitone while the added upper note ascends by one
semitone. On this compositional device, Swerts wrote:
I discovered this procedure in one of the 8 Preludes of the Swiss composer

Frank Martin, as well in the piano suite Au gré des ondes of Henri
Dutilleaux and the First Etude of Lutoslawski. 10
This outward expanding motion is an embellishment on what the piano part had
been doing in the previous 15 measures. This sense of embellishing or adding of notes is
similar to the way the opening 6 measures evolved and lengthened by adding more and
more at the end of the motives, though instead of adding length to the motive, Swerts has
added vertically. As we will see in future sections, Swerts embellishes some aspects of
the motives or texture to create fluid transition material that links the main sections
within the movements.
The chromatic fragments from mm. 11–15 in the saxophone part gain stability in
m. 16, which is the beginning of section b. This measure can be divided clearly into three
4-note chromatic sets of 32nd notes, with the first set descending, the second set
ascending, and the third set descending. This sense of rhythmic stability is short-lived as
mm. 17–18 switch to triplet 16th notes with syncopations and then immediately return to
10
Piet Swerts, email correspondence with the author, August 26, 2020.
19
32nd notes. This alternation has occurred numerous times until this point, and it becomes
a defining attribute to the phrases in this subsection. Example 2.2 shows mm. 16–26.

Swerts’ alternation between different rhythmic patterns and subdivisions
contributes to the sections’ improvisatory nature, and this is a direct conveyance of the
20
image he had in mind of the saxophonist playing free jazz. Mm. 16, 19, and 22 contain
32nd notes moving in chromatic motion, and each of these measures is followed by two
measures with a mix of duple and triple rhythms. In addition to the alternation of duple
and triple, there are also several beats where there are simultaneous duple and triple
rhythms. This is the same 2:3 polyrhythmic device from subsection ‘a’ that has now
developed further.
In mm. 16–21, there are many interesting relationships regarding the contour of
the notes in the alto saxophone part. This small excerpt can be organized as two three-
measure units: mm. 16–18, and 19–21. In Example 2.2 they are system one and system
two respectively. The beat-by-beat contour of m. 16 is inverted and mapped onto m. 19.
For example, beat one of m. 16 descends and beat one of m. 19 ascends. Mm. 17–18 and
20–21 have similar relationships regarding their contour, but it is not as strict as the
relationship between mm. 16 and 19. This can be observed by specifically looking at the
alto saxophone part in the first two systems of Example 2.2.
M. 22 does not correspond to m. 16 or m. 19 with its contour, but rather Swerts
uses the 32nd notes to outline a hemiola polyrhythmic device. The short chromatic
fragment contains the pitches E, F, and G♭, and it repeats almost four times. Because the
pattern of repetition begins on the 2nd 32nd note of m. 22, the measure has an unstable
and shifting quality because it does not correspond neatly with the right hand in the
piano. Mm. 23–24 employ the same alternation of duple and triple rhythms from mm.
17–18 and 20–21. In m. 25 Swerts employs the hemiola again, but this time the rhythm is
clarified and aligned very neatly within the measure by using four dotted 16th notes. By
21
simplifying the hemiola and starting the pattern at the beginning of the bar, the result is
that the measure gains rhythmic stability.
The piano part in mm. 16–24 has a noticeably different texture in comparison
with the section ‘a’ at the beginning of the work. In section ‘b’, one can see the piano’s
texture changing as a clear indication of where the important structural points lay within
the main sections of Klonos. From beat three of m. 16 until beat 2 of m. 25, the left hand
only plays three different pitches in different octaves: E, F, and F♯. These are the same
pitches that will be repeated in the saxophone part in m. 22. By displacing these three
pitches with octave leaps up and down, Swerts covers three octaves with a walking
baseline that serves as the foundation for both the right hand and the saxophone part.
The right hand of the piano part in mm. 16–24 is seemingly contradictory to the
saxophone part, because the two parts rarely ever articulate at the same time, and they
almost never come together with aligned motives or gestures. In an interview with
Swerts, he reflected on the right hand of the piano part in this section and said the
following:
If you take m. 16 for instance, this figure is Scarbo from Ravel. But of
course, I never played Scarbo, but I heard it a lot. Some things just
subconsciously stay in your head. I was not aware of it, but afterward I
was like “This is Scarbo!” Of course the left hand is different, and there is
a saxophone part, but this is Scarbo, yes. 11
Swerts is an accomplished pianist, and it is no surprise that the piano music of
Ravel might influence his composing. Figure 2.4 shows two excerpts of III. Scarbo from
Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. In m. 369 of Scarbo, the contour in the right hand displays
11
22
similar rhythms and gestures, and the contour is almost exact. M. 369 of the Ravel begins
with a C major chord in second inversion that moves upwards to a E♭ minor 7th chord in
second inversion, and then it returns to the same C major chord in 2nd inversion. In
Klonos, the corresponding gesture in m. 23 begins with a C♯ minor chord in first
inversion that moves upwards to a B♭ minor chord in second inversion, and then returns
to the same C# minor chord. An additional similarity can be drawn from mm. 185–187 of
the Ravel, where the right hand plays a 16th note chord and then immediately follows
with a longer sustained note value. The connection to Klonos can be clearly observed by
comparing the two examples from Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit as shown in Figure 2.4.
23
Klonos
Scarbo
Scarbo
Figure 2.4: Comparison of Klonos, mm. 23–24,

with Scarbo, mm. 369 and 185–187.
The texture of mm. 16–24 in Klonos also bears strong resemblance to a vaguely
similar texture in the third movement of Edison Denisov’s Sonata for Alto Saxophone
and Piano, particularly mm. 56–57 as shown in Example 2.4. In Denisov’s sonata, the
left hand in the piano plays a walking bassline of near constant 8th notes while the right
hand plays accented chords. During the piano’s contrasting figures, the alto saxophone
plays several syncopations and switches between duple and triple subdivisions. Like
Klonos, the Allegro moderato from Denisov’s Sonata is heavily influenced by jazz. In
the Denisov, the left hand of the piano is a driving, walking bass line while the right hand
represents at times a piano, a horn section, or even the crash of cymbals. During all of
24
this, the saxophone part is largely independent. In Example 2.4, m. 57 is a clear example
of how varied and independent the three parts can be at once in the Denisov. This excerpt
of Denisov’s Sonata has similarities to mm. 16–26 of Klonos, but Denisov has taken the
independent voices to a greater extreme than Swerts with his combinations of complex
polyrhythms and syncopations.
Example 2.3: Sonata, III. Allegro moderato by Edison Denisov, mm. 56–57
© 1973 Alphonse Leduc. Used by permission.
International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard LLC.
The split-thirds arpeggios have become a normalized sonority in just the first 20
measures, and Swerts is often quite creative in the ways that he links arpeggios together
with their common tones. The split-thirds chord obscures the sense of tonality with the
inclusion of both the major and minor third, and when they are linked together, the result
is a flourish of colorful implied harmonies. Swerts often includes the “minor” third as the
25
highest note in the arpeggio, and the “major” third as the lowest note. Then, Swerts uses
the interval between the major third and the fifth as the common tones in another split-
thirds arpeggio. Example 2.5 shows the way this figure is worked into the saxophone
part. Brackets are used to show the figure with the root labeled.

The mixing of the major and minor thirds fits well with Swerts’ mental imagine of
jazz musicians. The inclusion of the minor third or ♯9 is a hallmark sonority in the jazz
idiom, particularly in solos and melodies in the blues style. However, because Swerts
usually places the major and minor thirds in different octaves within an arpeggio, the
listener does not perceive it as “bluesy” or overtly jazz-influenced, and thus the
connection is disguised.
From mm. 1–29 of Klonos, the underlying sections’ harmonies have been easily
distinguishable by the repetition of the piano figures in the left hand. In subsection ‘a’ the
piano’s left hand only plays dyads comprised of the pitch class A in different octaves, and
in subsection ‘b’ the piano’s left hand repeates the pitches E, F, and F♯ in different
26
octaves. Subsection ‘c’ of Klonos is not marked by a repeated figure or set of pitches, but
rather gradually ascending or descending chromatic scale spread out over the length of
the section. The underlying chromatic tones are an augmented version of the chromatic
fragments from the saxophone part in earlier measures.
Swerts manipulates the chromatic notes in similar fashion by displacing at the
octave and by leaping up or down to restart the scale. This harmonic device is one that
Swerts develops and uses frequently throughout the work. Another defining characteristic
of this section is that the time signature switches from 3/8 to 4/8 and common time. This
change in time signature indicates stability and symmetry, but Swerts juxtaposes this with
the gradually ascending or descending chromatic tones. The result is a rhythmically
stable pulse coupled with a harmonically unstable tonal center that never rests.
In m. 30, the piano begins the chromatic scale with octave Cs that move with the
8th-note pulse and leaps up by an octave while the saxophone continues with familiar
chromatic fragments that ascend and descend with octave displacements. In m. 31 the
ascending chromatic line passes to the saxophone and continues to move with the 8th-
note pulse while the piano repeats a minor third in different octaves with the interior
semitones filled in by triplets in the left hand. Example 2.6 illustrates the chromatic
motion and the way it switches between instruments.
27
Mm. 32–33 are very similar to the previous two measures, but Swerts has subtly
changed rhythms and embellished with chromatic neighboring tones. Also, there is a
minor third between the beginning of the chromatic tones in m. 30 and the restarted
chromatic scale in m. 32. This might appear inconsequential, but it is further evidence of
the minor third’s importance within the work. It is a new way that Swerts has developed
the opening motive from m. 1. In m. 34 Swerts embellishes on the chromatic tones by
28
adding them as a ♭9 or ♯1 to major triads. Swerts spells the chords in this way from
bottom to top: ♯1, 3, 5, ♮1. What would otherwise be a major chord has a root that is a
semitone higher. In Swerts’ notes, he mentions the importance of the semitone
relationship between the first note of the piano and the sustained saxophone notes in mm.
30, 32, and 34. 12
Indeed, throughout the entirety of Klonos the semitone plays an integral role at
many levels of composition. In previous sections the semitone has been used to transpose
figures and here it begins to show structural significance in the organization of the
phrases. In m. 30 the piano enters with a dyad comprised of C2 and C3 and the
saxophone sustains a B4. In m. 32 the piano enters with a D♯1 and the saxophone sustains
a D5, and in m. 34 the piano’s lowest note in the left hand is a G2 while the saxophone
briefly sustains a G♭5. The semitone relationship between the piano and saxophone
figures is several octaves apart, but this interaction plays a pivotal role in the
development of the phrase.
The gradually moving chromatic scale begins to descend in m. 36, and this is
anticipated by the saxophone part in m. 35. The saxophone begins a chromatic scale on
C5 and descends almost an entire octave to C♯4 and then ascends through a B♭ split-
thirds arpeggio. The pulse remains constant in mm. 36 and 37, but the sense of time has
ambiguity because the rhythmic subdivisions augment to duple 8th notes, triplet 8th
notes, and quarter-note triplets. In both measures, the piano has four distinct voices that
each descend by semitone via different rhythmic subdivisions. The upper three voices
12
Piet Swerts, personal notes: 10-12.
29
comprise a major chord in first inversion that gradually descends by semitone, while the
lowest voice plays the augmented root. Each of these voices in the piano part also uses a
distinct rhythmic pattern. From top to bottom, the patterns for each measure are: dotted
quarter, 8th; half note, half note; 8th, dotted quarter (but offset and beginning on beat 2;
and quarter-note triplets that alternate between octaves. In addition to the gradual
chromatic descent in both hands of the piano part, the saxophone also imitates this with
the figure starting on an E in m. 36, and then m. 37 starting on a D♯. This transition not
only allows the chromatic voice to restart and begin the semitone climb again, but Swerts
also uses the transition to reset the rate at which the chromatic voice will ascend.
Subsection ‘d’ begins in m. 38 and lasts until m. 56. It is clearly delineated by a
new texture in the piano part and by the pianissimo dynamic marking in the score. It is
notable that this is the first time in Klonos that the saxophone has a written dynamic
softer than forte, and it further contributes to the shift in texture. Example 2.6 shows mm.
38–47, and in these measures one can see the left hand of the piano plays a dotted-quarter
note while the right hand plays a 16th-note ostinato with this repetitive semitone
motion: -1, +2, -1, +2, -1. In mm. 38–42 the dotted-quarter note in the left hand is a G♭,
and the notes in the right hand are as follows: G♭, F, G, F♯, A♭, G. These notes can be
thought of as three 8th notes –G♭, G, A♭– with a chromatic descending neighbor tones.
All of this is an embellishment on the note in the left hand.
The repeated G♭ adds needed stability, as the saxophone part enters in m. 40 with
one-measure fragments containing complex rhythms and syncopations that mix duple and
triple subdivisions. The melodic content of these fragments is similar to previous
30
sections, and it is comprised of short chromatic bursts and split-thirds chords. In m. 43
the pattern in the piano part shifts up one semitone and the right hand adds a voice that
imitates the saxophone part. Also in m. 43, the figure within the first beat of the
saxophone part is dense with syncopation, rhythmic complexity, and a split-thirds figure
that also contains an added diminished 5th. The B, D, G, and B♭ of the sextuplet make up
a G split-thirds chord, and the additional D♭ acts as a split-fifth. By adding this note,
Swerts develops the instability of the split-thirds sonority. A common compositional
technique in Klonos, Swerts uses an additive device to develop his existing material. In
m. 43, Swerts adds the split-fifth as well as transposing the piano part one semitone
higher. The sextuplet figure in m. 43 of the saxophone part is a transposition of beat one
from the previous measure, but instead of entering on the beat the saxophonist must enter
on the second 32nd-note sextuplet of the group. In m. 44 the rhythm of the saxophone
part implies a 4:3 hemiola, and this is imitated by the right hand in m. 45 of the piano
part.
31
The sextuple 32nd-note figure the saxophone plays on beat one of m. 45 is the
split-interval arpeggio developed to its full extent. In addition to adding the diminished
5th, he has also included the minor 2nd. The author will refer to this figure as the “fully-
split” arpeggio, because each note of the arpeggio is accompanied by its minor/major or
perfect/diminished counterpart. In m. 45 Swerts has spelled and ordered the notes as: G♯,
B, D, G♮, D♭, and B♭. It could be possible to explain the figure as a G♯ diminished
arpeggio and then a G♮ diminished arpeggio in succession. However, when considering
Swerts’ style of development through small additions or shifts, it is logical that this
motive is a development of the split-thirds arpeggio. Indeed, the “fully-split” arpeggio
32
signals the end of a phrase, and the piano texture changes as it shifts up one semitone in
m. 48, thus continuing the development of the section.
In m. 38 the singular chromatic voice is in the left hand and it shifts upwards
every 5 measures. It begins at a G♭1 in m. 38 and moves up to a G♮1 in m. 43. Swerts
changes the left hand in m. 48, and it begins to alternate between two notes: G♯1 and A1.
This is a continuation of the chromatic line, but it is fractured and begins to pull itself
apart. In m. 53 the two notes of the chromatic voice expand and split into two voices: the
A♮ moves to the right hand and the A♭ moves to the saxophone.
In mm. 53–55 each voice moves up by a semitone each measure. The saxophone
begins in m. 53 on an A♭, moves up to an A♮ in m. 54, and continues up to a B♭ in m. 55.
The piano’s right hand begins on an A♮ in m. 53, moves up to a B♭ in m. 54, and
continues up to a B♮ in m. 55; The piano’s left hand begins on a B♭, moves up to a C♭ in
m. 54, and continues up to a C♮ in m. 55. The rhythmic and melodic content in mm. 53–
55 is similar to previous phrases. The alto saxophone part employs familiar chromatic
fragments and arpeggiations that closely resemble the split-chords utilized in previous
sections. Example 2.7 shows mm. 48–55 with annotations regarding the chromatic voice
leading, melodic content in chromatic fragments, and split-sonorities.
33
Swerts’ treatment of the motivic material continues to develop and evolve, and
there are often multiple ways of understanding the choice of notes. For example, if we
consider m. 53 and omit the short chromatic fragment within beat two, the collection of
notes in m. 53 and the downbeat of m. 54 make up the following hexatonic scale: C, C♯,
E, F, A♭, A♮. While it is a hexatonic scale in its most simple form, we can also draw
connections to the split-interval arpeggios Swerts has built and developed over the course
of the composition. If we rearrange the same six pitches, we can also form a “full-split”
arpeggio, but instead of a diminished fifth, there is an augmented fifth: E, lowered root;
34
F, root; A♭, minor third; A♮, major third; C, perfect fifth; C♯ augmented fifth. This is all
evidence pointing towards Swerts’ continued development of semitone and minor third
relationships for motivic construction throughout the work.
The quickening pace of the chromatic shifting leads to a five-measure transition
section from mm. 56–60, as shown in Example 2.8. This transition has a unique texture in
that it is the only moment in the entire work that the saxophone and piano move in unison
rhythms. From mm. 56–60 the piano’s left hand plays a single chromatic scale that spans
approximately two and a half octaves, and it is paired with one of the voices in the
piano’s right hand that is moving in parallel fourths. In m. 56 the lower voice in the right
hand ascends through a chromatic scale and the top voice follows the following semitone
contour: -1, +3, -1, +3, -1. This results in an interesting pattern of intervals that alternates
between perfect fourth and minor third. It is worth noting that if we remove the indicator
for direction in this pattern, then we also get the same alternating pattern of 1 and 3
semitones for the hexatonic scale in mm. 53–54: 1, 3, 1, 3, 1, 3, etc. This is even further
evidence of the importance of the half step and minor third.
In m. 57 the chromatic scale moves to the top voice in the right hand while the
bottom voice follows the contour of -1, +3, -1, +3, -1. In mm. 59–60 the right hand’s
upper and lower voices switch roles again, and the ascending chromatic scale is in the
right hand’s lower voice. From mm. 56–60, the material in the saxophone part is familiar,
and it is comprised of a mix of chromatic scales and arpeggiations. With the exception of
just a few notes, the saxophone part is frequently a major seventh away from notes within
35
the piano part. In this section, Swerts specifically wanted to compose a saxophone line
that had “attractive dissonance” and ran in rhythmic unison with the piano. 13

In an interview with Swerts, he commented that Witold Lutoslawski’s Dwie
etiudy for piano were his inspiration for the piano material in this transition.
In m. 56 in the piano, of course it’s chromaticism, but the right

hand is not. If you look to the first two 16th notes in 56 of the piano, you
have D-A, then you have Bb and Db, and this is an idea I saw and played
in Lutoslawski’s second piano etude. 14 He has two etudes for piano… The
second one is a fantastic etude, about a very simple idea: black keys and
white keys. If you take Eb and Ab, and then you play A-D, you have a 5th
and a 4th. On the piano this is very easy, and he made a whole etude about
this and I loved it. It was a sort of extended tonality. If you take those Eb
and Ab and you make a 5th of it, then you have the relationship of the
tritone between D-E, and Ab- Eb, and it is essentially the influence of
Bartok. But here, this idea in m. 56 is a sort of derivation of what I
discovered by playing these fantastic piano etudes. 15
13
Piet Swerts, email correspondence with the author, August 26th 2020.
14
Non troppo allegro from Witold Lutoslawski’s Dwie etiudy for piano.
15
36
Example 2.9 shows mm. 1–6 of the second etude, II. Non troppo allegro, of
Lutoslawski’s Dwie etiudy. While there are many notable characteristics of similarity
between the two works, the most direct connection is the pattern in the left hand.
Lutoslawski employs a series of intervals that repeatedly expand outward: augmented
fourth to perfect fifth. Swerts takes this and makes it his own by instead imposing the
significance of the minor third, which results in his pattern of minor thirds and perfect
fourths.
Example 2.9: Non troppo allegro, mm. 1–6, from Dwie etiudy na fortepian
By Witold Lutoslawski
Copyright (c) 1946 by Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, PWM Edition, Krakow
Copyright Renewed 1974 by Witold Lutoslawski
All Rights transferred to Chester Music Limited
International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
Used by Permission
Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard LLC
37
Mm. 56–60 usher in the movement’s first big climactic moment as pianist and
saxophonist together crescendo to a forte marked by the sound of cluster chords in the
right hand of the piano and altissimo in the saxophone. Upon closer inspection, the
chords in the piano are B♭ dominant seventh chords with two added notes below: A♮, the
major seventh; B♮, the minor ninth. Swerts has written a galloping rhythm for the
saxophonist that weaves in and out of the altissimo register and is built on the following
octatonic scale comprised of an alternating patterns of one and two semitones: B♭, C♭,
D♭, D♮, E, F, G, A♭. After the arrival in m. 61, the saxophone leaps down an octave to
start a climb back up into the altissimo register, and the piano follows by also leaping
down an octave. As the saxophone begins to ascend through the octatonic scale, the
piano’s dominant seventh chords with added major sevenths and minor ninths also ascend
in parallel motion, and the chord’s roots follow the same B♭ octatonic scale as the
saxophonist. In mm. 65–66 the galloping rhythm moves to the right hand of the piano and
the left hand plays parallel minor thirds built on the B♭ octatonic collection. For these
two measures, the saxophonist begins a trill from B♭ to C♭ and leaps up an octave to
continue the trill in m. 66. There is a three-measure transition from mm. 67–69 and
Swerts superimposes 8:6 polyrhythms in the three bars with the 3/16 time signature. The
descending 32nd notes in the saxophone and piano’s right hand follow the B♭ octatonic
scale, and the left hand of the piano adds a contrary ascending octatonic scale in m. 69
that concludes the transition into the next section. Example 2.10 shows mm 61–69.
38
In m. 70 the time signature changes to 5/16 and begins section ‘f’. Like the other
sections, this section is easily delineated by the change in the piano part and the unique
texture created by the repeated rhythm. There are two prominent motives that Swerts has
taken from previous sections and developed further. In m. 70 the chord on beat one in
the piano part is comprised of an F, A♭, and B♭ that then expands outward to E, G, and B
on beat two. This same motion happens again for beats 3 and 4, and then the piano
punctuates the end of the measure with an F in octaves. In this motive, the minor third
between the F and Ab remains intact and moves down by semitone to a minor third
between E and G. While this minor third moves down by semitone, the B♭ moves
upward to a B♮ and results in a perfect fifth that completes an E minor triad. Swerts has
39
used this outward expansion in an earlier section of Klonos. M. 15 uses the same
collection of intervals that expand outward to a minor triad.
The second motive that Swerts has adapted in this section is the ascending minor
chords that shift up. These chords don’t “resolve” in a traditional tonal sense, but rather
Swerts has picked chords that have semitone voice leading between one or more of the
pitches. For example, in m. 76 Swerts uses the previous motive that was inspired by
Ravel’s Scarbo from Gaspard de la nuit. Swerts uses the exact same chords in the same
inversions from m. 16: C♯ minor in first inversion moving to B♭ minor in second
inversion. For these specific inversions of the minor chords, the E moves up one semitone
to the F. Figure 2.5 shows m. 15 and m. 70, and also m. 16 and m. 76 with side-by-side
comparison.
Figure 2.5: Klonos, m. 15, m.70, m. 16, m. 76

40
Swerts also uses an interesting retrograde device in the piano part from mm. 70–
84. 16 In several two-measure sets throughout the section, Swerts arranges the chords that
expand or resolve in one order and then reverse the order in the next measure. For
example, in mm. 73–74 the following pattern can be observed: m. 73 beats 1 and 2 have
been mapped to m. 74 beats 3 and 4 respectively, and m. 73 beats 3 and 4 have been
mapped to m. 74 beats 1 and 2 respectively. Swerts does not employ an exact retrograde
or palindromic relationship between the two measures, but instead preserves the direction
of the semitone voice leading. In addition to mm. 73–74, the following two-measure sets
also have the same or similar relationship: 76–77, 80 –81. Figure 2.6 shows mm. 70–78
with boxes around the measures with the retrograde device.
16
41
The saxophone melody that enters in m. 71 is constructed very similarly to the
way a jazz improviser crafts a solo in that the solo is constructed from ideas that are then
developed and embellished upon. The saxophone’s first three notes are significant
rhythmic and intervallic components of this section, and they are also the same notes
from the piano’s opening chord in m. 70. Just as he did in the opening of Klonos, Swerts
used the piano’s introductory material in m. 70, and he spun out an entire section of
42
material. The saxophonist begins with a two-measure motive in mm. 71–72, and then it is
repeated an octave higher with subtle embellishments in mm. 73–74. The remaining
measures in the saxophone’s melody from mm. 75–85 gradually ramp up in activity as
the saxophonist repeats and emphasizes the intervallic motives from the first three notes
of m. 71.
In mm. 75–85 the saxophone repeats the three-note motive from m. 71 and
alternates quickly between F, A♭, B♭, and E, A♭, B♭. By changing the F to an E, Swerts
again incorporates the mixing of the minor third interval with the major third interval: F
to A♭, minor third; E to A♭ (G♯), major third. The saxophone’s melody continues in this
section by playing fragments of the Bb octatonic scale that contain a mix of scalar motion
and leaps by thirds. Though Swerts does not beam the groups across the bar lines, these
motives are grouped in a frequently changing meter that is at odds with the piano part
which fits simply in the 5/16 time signature. 17 The result is a section that is full of
syncopations and interjections, and it can be very difficult to fit together in rehearsal and
performance. Figure 2.6 shows mm. 70–85 with annotations regarding the implied
grouping of notes that contradict the written meter.
The building of intensity through juxtaposed meters ends with the fortissimo in m.
86. This fortissimo marking is the loudest dynamic mark yet in Klonos, and it serves as
the final climatic moment of the first movement. In m. 86 the piano alternates between
G♯ minor and A minor chords that descend by octave, until finally landing on an A♭
chord with an added ♭9 in the base, which is a harmony that was introduced in m. 34 with
17
43
this exact voicing. The saxophone responds with a three-note chromatic line that
descends and then displaces the third note down an octave. Swerts also indicates a
ritardando in m. 87 and writes each of these three-note chromatic motives with dynamic
markings that are diminishing. The piano continues in m. 89 with an explicit statement of
the full hexatonic or “fully-split” collection of notes with each opposing major/minor or
perfect/diminished interval in different octaves. Kotekan, another work by Swerts¸ shares
a similar compositional relationship to Klonos in that it has a progression that slowly
assembles to reveal the full collection over the course of its first movement or major
section.
The piano’s top voice in m. 89 outlines a descending A♭ major arpeggio while the
bottom voice outlines a descending A major arpeggio. The piano’s sustain pedal is
depressed for this and the entire collection of notes continues to ring as the saxophonist
echoes the previous descending chromatic motive from mm. 87–88. However, the three-
note motive in m. 90 is subtly different from before. Swerts has indicated to slow the
tempo even further by writing “meno mosso”, and the dynamics are reduced to mezzo-
piano and then pianissimo. The first three-note motive follows the same contour of
descending one semitone and then a leap, but the notes are out of order. Instead of
sounding G, G♭, and then a leap down to F, the order is G♭, F, and then a leap down to G.
The second three-note motive in m. 90 is also different from m. 88 in that it ascends
instead of descends, and then it displaces down an octave on the third note. The left hand
of the piano echoes the saxophone while the right hand plays a split-third chord.
44
The seven measures from mm. 86–92 illustrate a dissipation of energy and
momentum as Swerts uses dynamics, tempo, and texture to bring the vigorous and
intense section A to a close, as shown in Example 2.11.

Section g begins the interior contrasting material, which is section B of the ABAꞌ
Coda form, and it shares characteristics with the beginning of section A. Though the
texture and tempo are not the same, the movement begins with the piano establishing the
character and the soundscape for the movement, and then the saxophone enters. Like the
beginning of section A, both hands of the piano are in the same register, however in the
beginning of the section B, both hands are notated with a treble clef instead of a bass clef.
One of Swerts’ over-arching themes for the piece is the juxtaposition of the major and
minor, and also half step relationships between motives. The beginning of section B
embodies that theme in a few important ways. The right hand of the piano outlines an F
augmented arpeggio that ascends an octave and then descends an octave. The left hand of
the piano similarly outlines an E augmented arpeggio, but instead of the eighth notes in
the right hand, the left hand’s rhythm is notated with dotted-eighth notes, which results in
45
a 4:3 polyrhythm. Instead of only oscillating across the span of an octave, the pattern
extends upward one additional note every other repetition while the bottom note in this
oscillating pattern is unchanging. This polyrhythm realigns every four eighth notes, but
because both parts are ascending and descending an octave in different rhythms, the
contour of the two hands is always flexing between parallel and contrary motion. The
piano continues with these rhythms and patterns until m. 101. Example 2.12 shows mm.
93–101.

46
The second movement is a stark contrast of the first movement in many ways.
Instead of the jarring and aggressive texture grounded in the tempo, the polyrhythmic
augmented arpeggios create a sense that the music is passively floating. Also, the tempo
is much slower at dotted-quarter note = 40, and the meter is notated in 12/8, which is very
different from the first movement which has a tempo of eighth note = 168 and is notated
in 3/8. Additionally, the pianist is given the direction “con Ped una corda” which instructs
the pianist to use both the left-most pedal throughout the section. Depressing the una
corda pedal shifts the piano’s hammers to the side so that they each only strike two
strings instead of three, which results in a mellow or slightly dulled sound. By utilizing
both pedals, the piano’s articulation is disguised by the una corda pedal and covered by
the lingering sonorities caused by the sustain pedal. The augmented arpeggios are built on
symmetrical intervals; and because of this, the introduction lacks a sense of arrival or
gravity to any specific tonal area. Swerts deploys the two arpeggios one semitone apart
from one another, and the section’s sense of direction is further de-emphasized.
The saxophone enters in m. 94 and sustains an E that begins at pianissimo and
then crescendos and decrescendos. The E itself is significant because it is one of the notes
in the augmented arpeggio in the left hand of the piano, and the saxophonist is able to
emerge out of the texture. By syncopating the beginning of the saxophone’s first note,
Swerts adds to the static qualities of the piano’s opening gestures. The note begins on the
third eighth note triplet of beat three and sustains through the first two beats of the next
measure. In m. 96 Swerts repeats the idea, but this time the note starts on the 2nd eighth
note of beat one and then leaps up one octave on the second dotted-eighth note of beat
two. The E then leaps back down an octave on the second dotted-eighth note of beat four
47
and decrescendos. The result of mixing these syncopations and subdivisions is a
thoroughly camouflaged sense of pulse.
Because the contours of the piano’s arpeggios are changing at different rates,
they align with down beats infrequently. Swerts capitalizes on this by changing the time
signature to 9/8 in m. 97. This allows him to prepare for a new set of augmented
harmonies on the down beat of m. 98 as both hands of the piano shift on the downbeat.
The right hand moves up one semitone to begin an augmented arpeggio on F♯. The left
hand moves up to a G, though the augmented arpeggio pattern is a semitone lower than
the previous measures.
The saxophone’s third entrance begins with another syncopation on the last eighth
note of m. 98 and plays a figure of notes that are all within the collection of pitches
outlined by the two augmented arpeggios. If we compare this third entrance with the
previous two, it is clear that Swerts is slowly allowing the motive to evolve. The first
entrance is a single note, and the second entrance is one note that leaps up an octave and
then back down. This third entrance is the most rhythmically active statement yet, and
Swerts utilizes more of the pitches in the piano’s collection. If we examine m. 99 and
omit the D 16th note in the third beat, we find a B♭ that moves up one semitone to a C♭,
and then resolves back down to the B♭. This is a subtle foreshadowing of the motive that
drives the rest of section B. The saxophone’s fourth statement in m. 100 enters on the
second duple sixteenth note of beat three and is the most syncopated figure yet. The
saxophone then leaps up a major seventh, and then leaps up an additional octave in m.
101. While this fourth statement isn’t the most rhythmically dense, it contains the most
syncopated rhythms and it covers the widest range of nearly two octaves. In m. 101, both
48
hands in the piano abandon their previous patterns. The left hand continues ascending
while the right hand leaps down from the B♭, ascends four notes, leaps down to an F♯,
and then ascends five notes to finish the measure. Mm. 93–101 are shown in the previous
Example 2.12.
The piano begins m. 102 with a texture change. Instead of ethereal polyrhythms,
the piano plays a single C augmented triad on the down beat. The octave Cs in the
piano’s left hand will begin the gradual chromatic ascent that will last during section h.
Swerts describes the section’s chromatic harmonic progression as:
All these little imitations of semitones in the inner parts of the chords are
like inner contrapuntal imitations making chromatic sequences attractive
and more surprising: it is a result of my interview with Lutoslawski in
1982 when he said that in he discovered ‘a rule’ that enables him to
establish thinner textures than 12 tones chord aggregations. He said that
you could find a lot of this rule in his double concerto for oboe, harp and
strings. I think in his piano concerto too. What I tried to do here in the
harmony is what I think the application of this rule, which he never
explained of course. 18
This slowly shifting harmonic device is familiar to the ear because Swerts used it
previously in mm. 30–60 in section A. The saxophone enters in m. 102 with a
syncopation and it is the same C♭ to B♭ semitone motive from m. 99. The saxophone
continues to alternate between these two notes, neither of which is in the C augmented
triad heard in the piano. On the downbeat of m. 103 the semitone figure grows to include
a third note, C, and then moves down two semitones to a B♭ that once again resolves up
to the B♮. This three-note figure, which consists of the first note approaching the third
note from above by semitone and the second note approaching the third note from below
18
Piet Swerts, email correspondence with the author, August 26th, 2020.
49
by semitone, is known as an “enclosure” in the jazz idiom. 19 Throughout this section,
Swerts uses the semitone figures to build to a point of that concludes with an enclosure.
Swerts employs exact semitone enclosures and also “enclosure-like” figures that are
comprised of one note that is a semitone below and one note that is further than one
semitone above. The exact semitone enclosures and the enclosure-like devices each serve
the purpose of emphasizing a new pitch in the chromatic scale and creating a sense of
arrival.
On beat two of m. 103 the left hand of the piano leaps up an augmented octave to
C♯s, and the saxophone leaps down an octave and then plays an enclosure-like figure that
emphasizes the semitone from B to C, which is one semitone higher than the figure in m.
102. This registral shift in the saxophone part acts as a sort of reaction to the enclosure on
the downbeat and also the shifting chromatic voice in the left hand of the piano. Both the
enclosure and the shifting chromatic voice act as the catalyst that give the music its
direction. Instead of the voices in the piano part shifting upward simultaneously with the
chromatic line, the right hand is sometimes delayed and shifts after the left hand, or it
foreshadows a future shift by using an enclosure or enclosure-like figure to suggest a note
that is one semitone higher. In m. 104 the saxophone begins another statement of the
figure from m. 102, but it is transposed one semitone higher. The right hand of the piano
shifts up one semitone and both notes are ornamented with enclosures. The left hand
plays an enclosure-like figure as the C♯ moves up to a D♮ on beat four, and this point
serves as the next chromatic shift.
19
David Baker, How to Play Bebop Vol 1, 7.
50
As before, the saxophone drops down an octave in m. 105 as a reaction to the
enclosure on the downbeat, but this reaction develops into its own line that continually
builds until reaching the climactic point of the movement on the downbeat of m. 109 that
is marked with a fortissimo in both the saxophone and piano. From mm. 105–109 Swerts
links enclosures and enclosure-like figures along with the repeated two-note semitone
figures to speed up the harmonic motion of the shifting chromatic voice. Previously in the
left hand of the piano, the harmonic voice switches to the right hand in m. 108 and acts as
the root of the minor chords that move chromatically upward with each dotted quarter
note. In m. 109 the right hand of the piano plays a C minor chord while the left hand
plays a B, the major seventh, in octaves. Swerts is again juxtaposing the major and minor,
but he’s also invoking sonorities of the augmented triad within a minor chord with an
added major seventh. There are major third intervals between E♭ and G, G and B, and
also B and E♭. By including the C in between B and E♭, Swerts inserts the semitone
figure that has been so prominent in the movement and it further emphasizes the
augmented sonority. After the downbeat, the piano decrescendos and descends through
the seventh arpeggios with both hands and comes to rest on a B. The saxophone repeats
the A♯ to B semitone figure, and then leaps down an octave for one last “reaction”
statement. Swerts augments the rhythm in mm. 110–111 as he employs one last enclosure
around an F♯ in m. 112. During these measures, the piano descends chromatically at an
augmented pace until it reaches an A♭ in m. 112 to finish the movement. Figure 2.7
shows mm. 102–112 with annotations the shifting chromatic voice that begins in the left
hand of the piano and moves to the right hand.
51
The third section of the large form—the Aꞌ in the ABAꞌ Coda—begins in m. 113,
and Swerts has marked “recapitulation” in his own notes. 20 The first several phrases of
section Aꞌ are a restatement of section A, Swerts has embellished the saxophone’s
20
52
melody by adding ornamental 32nd notes, rearranging notes within a chromatic fragment,
and modifying the rhythms. A similarity can be drawn to an aspect of performance
practice of music in the baroque era, where performers would embellish or ornament
melodies in repeated sections or the da capo. The first six measures of section Aꞌ, from
mm. 113–118, are an exact restatement of the mm. 1–6, and indeed mm. 113–141 of the
piano part are an identical restatement of mm. 1–29. Because of this, the analysis of mm.
113–141 will predominantly focus on the comparison of embellishments within the
saxophone part, rather than rehashing otherwise like material.
The saxophone enters on the last 8th-note beat of m. 116 by playing a two octave
C split-thirds arpeggio in 32nd notes, and then it sustains across the barline of m. 118 to
begin a descending chromatic fragment. This short saxophone introduction is an addition
to the opening six measures, where the saxophone had yet to enter for mm. 1–6. The
saxophone enters again with anticipatory 32nd notes leading into m. 119. This material is
subtly different from m. 6. In beat three of m. 118, Swerts has added the B♮ chromatic
passing tone between the B♭ and C, and he has also started the figure one 32nd note
earlier to make room for this addition. M. 119 is unchanged, but Swerts adds a C split-
thirds arpeggio in m. 120 that ties into beat two, and the remainder of mm. 120–121 are
as they are in section A. In m. 122 Swerts adds a D♭ between the E♮ and C in beat one,
and he changes the rhythmic subdivision from triplets to 16th notes to allow for the
additional note. The next modification happens in beat three of m. 124. Instead of adding
or rearranging the chromatic fragment of m. 12, Swerts changes the three 32nd notes into
3 16th note triplets. He has essentially augmented the rhythm to eliminate the rest and fill
53
the beat. Figure 2.8 shows the saxophone part in mm. 4–12 and mm. 116–124 with
annotations regarding the differences in the restated material.
Figure 2.8: Klonos, mm. 116–124 and mm. 4–12, Alto Saxophone
Mm. 125–128 are unchanged from mm. 13–16, and the next change occurs during
beats one and three of m. 129. Instead of the triplets during beats one and three of m. 17,
Swerts has inserted one note to each beat and changed the rhythms to 32nd notes. Within
beat one of m. 129, Swerts has added a D♭ which now makes beat one a D♭ split-thirds
arpeggio in the context of the A♭, F, and E (F♭). In beat three of m. 129, Swerts has
added an F in between the E and E♭, which changes the beat to a reordered chromatic
fragment. Swerts makes a similar modification in m. 130 in beat two. Instead of the three
chromatically ascending notes of beat two of m. 18, Swerts inserts an Ab in between the
54
F# and G, which also modifies this note grouping into a reordered chromatic fragment.
Swerts also changes the rhythm of beat two to 32nd notes to allow for the added note.
The last modification of the returning material occurs in m. 138. Instead of four dotted
16th notes all on a G in m. 26, the saxophone part in m. 138 changes on beat two to four
32nd notes and then a five-note grouping of 32nd quintuplets. Interestingly, Swerts is
able to preserve the approximate sound of the hemiola from m. 26 by arranging the notes
to in such a way that there are three groupings of the chromatic fragment F, F#, G. While
the hemiola is not exact, there is a sense of metric modulation that is similar to the
hemiola. Mm. 139–141 are unchanged from their initial statement in mm. 27–29. Figure
2.9 shows mm. 129–138 along with the corresponding measures from the first movement.
I have included boxes with dotted lines to outline the changes and modifications.
55
Figure 2.9: Klonos, mm. 129–138, mm. 17–26, Alto Saxophone
In m. 142, the third movement of Klonos departs from the restated material of the
first movement. In the context of Klonos’ large form, m. 142 is where A’ diverges from
A. On this part of the large form of Klonos, Swerts said:
…from 142, there is the preparation towards the conclusion of the whole
piece, like an early start of a large Coda… [because] you cannot continue
repeating literally all of the A section, the element of surprise therefore is
effective here. 21
21
Piet Swerts, email correspondence with the author, August 26th, 2020.
56
Instead of the texture thinning and reducing like m. 30 of the first movement, the
texture continues to develop into a heavy and machine-like ostinato that relentlessly
powers ahead. The piano’s left hand plays a dyad comprised of B#0 and B#1 on the first
and third 16ths of each beat while the right hand fills in the second and fourth 16ths with
a dyad comprised of C#3 and C#4. During the piano’s ostinato, the saxophone alternates
between D♯ and an E♮, and this builds the foundation of the octatonic collection that
Swerts uses through this section: B♯, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G, A, B♭. Mm. 142–145 are shown
in Example 2.13.

While the two hands of the piano are a minor ninth apart, it is the semitone
between B# and C# that is significant. The two notes of the piano and the two notes of
the saxophone comprise the following collection: B♯, C♯, D♯, E♮. Within this four-note
collection, there are two minor thirds that are one semitone apart from each other: B♯ and
D♯, C♯ and E♮. This is yet more evidence of the importance of the minor third and the
57
half step, which are both inherently present in the octatonic collection, and it illustrates
consistency of Swerts’ compositional style within the work. This motive is also an
expanded and transposed version of the right hand of the piano’s minor third motive in m.
1 that transposes up by semitone. The saxophone alternates between D♯ and an E♮ with
the following pattern: a quarter note tied to a 16th note, a dotted 8th note that is tied to a
16th note, a dotted 8th note, and finally a quarter note. The rhythmic pattern is two
measures long and repeats in the saxophone part from mm. 142–145, and then the pattern
moves to the right hand of the piano where it repeats from mm. 146–161. Throughout the
rhythmic pattern, the pitches that alternate are D♯ and E♮.
As the rhythmic pattern moves to the piano in m. 146, the saxophone begins
arpeggiated figures that are almost exclusively based on the following hexatonic scale:
D♯, E♮, G, A♭, B, C. It is only the first note of the 16th note figures in m. 146, a C♯, that
is not within the hexatonic scale. However, the C♯, D♯, E♮, and G have overlap with the
octatonic collection that governs most of the section. This use of common tones to
connect differing sets is a characteristic found in the construction of much of the other
material found in the A and Aꞌ sections. Also, these arpeggiated 16th notes seem to
adhere to a different meter, which is a compositional device that Swerts has used in
previous sections of Klonos. 22 Mm. 146 –149 are shown in Figure 2.10 with annotations
regarding the implied meter in the saxophone part.
22
58
In m. 150 the saxophone states the alternating D♯ and E♮ motive two octaves
above the piano, and then in m. 152 again, this time one octave above the piano. The
piano part from mm. 150–161 remains the same with the left and right hands playing the
16th note ostinato with the alternating D♯ and E♮ pattern layered on. However, the
saxophone begins a new melodic and rhythmic pattern in m. 154. This new pattern has a
familiar syncopated feel, and it consists of the following rhythmic values: a dotted 8th
note, a dotted 8th note one semitone higher, and an 8th note one semitone lower (the
same note as the first dotted 8th note). This pattern is a diminished and modified version
of the rhythmic pattern from mm. 142–145. In the first statement of the saxophone’s
pattern in m. 154, the alternating pitches are F# and G, which is also a minor third higher
than the previous pattern. As the motive develops, it is transposed up a minor third and
adds an additional 8th note to the end of pattern. This last 8th note returns to the second,
higher pitch in the semitone pattern. The motive continues to develop and transpose
59
higher by minor third until it reaches a climactic point in m. 161. Mm. 154–162 are the
last phrase in this brief section, and they are shown in Figure 2.11.

In m. 163, the material from section e returns, but Swerts has inserted 32nd notes
to add chromaticism between the original notes from mm. 56–60. Because of these
ornaments and added chromaticism, the author will label this section e'. Like section A',
Swerts has taken the previous material and added embellishments to the saxophone part.
The piano part remains unchanged. Figure 2.12 shows mm. 163–165 of section e' in
comparison with mm. 56–58 of section e. Section e' continues through m. 176.
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Figure 2.12: Klonos, mm. 163–165, mm. 56–58, Alto Saxophone
As in the first movement of Klonos, the boisterous 5/16 melody of section f'
returns after section e', but this section too is an embellished reiteration. Swerts continues
to add 32nd notes, and these added notes are always one semitone away from the note
that precedes or follows it. Figure 2.12 illustrates the differences between sections f and
f'.
Figure 2.13: Klonos, mm. 182–185, mm. 75–78, E♭ Alto Saxophone
Section f signaled the end of the first movement with its climactic eruption in m.
86, but section f' lacks the sense of finality. Instead the saxophone and piano push ahead
into a new statement of the material from section i. Mm. 194–214, labelled section i', is
different from section i in two distinct ways. The material in m. 194 is transposed two
61
semitones lower than its first appearance in m. 142, and the hexatonic collection for the
foundation of section i' is likewise transposed down two semitones: C♯, D, F, G♭, A, B♭.
Swerts has again added 32nd notes that embellish and add chromaticism to the line, and
he inserts these chromatic passing tones between notes in the arpeggiated figures. From
mm. 202–212, the two-note semitone pattern previously occurring in mm. 150–160
returns, but Swerts has inserted two 64th notes before the second and third notes of the
pattern. Figure 2.14 illustrates the ornamental 64th notes in comparison with the previous
statement of the material from earlier in the movement.
Figure 2.14: Klonos, mm. 152–155, mm. 204–207 E♭ Alto Saxophone
After reaching the A♭ in mm. 213–214, the saxophone speeds through a flurry of
32nd notes that start in the altissimo register and descend through a B♭ octatonic scale
with twists and turns. During this one measure transition with a time signature of 12/16,
the piano plays an E major 7th chord that gradually ascends through different inversions.
Swerts uses 8th notes and dotted 8th notes to outline the following metric grouping of the
16th notes within measure 215: 3, 2, 3, 2, 2. After this single bar in 12/16, the coda
begins in m. 216, and the remaining measures of the piece occur in a time signature of
5/16. The majority of the coda is comprised of the saxophone’s shifting five-note patterns
62
that are seemingly at odds with the piano’s figures. In the saxophonist’s part, the five-
note pattern is four 32nd notes and then a 16th note, and it is repeated sixteen times with
each repetition slowing moving upwards in range with semitone voice leading. Swerts
incrementally adjusts each five-note figure so individual notes move up by semitone
while others stay the same, and it creates an arpeggiated texture with a disguised
harmonic progression.
Like in previous sections, this five-note pattern does not fall neatly within 5/16,
and instead is written in groupings that suggest 3/16. The piano’s figures in the coda do
fall intuitively within the 5/16 meter. However, the pattern in each hand is emphasized in
subtly different ways. The left hand plays five 16ths, and the contour of the pattern leaps
up with an octave displacement between the second and third notes of each measure,
which implies a grouping of two 16ths then three 16ths. Simultaneously, the right hand of
the piano plays two four-note chords in the rhythmic pattern of a dotted 8th and then an
8th, which implies a rhythmic grouping of three 16ths then two 16ths. The semitone is
present in both hands’ figures in different ways. The left hand moves up and down by
semitone between the five 16th notes, and the chords in the right hand move with
semitone voice leading within the four notes of each chord. This subtle argument between
the hands also represents Klonos’ broader themes of juxtaposition: 3 vs 2, major vs
minor, augmented vs diminished, and of course the significance and contrast of figures
that are one semitone apart. Example 2.14 shows mm. 215–229, which is the coda and
end of the composition. Swerts has notated the saxophone’s figures so that the five-note
groupings are often beamed across barlines to show the juxtaposition of meter.
63
64
To clearly illustrate the semitone voice leading of the coda, the author has
rewritten the arpeggios in the saxophone part from mm. 216-219 as block chords in
Figure 2.15, and I’ve added annotations to show the semitone motion of chords’ voice
leading. Swerts uses each voice within the chord at different times to incrementally move
up by semitone. The same type of incremental shifting is present in the right hand of the
piano throughout the coda as well.
Figure 2.15: Voice leading for mm. 216–219 of the E♭ Alto Saxophone part.
In m. 226, the saxophone breaks free of the five-note pattern and arpeggiates
upward to an altissimo C that is sustained as a quarter note in m. 227. Also in m. 227, the
piano breaks from the patterns and plays cluster-like chords that are comprised of minor
thirds a semitone apart. The saxophone then descends through a two and a half octave
arpeggiation of an F♯ minor triad with an added diminished fifth. This figure is very
similar to the descending arpeggiated figure in the piano part in m. 109 of the section B,
which is a C minor triad with an added major seventh. Both figures inject an additional
semitone in a descending minor triad. In m. 228, the saxophone’s descending minor triad
with an added diminished fifth (F♯, A, C, C♯) is are also a subset within the following
hexatonic collection: F, F♯, A, A♯, C, C♯. The piano plays all of the hexatonic pitches as a
blocked chord in m. 228, and the piece comes to a close with both musicians playing an
F♯ across three octaves on the downbeat of m. 229.
65
Pedagogical Considerations
Klonos’ repeated inclusion in repertoire of international competitions bolstered
and solidified its position in the canon of the classical saxophonist. Because of this, many
students will study the work near the end of the undergraduate degree or during a
graduate degree. Swerts’ composition requires the saxophonist to possess well-developed
fundamentals in all aspects of playing. Before attempting the study of Klonos,
saxophonists must have fluid technical facility across the standard range of the instrument
as well as its altissimo register. The saxophonist must also possess a strong sense of time
and meter in less common time signatures and must also have command of every register
in all volumes. Furthermore, the intricate ensemble playing calls for both pianist and
saxophonist to fully know the score and how the three lines interact: saxophone, left
hand, and right hand. These prerequisites suggest this work is appropriate for the
saxophonist who has mastered the fundamentals of saxophone playing. Before studying
Klonos, it would be helpful and appropriate for the saxophonist to first study works with
passages that bridge into the altissimo register, such as Robert Muczynski’s Sonata for
Alto Saxophone and Piano or Warren Benson’s Aeolian Song.
Klonos can fit into a graduate or undergraduate curriculum after the study of
substantial works such as Alfred Desenclos’ Prelude, Cadence et Final, Henri Tomasi’s
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, or Paul Creston’s Concerto for Alto
Saxophone and Orchestra. When using international pitch notation, the standard range of
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the E♭ Alto Saxophone begins at D♭3 and continues to A5, and the altissimo register
begins at B♭5 and continues upward as seen in Figure 2.16.
Figure 2.16: The standard range and the altissimo range of the E♭ Alto Saxophone. 23
Klonos makes repeated use of the range G5 – B5, which overlaps the top of the
saxophone’s normal range and the beginning of the altissimo range as seen in Figure
2.16. The few notes in this range present several technical issues because the mechanics
of the saxophone change noticeably between the two registers. From a pedagogical
perspective, the saxophonist must have the technical facility as well as the awareness of
the response and tone of those notes. Additionally, the fingerings typically employed can
cause the saxophonist to compromise on tone, response, intonation, or a combination of
all three. Later in this chapter, the author explores several possible fingering solutions
and discusses their advantages and disadvantages.
23
Many vintage instruments, as well as modern student-level instruments, will lack keywork for a sounding
A5. Instead, their normal range will end at A♭5. It is understood that saxophonists playing repertoire at the
level of Klonos will be able to produce a sounding A5 by other means, i.e., fingerings that do not require
the use of a “high F# key”.
67
Example 2.15: Klonos, mm. 61–67.
In addition to the technical demands of the composition, the saxophonist must
also anticipate irregular meter changes that occur in succession, and they must also
navigate complex rhythms that evade downbeats. Example 2.16 shows how the
68
saxophone part seems to swim around the general sense of pulse, and it weaves in and out
of the rhythmic framework in the piano part. If one considers the challenging nature of
Klonos, it is no surprise that the work appears so frequently in international music
competitions.

69
Performance Suggestions
It is important to note that while the marked tempo in the Allegro sections is 8th
note = 168, Swerts has stated it might be too fast. 24 The version of Klonos for saxophone
quartet will be covered in a later section of this chapter, and Swerts marked that version’s
tempo in the Allegro section 8th note = 148. Though many saxophonists attempt to play
Klonos at the originally marked tempo, most are unable to maintain control without
sounding frantic or manic. In an interview with the author, Swerts remarked:
With this kind of music, and certainly with saxophonists, I think it’s very
risky or very easy to forget the sound, because the music is difficult and
they show off and want to show that they can play perfectly and quick. It
doesn’t interest me at all. 25
Though the piece certainly has aggressive and high-adrenaline energy at times,
Swerts cautions the saxophonist to remember “…the main thing is musicality… I love to
hear musicians who are looking for musicality in the small things in the phrase.”
Much of the writing in Klonos’ saxophone part overlaps the top of the normal
range and the beginning of the altissimo range, and thus saxophonists must make
decisions regarding the most appropriate fingerings. In a general sense, altissimo
fingerings are relatively awkward in comparison with the rest of the instrument’s range.
As stated earlier, the phrases and motives in Klonos often present the saxophonist with
difficulties, which might be at the expense of tone, intonation, comfort, or all three. The
primary goal of this section is to outline different options for the saxophonist and
24
Piet Swerts, interview with the author, January 16th, 2019
25
Ibid.
70
summarize their advantages and disadvantages regarding intonation, comfort, and
response. This section of the document pertains specifically to the Eb alto saxophone
part, so examples will be given in the transposed, written pitch of the saxophone part,
rather than sounding pitch. The author will use the fingering nomenclature established in
Jean-Marie Londeix’ pedagogical resource Hello! Mr. Sax throughout this document. 26
At the end of this section there is a comprehensive table of the recommended fingerings
suggestions for each note.
Alternative Fingering Suggestions
When selecting altissimo fingerings, it is helpful to consider the fingerings that
are closely related to one another and have keys in common. Eugene Rousseau illustrates
this concept in his method book Saxophone High Tones. Rousseau categorizes these
altissimo fingering systems as different “modes”: Mode A, which utilizes the X key, or
“front” key; and Mode B, which utilizes the C5, or “RSK 4” key. 27 While many of the
fingerings listed in this document are based on Rousseau’s modes, some of the fingerings
may need alteration due to their intonation, timbre, and response. The unique
characteristics of different fingerings change from one make or model of instrument to
another. In this document, fingering suggestions will be referred to as Option 1, Option 2,
or Option 3. The intent is to present solutions that employ modes of altissimo fingerings
that are similar in their conception or belong to the same “mode”. Of course, the
26
Jean-Marie Londeix, Hello Mr. Sax!, 6.
27
Eugene Rousseau, Saxophone High Tones, 23.
71
saxophonist should also experiment with mixing between the given options to arrive at
solutions that are personalized to their playing. By trying differing methods and options,
the saxophonist can further develop their facility in the altissimo register.
Example 2.17: Klonos, m. 55.

© 2007 Zodiac Editions. Used with permission
M. 55 presents the first altissimo passage in Klonos, and it requires the
saxophonist to play a written altissimo G, G#, and A in quick succession. The following
three options lay well on the instrument, and they also do not present problems in the
context of the notes that precede and follow this excerpt. When trying possible fingering
combinations, saxophonists must be aware of the tone quality, pitch, and response. Table
2.2 shows the following suggestions. Option 1 employs the “Front” mode of fingerings,
which can have hazardous response issues for many developing saxophonists. Option 2
features a set of fingerings that respond quickly and easily, but they do require more
fingers to engage the keys of the instrument. Option 3 uses very simple fingerings, but
some saxophonists might experience pitch or response issues.
72
Table 2.2: G6, G#6, A6
Option 1
G6 8va, X, 4, Ta
G#6 8va, X, Ta
A6 8va, X, 4, Tc, Ta
Option 2
G6 8va, 1, G#, 4, Ta, C5
G#6 8va, 1, 2, 3, 4, Tc, Ta
A6 8va, 2, 3, 5, Tc
Option 3
G6 8va, 1, C5
G#6 8va, 1, 3, 4, Tc
A6 8va, 1, 3, Tc
Just a few measures later the saxophonist is met with another passage with
slightly different altissimo complexities in mm. 60–61. After the scalar passage in m. 60,
the saxophonist must quickly leap from E6 to G6 and then to A♭6. This motive repeats
again in mm. 63–64, and then the saxophonist must also trill from G6 to A♭6, and then
quickly descend through an octatonic scale. In m. 61 the first note above the normal
range is the G6, but saxophonists might find it beneficial to use alternate fingerings for
the E6 and F6 that lead up to the G6. The beginning of the altissimo range has different
requirements of the oral cavity and air stream, and because of this the saxophonist might
73
have more success by using fingerings for E6 and F6 that have similar characteristics.
Additionally, the fingerings on either side of the altissimo “break” do not often have
much in common if the saxophonist uses the palm keys for E6 and F6. Table 2.3 lists the
following suggestions for mm. 60–67, as shown in Example 2.18. Option 1 has the
fingerings with the most fingers in common and uses the X, or “front” mode of altissimo
fingerings. While Option 1 has the benefit of continuity, some saxophonists might find
that it also lacks in response and stability. Options 2 and 3 both present solutions with
easier responses, but they are also more technically complicated and might not be as
intuitive at faster tempos.
74
75
Table 2.3: E6, F6, G6, A6
Option 1
E6 8va, X, 1, 2, 3
F6 8va, X, 1, 2
G6 8va, X, 4, Ta
A♭6 8va, X, Ta
Option 2
E6 8va, C4
F6 8va, 1, 2 ,3, G#, C5
G6 8va, 1, P, G#, 4, Ta, C5
A♭6 8va, 1, 2, 3, 4, Tc, Ta
Option 3
E6 8va, C1, C2, C3
F6 8va, C1, C2, C3, C4
G6 8va, 1, C5
A♭6 8va, 1, 3, 4, Tc
A few bars later the saxophonist is presented with another passage that alternates
between two three-note patterns. The first three-note pattern is D6, F6 and G6, and the
second three-note pattern is C#6, F6, G6. Table 2.4 shows the most popular choice for
fingerings in this excerpt as Option 1, which uses the X key, or “front” mode of altissimo
76
fingerings. In general, this is a very useful solution for this passage because of the depth
of tone and resonance associated with the X key fingerings. However, some may find the
response and stability lacking in Option 1, and one must also note the cross fingering
between F6 and G6. Option 2 uses an F6 fingering that uses more fingers and does not
use the X key, and it moves more simply to the G6 fingering by simply removing the 2,
3, and G# keys. The benefits of Option 2 are the simplicity and projection afforded by
the fingrings, and the disadvantage may be that on some instruments the tone lacks the
depth of sound achieved from using the X key. Options 1 and 2 from Table 2.4 can be
used for mm. 75–78 and also in mm. 182–185, as shown in Example 2.19 and Example
2.20 respectively.

77
Table 2.4: F6, G6

Option 1 Option 2
F6 8va, X, 1, 2 F6 8va, 1, 2, 3, G#, C5
G6 8va, X, 1, 4, Ta G6 8va, 1, C5
Option 3
F6 8va, C1, C5
G6 8va, 1, C5
One of the defining characteristics of Klonos’ recapitulation section is the
embellishing chromaticism that Swerts injects into the saxophone part. The addition of
just a few notes might present a need for different fingerings in the altissimo passages in
78
the related sections. Table 2.5 lists suggestions for this chromatically embellished
passage shown in Example 2.21.

79
Table 2.5: E6, E#6, F#6, G6, A♭6
Option 1
E6 8va, X, 1, 2, 3
E#6 8va, X, 1, 2
F#6 8va, X, 1, 2, Ta
G6 8va, X, 4, Ta
A♭6 8va, X, Ta
Option 2
E6 8va, C1, C2, C3
E#6 8va, 1, 2, 3, G#, C5
F#6 8va, 1, 2, G#, C5
G6 8va, 1, C5
A♭6 8va, 1, 3, 4, Tc
Option 3
E6 8va, C1, C2, C3
E#6 8va, C1, C2, C3, C4
F#6 8va, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5
G6 8va, 1, C5
A♭6 8va, 1, 3, 4, Tc
80
In the last few measures of Klonos there is another altissimo passage that
proposes a new challenge. Swerts writes a figure that explores even higher in the
altissimo register, with a figure that reaches up to a written B♭6 in m. 228. In Table 2.6,
Option 1 uses front fingerings for the F#6 and G6 and then switches to use fingerings that
support very easy and quick response for the A6 and B♭6. Option 2 uses the C5 mode of
fingerings for the F#6 and G6 and then switches to short-tube fingerings for the A6 and
B♭6. 28 Option 1’s fingerings for A6 and B♭6 respond very easily but are overly flexible.
Many students find it easy to produce the notes, they might however struggle with
intonation. Option 2’s fingerings for A6 and B♭6 have smaller margins for error in
regards to their response, but they have very reliable intonation and controlled tone. The
most appropriate option for many saxophonists might be to pick and choose from the two
options while also utilizing the palm keys where comfortable.

28
“Short-tube” refers to a small length of tubing utilized by the saxophone’s keywork. Fingerings that use
many keys have a distinct difference in resistance and could be considered “long-tube” fingerings. Ex: the
fingering 8ve, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 would be a “long-tube” fingering, while C2 would be a “short-tube” fingering
for the same note.
81
Table 2.6: F#6, G6, A6, B♭6
Option 1
F# 6 8va, X, 1, 2, Ta
G6 8va, X, 4, Ta
A6 8va, 2, 3, 4, Tc, Ta
B♭6 8va, 3, 4, Tc, Ta
Option 2
F# 6 8va, 1, 2, G#, C5
G6 8va, 1, C5
A6 8va, 1, 3, Tc
B♭6 8va, 3, Tc
In addition to the above mentioned altissimo passages, there is an additional
alternate fingering that the saxophonist might find useful in the reoccurring arpeggio
pattern shown in Example 2.23. By using the fingering combination of C1 and C5 instead
of the palm key fingering for the note F6, the saxophonist can flow seamlessly through
the arpeggiated material with fewer fingers.
Example 2.23: Klonos, E-flat alto saxophone part, mm. 27–28

82
Practice Strategies
In preparations of Klonos, musicians might encounter two issues. While the
saxophone and piano parts fit together precisely, there are complex syncopations and
metric modulations that may leave student musicians looking for strategies to tighten up
or smooth out ensemble timing issues. Additionally, the passages with altissimo notes
will challenge the saxophonist’s technique and fluidity. Both of these problems can lead
to ensemble issues. A metronome should absolutely be used to ensure personal rhythm is
accurate.
A simple and effective practice strategy for the complex syncopations is to
remove note ties and add articulations on the beat whenever possible. Adding
articulations helps to stabilize the time, and it also adds context to the rhythms. This is
particularly helpful when the subdivision switches between duple and triple rhythms.
Example 2.24 shows mm. 6–15, and Figure 2.17 shows a “practice version” of the same
measures with the ties removed and articulations added on the beats.
Example 2.24: Klonos, E-flat alto saxophone part, mm. 6–15

83
Figure 2.17: Klonos, E-flat alto saxophone part, mm. 6–15
with practice articulations
To practice fluidity of altissimo technique, one can alter the rhythms within the
metric structure. This can be a hugely beneficial tool to utilize in all areas of technique,
but it is also specifically useful in practicing the transition between altissimo fingerings.
The general concept of altered rhythm exercises is to lengthen one or more notes and
shorten the rest of the notes in a grouping without changing which notes are on the beats.
For an example of this, we can consider mm. 186–187 of the alto saxophone part as
shown in Figure 2.18. Both measures could present difficulty to the saxophonist, with
consideration given to the two G6 32nd notes that sit at the top of the figures in m. 187.
Figure 2.18: Klonos, E-flat alto saxophone part, mm. 186–187
84
Figure 2.19 illustrates a selection of rhythmic exercises consisting of two-note and
four-note patterns. The author has notated patterns with dotted 8th notes and 16th notes
rather than dotted 32nd notes and 64th notes. This is merely for simplification as the
patterns can be used or manipulated to fit any technical passage of repeated note values.
Figure 2.20 shows an application of those exercises to mm. 186–187.
Figure 2.19: Altered rhythmic patterns
Figure 2.20: Klonos, mm. 186–187 with altered rhythmic patterns imposed
The intent of the exercise is to perfect the patterns at a slower, more deliberate
tempo, and then raise the tempo in small increments until a tempo is reached that is
equivalent to the written tempo, or as fast as possible. These rhythmic patterns allow the
85
saxophonist to focus on specific note transitions, and by practicing different iterations of
the pattern, all the note transitions are emphasized at different times.
Many musicians will find that simply counting correctly may not give the
perspective that the music demands. The saxophonist can feel stability and comfort by
focusing on a specific hand or voice in the piano part. Listening for something concrete,
such as a specific texture or rhythmic motive, and understanding its role in the music is a
crucial component to feeling flexible and in control while performing the work. Mm. 4–
11 are shown in Example 2.25, and it is helpful to note the left hand of the piano often
fulfils a specific function within the meter. The left hand punctuates the beginning of
measures, and it prepares the next downbeat with an anacrusis or “pickup”. Simple score
study provides helpful information to the saxophonist, and it’s imperative to write in
these helpful details in the saxophone part.
86
There are passages in Klonos that purposefully feel as though they don’t fit
exactly within the written time signature. 29 An example of this is the section beginning in
m. 70, which derives its rhythmic energy from the 16th note ostinato in both hands of the
piano part. However, the 5th note of the bar naturally garners the most emphasis because
it is an octave lower. Swerts intended this to be a powerful section with this jarring
registral change, and it contradicts the listener’s natural instinct that the lowest sound
could be the next measure’s downbeat, rather than the fifth pattern and and final note of
the measure. While the ostinato creates a feverous and enthusiastic energy with which the
saxophonist will collaborate, it also creates an illusion of instability that the saxophonist
29
87
must navigate. To become more comfortable with the section’s rhythmic framework, it is
helpful to practice subdividing 8th and dotted 8th notes by articulating 16th notes within
those values. Figure 2.21 shows mm. 70–77 as written, and then below with the
articulated subdivisions written out.
Figure 2.21: Klonos, mm. 70–77 as written and with articulated subdivisions
Another valuable technique is to rehearse very slowly and practice lining up a few
measures at a time. For example, it might prove very beneficial to repeat mm. 135–137 a
few times to ensure the parts are fitting together precisely. If necessary, the ensemble can
continue to work through sections with this strategy to gain confidence and stability.
88
Original Version and Errata
The original version of Klonos as published by Ascolta Music Publishing is still
readily available in many academic libraries, thus it seems pertinent to draw the many
distinctions between the first version and the current version that Piet Swerts sells
through his publishing company Zodiac Editions.
Errata: 1st Edition, Ascolta Music Publishing
Alto Saxophone part

Mm. 25–26: There should be a two-measure crescendo
Mm. 28–29: Each measure should have their own independent slur marking rather
than one slur that connects the two measures. The slur in m. 28 should end on the last
note of that measure, and the first note of m. 29 begins a slur that continues until the
last note of m. 29.
M. 34: The slur that begins on the second 32nd note of beat two should end on the
last note of the measure, rather than continuing to the next measure.
Mm. 35–36: There should be a slur that begins at the start of m. 56, and it should
continue through the written E♭ that ends on the third quarter note beat of m. 36.
M. 42: There should be a crescendo that begins immediately after the piano dynamic
marking on the second 8th note beat of the measure.
M. 84: The first three notes of the measure should be slurred together.
M. 85: There should be a crescendo throughout the measure
89
M. 103: The crescendo beginning on the written G♮ on the second dotted quarter note
beat should not exist. Instead there should be a decrescendo beginning on written G♮
of the first dotted quarter note beat and it should last for four 8th notes.
M. 109: The fortissimo marking should decrescendo to the forte on the third dotted
quarter note beat.
Mm. 156–157: There should be a crescendo throughout the two measures.
M. 162: There should be a crescendo throughout this measure.
Mm. 169–171: The slur that begins on the first note of m. 170 and continues through
the first note of m. 171 should begin two notes earlier on the written A♯ in m. 169.
Mm. 172–173: The trill should last for three quarter note beats, beginning on the first
note of 172 and ending with the first quarter note in m. 173. In m. 173, there should
not be a tie connecting the quarter note to the first 32nd note.
Mm. 192–193: The crescendo in m. 192 should continue through 193.
M. 198: The written G♯ at the beginning of the measure should a written A♯ (two
semitones higher).
Mm. 201–202: There should not be a slur into the first note of m. 202. The last two
notes are m. 201 are slurred together, but the slur should only contain those two notes.
The first note of m. 202 is articulated and accented.
M. 216: There should be a mezzo forte marking at the first note of the measure.
Mm. 226–227: The slur that begins on the third 32nd note of m. 226, a written E♯,
should continue through the written altissimo A in m. 227. The eight 32nd note of m.
226, a written A♮, should still be accented.
Mm. 228–229: The slur beginning in m. 228 should continue through the last note of
the piece. The sforzando beneath the 32nd note rest should not exist.
90
Piano Score
M. 6: The two dyads in the left hand of the piano should both have staccato markings.
M. 7: The 16th note dyads in the right hand of the piano should be slurred together,
and the first dyad should not have a staccato marking.
M. 12–13: The dyads in the left hand of the piano should all have staccato markings.
M. 14: the dyads in the left hand of the piano should have staccato markings as well
as accents.
M. 25: The first two 16th notes of the measure should have legato markings.
M. 28: The dyads in the left hand should have accents.
M. 31: In the left hand, every two-note grouping of triplet 16th notes should have its
own slur.
M. 32: In both the left and right hand, each two-note grouping should have their own
slur.
M. 33: In the right hand, every two-note grouping of triplet 16th notes should have its
own slur.
M. 35: In both the left and right hand, each two-note grouping should have their own
slur.
Mm. 56–60: For both hands, there should be a slur that begins with the first note of
m. 56 and continues through to the last note of m. 60.
M. 72: There should be a crescendo that begins on the first 16th note chord and ends
on the fourth 16th note chord.
91
M. 86: There should be a fortissimo marking at the beginning of the measure.
M. 104: The articulations in the piano part should be as follows:
Example 2.26: Klonos, piano part, m. 104

Mm. 110–113: In the left hand of the piano, the slur beginning on the dotted whole
note of m. 110 should end on the second dotted half note of m. 111. There should be
decrescendo markings between each of the piano’s dynamic markings. Additionally,
the saxophone part has incorrect slur markings as well. The last two quarter notes of
m. 110 should be slurred, and there should be a slur beginning on the second quarter
note of m. 111 that continues through the dotted whole note in m. 112.
M. 119: The dyads in the right hand of the piano should be slurred, and the first dyad
should not have a staccato marking.
M. 124: The two dyads in the left hand of the piano should have staccato markings.
Mm. 125–126: All the dyads in the left hand should have staccato and accent
markings.
M. 140: The dyads in the left hand should have accent markings.
92
Mm. 146–161: Every note in the syncopated, sustained voice notated in the right hand
of the piano should have a sforzando marking.
M. 149: In the score, the saxophone should crescendo through this measure.
Mm. 163–167: There should be a slur beginning with the first note of m. 163 and
continuing through the last note of m. 167.
M. 168: The piano should have a “non legato” marking.
M. 179: The piano should have a crescendo that begins on the first 16th note chord
and continues to the fourth 16th note chord.
M. 183: The piano should have a crescendo that begins on the first 16th note chord
and continues to the fourth 16th note chord.
M. 191–193: There should be a crescendo throughout these three measures
M. 194: The piano should have a fortissimo marking.
Mm. 198–214: Every note in the syncopated, sustained voice notated in the right hand
of the piano should have a sforzando marking.
M. 214: The piano should have a “sempre crescendo” marking.
93
Versions of Klonos
Klonos for Saxophone Quartet
Swerts has arranged a version of Klonos for saxophone quartet. The quartet
version of Klonos was on the list of selected works for the first round of the 9th Osaka
International Chamber Music Competition and Festa held in May of 2017.
Swerts’ version of Klonos for saxophone quartet is not a complete reimagining of
the work, but there are many differences in rhythm, melody, and texture, and there is also
unique material not found in the original version for alto saxophone and piano. In its
original version, Swerts fully utilizes the bottom end of the piano’s range, and because
the saxophone quartet does not share that lower range, the tenor and baritone saxophone
compensate by displacing octaves when necessary. Figure 2.22 shows the range of the
saxophone quartet. For ease of comparison between different versions of Klonos, all
examples and figures in this section will be shown in C, or sounding pitch.
Figure 2.22: The range of the saxophones in a traditional saxophone quartet.

In the opening A section, closing A’ section, and coda, the baritone and tenor saxophones
usually cover a two-voiced framework of the piano part, and the soprano part adds an
additional note in the harmony where possible. The alto saxophone’s melody is mostly
94
unchanged with just a few exceptions, and it retains much of the original writing from the
version for alto saxophone and piano. When not adding into the harmony, the soprano
saxophone takes on many of the passages that are near the top of the alto’s normal range.
Example 2.27 shows mm. 23–29, a passage with very clear melodic exchanges between
the soprano saxophone and alto saxophone. The alto saxophone has the melody in mm.
23–24 and m. 29, and the soprano saxophone plays the melody in mm. 25–28. Example
2.28 shows the same measures in the original version of Klonos for alto saxophone and
piano.
Example 2.27: Klonos for saxophone quartet, mm. 23–29

95
Example 2.28: Klonos for alto saxophone and piano, mm. 23–29
Another characteristic unique to the version of Klonos for saxophone quartet is its
orchestration of harmony. Swerts’ use of chords in the piano part is idiomatic to that
instrument and it is not something the saxophone can emulate to the exact same effect.
Swerts orchestrates a four-note piano chord by using two saxophones to each arpeggiate
two notes. This works well for the right hand ‘Scarbo’ motive that occurs in mm. 16–24.
Figure 2.23 illustrates Swerts’ use of the technique in those measures by comparing the
two versions’ treatment of harmony. In m. 16, Swerts uses this technique to orchestrate
the C# diminished chord on beat two by splitting the 16th-note chord into two-note
groups. He outlines the chord by giving the bottom two notes to the tenor saxophone and
the top two notes to the soprano saxophone. In the longer, sustained four-note chords,
Swerts writes one note each for the soprano and tenor saxophone. This effect works well
96
because the 32nd notes have bursting energy, and the thinner, two-voice harmony of the
sustained notes mimics the natural decay of the piano.
Figure 2.23: Klonos, version for saxophone quartet compared with version for alto
saxophone and piano, mm. 16–24
© Zodiac Editions. Used with Permission.
After the soprano and tenor saxophones’ 32nd notes are used to emulate the
piano’s chords, the baritone saxophone incorporates a different 32nd note gesture in its
bass line in mm. 18–22, as seen in Figure 2.24. Rather than a compositional device to
emulate the piano’s left hand, the 32nd notes in the baritone saxophone part are imitative
of the soprano and tenor saxophone parts. It is worth pointing out that the 32nd notes in
the baritone saxophone part are a departure from the left hand of the piano part, and the
97
gesture would not be quite as idiomatic if played on the piano because of the section’s
quick tempo.
Mm. 30–37 of the quartet version are also quite different from original version in
terms of texture and rhythmic activity. Instead of replicating the piano part exactly,
Swerts uses the saxophones independently to create a composite rhythmic structure
similar to the piano part, yet different in small ways. The piano’s rhythm is more
consistent and static, while the quartet’s rhythm seems more erratic and explosive with its
added 32nd notes and interjecting voices. It is also worth noting that the saxophone
quartet sits or stands with space between the musicians, and a live performance of this
piece would create a stereo imaging effect as the 32nd notes are passed between the
ensemble members. This is a unique effect which isn’t idiomatic to an acoustic piano.
Figure 2.24 is a comparison of both versions’ treatment of the accompanimental
figures. 30
The staff of Figure 2.24 is a combination of the alto and soprano parts when they do note have the
30
melody.
98
© Zodiac Editions. Used with permission
99
In m. 31, the tenor saxophone part begins with the triplet 16th notes on beats one
and two, and then the soprano saxophone plays a descending chromatic figure on beat
three, which the tenor imitates on beat four. Two measures later in m. 33, the saxophones
play the chromatic 32nd note figures, rather than the triplet 16th notes that the piano
played in the original version. The piano’s composite rhythm in m. 35 is that of constant
16th notes, while the saxophones’ composite rhythm is a galloping pattern of two 32nd
notes and then a 16th note on each beat. All of these small differences contribute to a
texture that builds in intensity during the small section, and it is subtly different than the
original version.
In the section beginning at m. 38 there is another notable difference between the
two versions. In the original version for alto saxophone and piano, the right hand of the
piano plays a simple imitative figure one measure after the saxophone’s melody, and in
the saxophone quartet version the tenor saxophone takes this role. However, in the
quartet version the soprano saxophone plays an additional imitative line that is not
present in the original version, and it is ornamented with motives that are similar to the
alto saxophone’s motives. The soprano saxophone’s figures are transposed a diminished
5th above the alto saxophone’s figures, and this builds upon the octatonic and hexatonic
harmonies throughout the section. Though it is not a strict rhythmic canon, the effect
comes through to the listener as a sort of “tritone echo”. Figure 2.25 shows mm. 43–47
with an annotation regarding the new imitative figure in the soprano part. The remainder
of the Allegro section is very similar to the original version, with just a few ornamented
figures added to the existing melodic line in the quartet version. It is worth noting m. 92
100
has a time signature of 3/4, and in the original version it has a time signature of 4/8.
Swerts confirmed that the time signature change was to be interpreted as a written-out
cesura. 31
Figure 2.25: Klonos for saxophone quartet, mm. 43–47

The Andante moderato, or section B of the ABAꞌ Coda form, of the quartet
version begins with a very familiar texture, but mm. 94–101 develop into a subtly
different rhythmic tapestry. In m. 93, the soprano saxophone plays the right hand of the
piano part, and the alto saxophone plays the left hand of the piano part, and this continues
exactly as the original version does until m. 97. A continuous theme throughout Klonos,
Swerts draws on ornamentation to continue the section’s development. While still
providing the same basic outline from the original version, the alto and soprano
saxophones begin to incorporate broken arpeggio figures into their oscillating augmented
lines. Figure 2.26 shows an overlay of both versions’ figures in mm. 97–101. It should
31
Piet Swerts, email message to the author. July 21st, 2020.
101
also be noted that the last measure of the section, m. 101, has a different time signature in
the quartet version. The original version maintains the 12/8 time signature from the
previous measures, but the quartet version ends the phrase with a 13/8 time signature.
Like in m. 92, this change is to be interpreted as a written-out cesura.
saxophone and piano, mm. 97–101.
Swerts has also added a voice in canon with the saxophone’s original melody. In
the quartet version, the original saxophone line is played an octave lower by the tenor
102
saxophone, and the baritone saxophone echoes the melody one beat later and transposed
down a minor 6th. This effect is similar to the “tritone echo” added voice in mm. 43–55
of the Allegro, but mm. 94–101 are in a strict canon. In m. 96 of the original version, the
alto saxophone leapt up an octave and then down an octave, however the quartet version
is slightly different. Both the tenor and baritone saxophones fill in their octave leaps by
outline an augmented arpeggio with their motives, and the same idea occurs at the end of
the phrase in m. 101. Figure 2.30 shows an overlay of the alto saxophone part from the
original version with the tenor and baritone parts from the quartet version.
saxophone and piano, mm. 94–101.
103
The melody is written in the soprano saxophone’s part for most of the remaining
material in the Andante moderato section, except for the last three measures in which the
alto saxophone plays the closing statement of the motive. However, the three voices
supporting the melody continue to develop with increasing ornamentation through the
climactic moment in m. 109. Figure 2.31 shows an overlay of the two versions’
accompanimental figures to clearly see the development of ornamental figures within the
phrase. The tenor saxophone begins the ornamental development with its 16ths on beat
three of m. 105, and the alto imitates one beat later. The tenor saxophone continues the
motive in mm. 106 and 107, and the alto saxophone embellishes on the motive further in
m. 108. The three saxophones lack the range of the piano, but instead Swerts utilizes their
independence to create tension and resolution.
104
© Zodiac Editions. Used with permission.
The Tempo primo, or Aꞌ section of the ABAꞌ Coda form, continues to follow the
same orchestration protocols set up in the beginning of the work, with the baritone, tenor,
105
and soprano saxophones providing the piano’s figures while the alto saxophonist plays
most of the saxophone part from the original version. M. 142 begins the new material of
this section, and Swerts divides the piano ostinato between the baritone and tenor
saxophones. Figure 2.29 shows a small excerpt overlaying the two versions of the
ostinato.
As the section develops, two types of ornaments are added to the ostinato in the
quartet version: semitone grace notes and 32nd note arpeggios. The semitone grace notes
approach from above and below, and the 32nd note arpeggios are taken from the split-
thirds and octatonic collections that Swerts utilizes throughout the work. Example 2.29
shows mm. 149–157 of the baritone saxophone part which contains the ornaments noted
above.
106
Example 2.29: Klonos for saxophone quartet, baritone saxophone, mm. 149–157
From mm. 142–162, the texture shuffles between the ensemble members. At
times the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones play the original saxophone melody, while
the baritone saxophone plays an ornamented version of the piano ostinato. Mm. 163–176
continue in a fashion very similar to the opening A section, but Swerts adds semitone
grace notes in mm. 170–171 of the alto saxophone part, and he increases the rhythmic
activity by adding an interlocking 32nd note texture between the bottom three voices in
mm. 172–173. The ornaments and texture changes can be seen in Example 2.30.
107
In the section beginning in m. 194, The baritone saxophone plays the ostinato, and
the other three voices join in with grace note and arpeggiated fragments when they are
not playing the syncopated melody. The incorporation of semitone grace notes and
arpeggios continues in all four parts with increasing frequency as the work progresses to
the coda in m. 216. The quick pass-offs and quasi-hocketing lines build to the most
complex rhythmic texture in the piece, as shown in Example 2.31.
108
From the beginning of the coda in m. 216 through the end of the work, the alto
saxophone part is unchanged from the original version. The soprano and tenor
saxophones arpeggiate on the chord progression from the piano’s right hand, and the
109
orchestration technique Swerts employs is very similar to the “Scarbo” motive in mm.
16–24 and 128–136. However, Swerts also creates a progression with the arpeggiated
figures that accelerates with rhythmic activity through mm. 216–226. The figures begin
with 16th notes in mm. 216–218, and Swerts introduces 32nd notes in m. 218 as the
figures develop with more and more activity until the end of the chromatic progression in
m. 227. Figure 2.23 shows a comparison of the soprano and tenor saxophone parts with
the original version’s right hand of the piano.
110
Figure 2.30: Klonos, soprano and tenor saxophone parts for quartet version compared
with piano’s right hand from original version, mm. 216-227
Throughout the coda, the baritone saxophone plays a version of the piano’s left
hand, but with octave displacements to compensate for the instrument’s range. The
baritone plays a one-measure pattern that moves through the chromatic progression along
111
with the other voices. As in previous sections, Swerts adds a semitone grace note to the
first note of the baritone’s ostinato. This first occurs in m. 219, and then again three
measures later in m. 221. As the piece culminates to the final climax, the grace notes
occur with more frequency, eventually in every measure, and the baritone joins the other
three voices with the 32nd notes in m. 226. A comparison of the baritone saxophone part
and the piano’s left hand is shown in Figure 2.31. The ending of the quartet version is
nearly the same as the original version, though again Swerts adds semitone grace notes to
the tenor and baritone parts.
Figure 2.31: Klonos, baritone saxophone part for quartet version compared with piano’s
left hand from original version, mm. 216-227
112
Klonos for Saxophone Ensemble
There is a version of Klonos for saxophone ensemble and alto saxophone soloist,
and this was arranged by Hugo Schmitt who is Professor of Saxophone at the Institut
Supérieur des Arts de Toulouse in Toulouse, France. The solo alto saxophone part is
unchanged from Swerts’ original version, and the saxophone ensemble is a near-literal
orchestration of the piano part. Almost every note is accounted for, with occasional
octave displacements to compensate for the differences in range. The instrumentation of
the saxophone ensemble version is (2) soprano saxophones, (2) alto saxophones, (2) tenor
saxophones, (2) baritone saxophones, and (1) bass saxophone. This format is a very
common instrumentation for saxophone ensembles, including Ensemble Squillante of
which Schmitt is a founding member. The inclusion of the bass saxophone expands the
range of the ensemble’s low register even further as shown in Figure 2.32.
Figure 2.32: Ranges of the instruments in a saxophone ensemble consisting of bass,

baritone, tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones 32
32
As the construction of the instrument has advanced, there have been keys added to increase the ranges of
the saxophones. The modern baritone saxophone has a key that allows its range to begin at C2, while the
range of vintage and student model instruments might begin at D♭2. The vast majority of bass saxophones
in existence are vintage instruments that have a range that begins at Ab. Modern bass saxophones, which
are quite expensive in comparison with how often they are used in the repertoire, also have an added key
that allows their range to begin at a G.
113
The saxophone ensemble version is not published, however Swerts intends to edit
the existing arrangement and release a published version in the future.
114
CHAPTER 3: OTHER WORKS FOR SAXOPHONE
Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet (2002)
Swerts’ Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet is a version of his Quintet
for Clarinet and String Quartet (2001), which was commissioned by Belgian clarinetist
Roeland Hendrikx. Hendrikx also commissioned Swerts to write a large chamber music
cycle entitled Le bestiaire for clarinet, piano and string quartet. The world premiere of the
version of Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet was given on February 16th,
2019 in Castelo Branco, Portugal. The musicians who played in this version’s premiere
were saxophonist Carlos Canhoto, and the João Roiz Ensemble comprised of Vasken
Fermanian, João Mendes, João Delgado, and Ricardo Mota.
Very little is changed from the original version, except a very select few octave
displacements to compensate for the differences in range between the clarinet in A and
the alto saxophone in E♭. After composing a clarinet concerto (1998), Swerts knew there
was potential for “even more lyrical impact”, and he worked through those avenues in the
quintet. 1 The work lasts approximately 30 minutes and is in five movements: I. Serenata,
II. Notturno, III. Scherzo, IV. Elegia, and V. (Finale) Rondo. It is the fifth and last
movement, that Swerts composed first, and then movements IV, III, I, and II followed in
that order. In his program note, Swerts writes of the influences and characteristics of each
movement:
1
Piet Swerts, Note from the Composer. http://www.pietswerts.be/catalog---zodiac-editions/quintet-for-a-
clarinet-and.html (accessed on July 25th, 2020).
115
The choice of character in the movements found its answer to the subtant
character of the final: a slow part that had to be contemplative before the
final, that’s how the elegia in the clarinet quintet became very esoteric, the
lightness of the scherzo, with a quotation to J. Strauss, the cinematic
atmosphere from the beginning in the clarinet quintet, with here and there
the desolate, but sometimes too bitty character of a Shostakovich, the
infinite idea of the timeless bass pizzicato as a distortion of the Aria of the
third suite of Bach, recorded in three in an unreal five-fourths measure,
each movement in itself has that distinct sense of unity. One movement
cannot exist properly without the other, because there is a musical content
and an inner musical relationship between all movements, they are linked
to each other, they are interacting with each other. The final of the clarinet
quintet will emphasize the virtuoso, playfulness of the instrument. 2
Swerts utilizes the full range of the alto saxophone in this version of the piece, as
each of the five movements reaches into the altissimo register with extensive technical
passages. Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet is published by Zodiac Editions,
and the version for clarinet and string quartet has been recorded by Roeland Hendrikx
and the Tempera Quartet (PHAEDRA 92045). At the time of writing this document, there
is not a studio recording of the saxophone version, but there are excerpts from the
premiere available to stream on YouTube. 3
2
Piet Swerts, Note from the Composer. http://www.pietswerts.be/catalog---zodiac-editions/quintet-for-a-
clarinet-and.html (accessed July 25th, 2020).
3
Carlos Canhoto and the João Roiz Ensemble. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOnozur3Sac (accessed
July 29th, 2020).
116
Dance of Uzume for Alto Saxophone and Concert Band (2004)
Dance of Uzume is a 13-minute concertino commissioned by Nobuya Sugawa and
the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Sugawa is one of Japan’s foremost saxophonists, and
he was the concertmaster of the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra from 1989–2010. Sugawa
is also Guest Professor of Saxophone at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Ame-no-
Uzume-no-Mikoto, or “Uzume” as her name is often shortened, is the goddess of the
dawn in the Shinto religion. There are multiple translations of her name, including “The
great goddess, shining Uzume”, and “The Great Persuader”. 4 The title of the piece was
suggested by Sugawa and comes from the epic tale of Amaterasu, who is the sun goddess
and one of the most significant deities in the Shinto religion. De Haske (Hal Leonard)
publishes Dance of Uzume, and they include this note in the published edition:
Dance of Uzume is a concertino that is based on a Japanese myth: out of

anger toward her brother Susanowa, the storm god, the sun goddess
Amaterasu hides in a cave. The goddess of joy, Uzume, succeeds in luring
the sun goddess out of the cave by dancing wildly. The joy and laughter of
the other gods as they watch Uzume arouses Amaterasu’s curiosity and
with her appearance, the light on earth returns.
After Klonos, Dance of Uzume might be Swerts most frequently performed work
for the saxophone. The work is easily accessible to the audience, and the wind band parts
are energetic and challenging, rated at a grade 5 on Hal Leonard’s difficulty scale.
Sugawa included this program note for his 2006 North American performance tour:
“The middle part with a rich melodious passage reminds me of the dance
of Uzume that can be very expressive… the middle and the syllables that
lead to it illustrate overlapping images of Uzume’s dance getting more
4
Gregory Wright, https://mythopedia.com/japanese-mythology/gods/ame-no-uzume/ (accessed on July
27th 2020).
117
furious and the uproar of eight-million surprised Kami breaking into
laughter and excitement. Towards the end of the middle part, I can
visualize that the cave, Ama-no-Iwato, was finally opened and the sun
goddess Amaterasu-oh-mikami reappeared to cast in the sunlight.” 5
The solo alto saxophone part explores the full range of the instrument, and Swerts
makes full use of the altissimo register with technical passages containing trills and
arpeggios that reach as high as a written altissimo C#. In an email, Swerts shared a brief
anecdote with the author regarding his communications with Sugawa:
The collaboration with Sugawa was entirely via internet communication.

He pointed out to me an unplayable passage, namely the last four bars of
the piece. If I remember correctly, it was about E-F♯, a transition of
overtones that was very difficult. Then I sent him an alternative solution.
A month later he replicated to me that he preferred the original version
because he had found a new fingering for that passage. It fully illustrates
the attitude of saxophone players and always gives me the feeling that
everything is possible on this instrument. 6
Swerts has written a piano reduction for Dance of Uzume, which is also published
by De Haske. Dance of Uzume has been recorded several times, with notable albums by
Nobuya Sugawa with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra on Play! (KOCD- 4003), Nobuya
Sugawa and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Youth
Orchestra (9563-MCD), Kenneth Tse and La Armonica de Bunol on Segaria (JDR2281),
and Joshua Thomas and the United States Coast Guard Band on Live in Japan
(Altissimo! 75442263112).
5
Nobuya Sugawa wrote this note to Swerts upon the completion of the work, and the note was compiled on
page 5 of Sugawa’s program notes for a Yamaha sponsored performance tour. It’s likely that a publicist or
staff member of Yamaha’s North American Band Division assembled the program notes for Sugawa’s tour.
6
Piet Swerts, email message with the author on August, 4th, 2020.
118
Kotekan for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra (2006)
The 4th International Adolphe Sax Competition commissioned Swerts to write the
required final round work for the 2006 competition in Dinant, Belgium. Kotekan is
dedicated to Alain Crepin, who is the Belgian-born Professor of Saxophone at the
Brussels Conservatoire Royal de Musique. Crepin has been deeply involved with the
International Adolphe Sax Competition since its beginning in 1994, and he has served as
the president of the jury since 2005. During the Adolphe Sax Competition, it was Spanish
saxophonist Antonio Felipe Belijar who performed the work first in the final round. 7
Kotekan is approximately 15 minutes long and is written for solo alto saxophone
and a string orchestra comprised of three string quintets. Two of the quintets are
comprised of three violins, viola, and cello, and the third quintet is comprised of three
violins, viola, and double bass. Swerts includes this orchestral setup diagram with the
published version of Kotekan:
Figure 3.1: Setup diagram for Kotekan
7
Benjamin Cold, Analysis of a Recital, 2.
119
The orchestra’s seating arrangement plays an integral role in the work’s
performance because of its connections to Balinese gamelan, which Swerts explains in
his detailed program note:
Kotekan implies the interlocking of two or more instruments in a Balinese

gamelan orchestra, Norot means to follow, both terms come from the
Balinese gamelan music. Its polyrhythmic devices were inspiring to write
a new piece based on an unusual disposition of the string orchestra divided
into three quintets, opposed to each other, whereas the soloist in the
middle should play the Kotekan melodies against the ketjak chorus. The
ketjak was used to accompany a ballet based on the Ramayana epic, which
is the story of the prince Rama and his bride, the beautiful Sita. The ketjak
is an imitation of an episode where Hanuman, king of the monkeys and his
army meets Rama. The chorus consists of nearly all the men from a
Balinese village, sitting in tight concentric circles (circles within circles),
chanting the following rhythm to a single syllable, tjak, made at the back
of their throats. There are different types of kotekan. In a Balinese
gamelan orchestra there are the polos, played on the primary downbeats,
and the sangsih, played on the offbeats. In this work, the polos were
replaced by quintet I and the sangsih by quintet III, or II. The result shows
a fascinating orchestrated score where the rhythmic patterns are coming
from left, right or center of the stage. 8
In addition to the influence of Balinese gamelan, Swerts also drew upon the
inventor of the saxophone, Adolphe Sax, to inspire some of the harmonies used in the
composition:
The name Adolphe Sax results in the mode a b (German h) d e ; the S of

Sax stands for E flat and therefore the A-mode has been transposed a
tritone higher on E flat. The result generates a quite exotic scale: A, B♭, B,
D, E♭, E, F, G♯. This scale can be transposed many times and gives the
harmony a very special color to the piece. 9
The work is in two movements to be played attacca: I. Norot, and II. Kotekan.
The second movement of Kotekan – also named Kotekan – shares characteristics with
8
Piet Swerts, Kotekan: Interlocking for alto saxophone and string orchestra. Note from the composer.
9
Ibid.
120
Klonos, although the second movement of Kotekan is much longer, more
developmentally focused, and it is much more difficult for the saxophonist. The altissimo
passages are not as extensive as some of Swerts’ other works, but Kotekan’s written
tempo requires the utmost control and facility of technique. In addition to the contextual
information provided in Swerts’ program notes, he also includes a formal diagram of the
work.
In 2020, Swerts released a new edition of Kotekan. The composition is
unchanged, bur rather the notation has been revised to omit/fill-in rests and the transition
between movements has different time signatures. 10 Kotekan is published by Zodiac
Editions, and the version for alto saxophone and piano has been studio recorded by
Jeffrey Vickers on his album Le Plus Bite Possible, and by Joren Cain on Voices of
Dissent (MSR1408).
10
Piet Swerts, email message to the author, August, 4th, 2020.
121
Le Tombeau de Ravel for Soprano Saxophone and Piano (2009)
Belgian piccolo specialist Peter Verhoyen commissioned Swerts to write Le
Tombeau de Ravel for piccolo and piano, and Swerts later created a version for soprano
saxophone and piano for Kenneth Tse, who is Professor of Saxophone at the University
of Iowa. Tse likely gave the first performance of the saxophone version of the work.
Additionally, the work was almost orchestrated as a concerto at the behest of Australian
saxophonist Amy Dickson for a performance at the World Saxophone Congress in
Scotland, but unfortunately the proposal was not accepted. Swerts has nearly finished the
orchestration for two of the movements, and it is possible there may be a published
concerto version in the future. 11
The work is approximately 15 minutes in length and is in three movements: I.
Monfort l’Amaury, II. Le Belvédère, and III. Petit oiseau mécanique. The title of the
work is a play on words of Maurice Ravel’s composition Le Tombeau de Couperin.
Regarding the title and direction of the composition, Swerts said:
In the Baroque period ‘Le Tombeau de’ was a form of homage to a

composer. Ravel himself did this to honour the Baroque period by naming
Couperin, I myself did it to the music of Ravel and the composer.
Moreover, it is also an indication in which direction the style of music will
evolve. 12
The titles of the movements themselves refer to Ravel’s home, Le Belvédère, in
the town of Montfort l’Amaury just outside of Paris. Today Le Belvédère is a museum
open to the public that showcases his cherished collection of artwork and ornamental
11
Piet Swerts, email message to the author, July 21st, 2020.
12
Piet Swerts, email message to the author, August, 4th, 2020.
122
curios. One of these small, yet significant pieces was a gift given to Ravel by the sculptor
Léon Leyritz. The gift was a small mechanical bird in a gold birdcage that sings at the
turn of a crank. Ravel named the toy bird Zizi and would sit and listen to its mechanical
song for hours. 13 The third movement in Swerts’ composition is entitled “Petit oiseau
mécanique”, or “small mechanical bird”. Swerts recorded Zizi’s wonderfully accurate
nightingale birdsong, and he quotes it literally in the first and third movements of the
composition.
Illustration 3.1: Ravel’s small mechanical bird, held by Madame Claude Moureau, the
museum curator.
Swerts’ writing makes full use of the soprano saxophone’s altissimo register with
several scalar passages and arpeggiated figures reaching as high as a written altissimo B♮.
The original version’s double tonguing and flutter tonguing passages are optional in the
13
Madeline Goss, Bolero: the Life of Maurice Ravel, 207.
123
saxophone version, and those techniques often take place in the upper register or
altissimo register. Also, the version for soprano saxophone has been transposed down a
major second. At the time of writing this document there is not a studio recording of the
version for soprano saxophone, however Spanish saxophonist Mariano Garcia is
producing a studio recording at the time of writing this document. The version for piccolo
and piano has been recorded by Peter Verhoyen (CX 4026). Le Tombeau de Ravel is
published by Zodiac Editions.
Illustration 3.2: Swerts playing Ravel’s piano in Le Belvédère
124
Hat City Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2013)
Swerts was commissioned by saxophonist Dan Gobles and pianist Russell
Hirshfield to write Hat City Sonata in 2013. Gobles is the Director of the School of
Music, Theatre, and Dance at Colorado State University and Hirshfield is Professor of
Music at Western Connecticut State University. The pair commissioned Swerts when
they were both serving on the faculty of Western Connecticut State University in
Danbury, Connecticut.
The town of Danbury, Connecticut has a rich history of hatmaking, or millinery,
and it has been home to some of the earliest hat shops in the United States. Some of the
hat shops in Danbury date back to the American Revolution. 14 In 1904, Danbury was
producing nearly a quarter of the hats in the American market, and the town earned the
moniker “Hat City”. Swerts’ Hat City Sonata is approximately 16 minutes in length and
is in three movements: I. Avowal and Scud, II. Night Song, and III. Free fall.
The titles of the movements in Hat City Sonata do not directly relate to Danbury,
Connecticut, or hatmaking, but rather they provide a glimpse into Swerts’ thoughts
during a tumultuous time in his life. Swerts composed Hat City Sonata as he was working
through his divorce, and in many ways, it represents his transition to a new chapter in his
life. Swerts described Hat City Sonata as “one of my ‘darkest’ works” because he was
composing throughout this arduous and painful experience. 15 Hat City Sonata is
14
John Pirro, The rise – and fall – of hatting in Danbury. https://www.newstimes.com/local/article/The-
rise-and-fall-of-hatting-in-Danbury-990165.php (accessed July 28th, 2020).
15
Piet Swerts, email message to the author, July 29th, 2020.
125
published by Zodiac Editions and has been studio recorded by commissioners Dan
Gobles and Russell Hirshfield.
126
Black Paintings for Saxophone Quartet (2015)
Swerts’ composition for saxophone quartet, Black Paintings, was commissioned
by the La’Ventus Quartet, who gave the premiere at the 17th World Saxophone Congress
in July of 2015 in Strasbourg, France. The La’Ventus Quartet is comprised of Alyssa
Hoffert, Lauren Wasynczuk, Ben Carraher, and Li-Chun Hsiao. The members of the
quartet met while in graduate school at the Hartt School of the University of Hartford in
Hartford, Connecticut.
Black Paintings is approximately 12 minutes long and is set in three movements:
I. El gran cabron, II. Procesion del Santo Officio, and III. Vision fantastica. The Black
Paintings to which Swerts refers are the last significant collection of oil paintings by the
Spanish artist Francisco Goya. Swerts was “completely struck” while visiting the Museo
del Prado in Madrid, Spain, and he chose three of Goya’s works to serve as inspiration
for the movements in his quartet. 16
Illustration 3.3: El Gran Cabrón/Aquelarre by Francisco Goya (1821-1823)
16
Piet Swerts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnTwWvALPkk&feature=emb_logo (accessed July
28th, 2020)
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Illustration 3.4: Peregrinación a la fuente de San Isidro/Procesión del Santo Oficio by
Francisco Goya (1819-1823)
Illustration 3.5: Vision fantástica/Asmodea by Francisco Goya (1819-1823)
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Paganini Capriccio for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2015)
Swerts was commissioned by Kenneth Tse to write Paganini Capriccio, and Tse
gave the premiere with Swerts at the piano at the 17th World Saxophone Congress in
Strasbourg, France on July 13th, 2015. Two years later, the Golden Saxophone
Competition chose Paganini-Capriccio as the required work for the second round of the
2017 competition. The Golden Saxophone Competition is held biennially in Kiev,
Ukraine, and there are three age divisions for competitors: up to age 13 years, ages 14-17,
and ages 18-25. Swerts orchestrated Paganini-Capriccio for alto saxophone and string
orchestra for the winner’s concert during the Golden Saxophone Competition, and there
are orchestral parts available on request. Roman Fotuima was the winner of the 2017
Golden Saxophone Competition, and he was the first to play this version with orchestral
accompaniment.
Paganini-Capriccio is approximately 6 minutes long, and it is a through-
composed work in the form of a theme and fourteen variations that are loosely based on
Niccoló Paganini’s 24th caprice for violin. Witold Lutoslawski’s influence on Swerts
shimmers in his use of chromaticism, and in Swerts composition one can find small
quotes and head nods to Lutoslawski’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini.
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Quite a Ride for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2016)
Quite a Ride is a virtuosic show piece for alto saxophone and piano. At only a
minute and a half in duration, the work finds its home as a concert-ending encore. The
National Radio Channel Klara organized a call for Belgian composers to write short
pieces of up to three minutes for various different combinations of duo ensembles. 17
Swerts wrote and submitted Quite a Ride for this project, but unfortunately his
composition was not selected. The project was called Fingerprints and the goal was to
create a series of CDs highlighting the rich artistic talent in Flanders, which is the
Flemish region in the north of Belgium.
Swerts’ use of altissimo in Quite a Ride is relatively light in comparison with
many of his other works for the saxophone. In the saxophone part there are two
descending chromatic scales that begin on a written altissimo G, and at the very end of
the work the saxophonist plays a passage that ends on a written altissimo A. The rest of
the composition is a perpetual motion of 16th notes built around arpeggiated fragments
and scalar patterns. The technique is tricky at times as the patterns and progression
sometimes move by semitone, and the written tempo of 164 beats per minute will put
even the most fluid technique to the test. The most challenging aspect of the piece might
be the lack of rests, and the saxophonist would need to use circular breathing to avoid
dropping notes for quick breaths. The work should have a perpetual motion of
uninterrupted technique.
17
Klara is the abbreviation of ‘Klassieke Radio’ or Cla-ssical Ra-dio.
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Mai Tai: Habanera for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2016)
Belgian flutist Inge Smedts commissioned Swerts to compose a cocktail-themed
work for alto flute and marimba as part of her project Cocktail Maison. In addition to
Swerts, Smedts also commissioned Jef Neve, Klaas Coulembier, Jan Huylebroeck,
François Glorieux, Bart Watté, Nico Schoeters and Etienne Houben. Smedts writes this
about her project:
What if ... Flemish composers are inspired by their favorite cocktail? A

cocktail is a mixture of different and diverse components that together
lead to a new and delicious whole. Cocktail Maison applies this principle
to music for flute/piccolo/alto flute and marimba/vibraphone, resulting in a
vibrant mix… 18
Swerts doesn’t particularly enjoy cocktails, but he picked the Mai Tai because
“the sound of its name is very tropical and suggestive.” 19 After completing the
composition for Smedts, Swerts made several adjustments and reworked a version for
alto saxophone and piano. As the title implies, the habanera rhythm is played throughout
the work by the pianist as the saxophonist plays a melody that begins simply and evolves
into a dazzling display of technique. The version for alto saxophone and piano has yet to
be recorded, but the version for alto flute and marimba has been recorded by Inge Smedts
and is on her album Cocktail Maison.
18
Inge Smedts, http://www.ingesmedts.be/media.html (accessed on July 29th, 2020).
19
Piet Swerts, email message to the author, July 29th, 2020.
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Horta Suite for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2018)
Horta Suite was written for Dutch saxophonist Arno Bornkamp and Belgian
pianist Jan Lust, and the premiere was given at the 18th World Saxophone Congress in
Zagreb, Croatia on Wednesday, July 11th, 2018. Bornkamp is one of the foremost
saxophonists in the history of the instrument, and he is currently the Professor of
Saxophone at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Saxophone at the Horta Suite is named
for Victor Horta, who was a Belgian designer and architect and one of the leaders of the
Art Nouveau movement. Art Nouveau is an artistic style popular from 1890 to 1910, and
it is characteristic of its decorative use of long flowing lines and meandering curves. An
important precursor to modernism, Art Nouveau pushed back from the notion that
painting and sculpting were superior art forms. 20
Swerts’ composition was inspired by Horta’s Hôtel van Eetvelde, which was
designed in 1895 and completed five years later in 1900. Swerts includes this musical
example and detailed program note with the published version:
Ex: The musical theme of ViCtoR HoRtA
In 1895, King Léopold II's secretary for the affairs of the Congo, Edmond
van Eetvelde, commissioned Horta to build him a new residence in the
fashionable district of the Avenue Palmerston 4. The house, which was
20
The Editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica. https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Nouveau accessed (August
14th, 2020).
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built in two stages (the second from 1899-1901, after van Eetvelde was
made a baron by Léopold), is often called Horta's most daring residential
design, with the interior organized around a central octagonal stair-hall
resting on iron pillars and topped by a stained glass skylight.
The Suite consists of four movements. Each movement is constructed with

the Horta-motif cdha. The second movement is a Berceuse, a sad lullaby
for their child Marguerite, who died only a few months old. The third
movement is a Waltz and illustrates the atmosphere of the fin de siècle
with its ornaments and attractive lush harmonies. It is named after his
second Swedish wife, Julia Carlsson, whom he married in 1908. The last
movement is the final movement where the Horta-motive is developed
thoroughly. 21
Horta Suite is published through Zodiac Editions, and at the time of this
document’s publication there is not yet a studio recording. However, the world premiere
performance is available on YouTube. 22
21
Piet Swerts, Horta Suite for alto saxophone and piano, program notes.
22
Arno Bornkamp and Jan Lust, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO82EkiWx4w (accessed on August
18th).
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Lake of Love for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2019)
Lake of Love is an extracted excerpt from Swerts’ own Horta Suite. The excerpt
comes from the Berceuse section of the second movement of Horta Suite. Swerts
received many messages and correspondence from saxophonists who were particularly
taken by that specific part of Horta Suite, and so the composer decided to make it a stand-
alone work. Swerts has very lightly simplified some of the writing for the saxophone to
remove some of the virtuosic aspects that fit the characteristics of Horta Suite, and some
of the measures have been removed to more adequately fit this extracted section.
There is a popular tourist attraction in Bruges, Belgium called ‘Lake of Love’,
where couples take pictures while standing on the bridge with the background of the lake.
Lake of Love is published by Zodiac Editions, and the composer has recorded this work
with the Belgian saxophonist Kurt Bertels. Bertels’ and Swerts’ studio recording has not
been released yet, but it will be made available in the future.
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APPENDIX: INTERVIEW AND SELECTED CORRESPONDENCE WITH
PIET SWERTS
January 16th, 2019

Personal Interview via Skype
1:00pm Eastern Standard Time
E: Piet, one of the sections of this document will be a biographical sketch of your life. I
have of course read your bio in programs and on websites, but I would love to hear your
personal account of your childhood, and to fill in the gaps between your professional
accomplishments.
PS: I have three brothers and one sister, and I’m number three of the whole bunch. My
father passed away already 15 years ago. He died when he was 78 – he was a judge. My
mom is still alive – she is 87 and very well preserved. I think I have good genes! She
was a housewife and took care of the family. I am the only one who started the musical
studies. My older brother is a dentist. My second brother was also involved with tooth
making, but now he has a very adventurous life. He was in the Himalayans for two years
and Katmandu – completely not me! He’s a little fantastic.
I have a sister, and she started with music, but she only did it for two years – she’s a
teacher. My youngest brother is six years younger than me – he’s a professional artist and
he draws for comics – he has his own studio. He did a lot of well-known comics in
Belgium, probably not well known in US. I’m the only one who did music by
coincidence.
When I was eight I wanted to be a writer, and two years later the music school in our
town started up and my parents said “Why don’t you start doing music?” and I said “Why
not?” So when I was 11 I wrote my first piece and it never stopped. So I still write a lot,
I mean not music. I have a lot of these little books – I write every day: notes about
everyday business but also a lot about composition. At the moment it’s still private and
not for publication. I just love to write! If I hadn’t chosen music, I would be a writer, for
sure. I’m still interested in this – I’ve started two books, one about composition – this is
just my ambition, and the other one I have to because this year, in our composition
department, I have to give a new course in orchestration. It has never been given before,
and two weeks ago I wrote 50 pages as a start to this new course. But it’s interesting! For
me it’s obvious, but not for the students.
In my high school, I did classical studies like Latin and Greek. I did this for three years
and then I was already so much involved with music that I told my father that I just
wanted to do music, but I was 14, and then he decided to put me in the Institute where I
still am today. I’ve been here since 1974 – it’s not healthy (joking). In that time it was
the only high school where you could combine music education with normal courses. So
when I was 14 – the last three years of my youth was fantastic because I had about 16
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hours of music courses a week. For me it was very easy – I was very lazy because I had
some talent, so I did nothing. I just enjoyed my self hanging out with my friends and we
had a fantastic time. I wasn’t at home because it was a boarding school for three years,
and when the holidays came, I was really sad because I wanted to go back with my
friends. But I composed my first orchestral piece when I was 14-15. The first modern
score I ever asked for was Rite of Spring of Stravinsky, and I think when I was 15 I wrote
a similar piece – of course it was very bad, but it was just sort of a copy of that.
I started collecting pocket scores – I still have them and you can see them in the
background – and I studied like crazy. I was obsessed by scores. Still now I know the
whole repertoire of classical music – I know it backwards! The symphonies of Mozart,
Beethoven, Brahms, you name it – I studied all. It was an obsession to collect these
scores and to have this. I just started writing and to my own surprise I got my first
commission when I was 20 years old, and I was still a student. This was by coincidence
an orchestration assignment for the Dutch television. It was a comic and I don’t know
how they came to me because I never, never followed a course in composition. I’m
autodidactic.
But it was fantastic learning school – I had to orchestrate 3 hours of music and two or
three months later all of this was recorded in a professional studio with a philharmonic
orchestra in Holland. So, this was a great, great start, but I did first my piano studies. I
wanted to be conductor, I wanted to be a pianist, I wanted to be a composer, and at the
end it was always… I mean composition went very easy and I won, very easily,
competitions. And so starting from 25, I got commissions and it never ended.
RE: I would like to know more about your influences. When you compose, how do the
ideas come to you?
PS: My studies were difficult, because I first did my studies as a classical pianist and
soloist, but I was all the time composing, and that came very easily. When I started my
specialization studies, the school demanded that I combine my degree with the
composition degree, and I said “Why not?” And it was between 1982 and 1985 where I
had to pass a lot of examinations – at that time it was called 1st prize, it was just a
graduation diploma. I had obtained 10 first prizes: counterpoint, harmony, fugue,
chamber music, accompaniment, even conducting. I did all. But for composition I had no
teacher, just only the last year, they said when you think you are ready, just bring in your
portfolio and we will appoint a teacher for you for the record, so-to-speak. I did this in
1984, one year before I graduated, and so I had this large amount of scores. The head
director and I did not get along. He was intelligent, but he always asked different
amounts from different students. He did not ask much of other students, but he
demanded a lot from me. He demanded that I compose and perform my own piano
concerto on my final graduation exam. So in the summer of 1984 I composed this piece
and I was completely stressed – I later played it with orchestra in 1985 for the exam.
This composition was for my diploma was the worst thing of all. It was just barely
passed. I was very disappointed. It was strange because before I graduated I had already
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was winning competitions. In 1986 I won my first big competition, and of course this was
a big help.
When I first started writing music, I was completely obsessed with the music I heard and
I was like a cannibal. I absorbed everything. For me, in the beginning, I needed to have
as many scores as possible – I came from a nonmusical family, and I still have it here….
When I was 14 I for the Grand Traité d’Instrumentation et d’Orchestration Modernes of
Berlioz, which in that time was very expensive, but my father bought this for me and I
still have it – I was fascinated by everything: all of the score excerpts of Puccini, and
Berlioz. Just by listening with scores and studying them, I learned and I developed my
inner ear. And of course, I think I can quite easily think and compose for the medium of
orchestra. I think some composers have this and others not. But, in the beginning in my
youth when I was in school, I was obsessed with two composers: Debussy and
Beethoven. And there was period of time when I refused to play other composers than
those two, which was ridiculous of course. But, I was so fascinated by Debussy. His
piano music is fantastic, and then after I started to have more of a “hate” relationship, but
now it’s back! You have your periods, no? Around the beginning of my twenties was
Bernstein and I was so impressed by the language, and also the fabulous orchestration.
And John Williams of course and film music But then when I graduated in 82’, my
dissertation was about the new compositional techniques of Lutoslawski.
We succeeded in meeting Lutoslawski personally while he was still alive still then. I was
still as student and my piano teacher, Robert Groslot, met in Lutoslawski in Paris. This
was fantastic. We had a three-hour conversation about composition. It was very
interesting. I think I still have some excerpts of that somewhere. I think between my
twenties and thirties, I was very much influenced by Lutoslawski and his new way of 12-
tone harmonic language. Of course this passes after some time. You find yourself more
critical or you find yourself really not on the same line of thinking. But then of course in
1993, this is also the year of Klonos, I won this big international competition with my
violin concerto, Zodiac, and this was a big bump for me, I mean for professional
commissions.
I think now that it came too early. When I was in that time, I got a lot of attention from
the press, from professional orchestras, but I think I was not ready musically speaking or
technically speaking. Because I was autodidactic, I had this complex that I did not have
enough technique. In that period of time that I was always developing and thinking and
reflecting about my technique. Now, I think personally that I am in a comfortable seat,
and I think have too much technique now, because I can write unbelievably fast. I mean
last year I composed 24 sonatas – two hours of piano music we recorded in October for
three months. In the last seven years, in terms of production, it’s unbelievable. I feel that
I have evolved enormously, and I think that in my thirties, a lot of commissions; Klonos I
wrote, of course, and then the opera. Once the opera came, I had this thought five or six
times, always in Belgium when there as a major project that came to me. So I had five or
six major commissions which involved large orchestra, soloists, and choir. Most of the
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pieces were like a full program of an hour or an hour and a half or two hours. But this
takes two years to write intensively, and then other years to prepare and think about it, so
the years went by very quickly. I don’t know.
I think the last years I have written small pieces for chamber music, and of course the
saxophone. This saxophone thing started after some while – it’s a very strange story
about this Klonos. Because I won this violin competition in 1993, several persons
approached me as publishers. And there was one publisher who was from Holland, and
he was interested in my recorded music. I said, “you know, why not?” I didn’t have a
publisher at that time, and I was so stupid to trust him with the rights to Klonos. Because
Klonos was a commission from a Dutch competition, Tromp Concours in Eindhoven, and
they asked for a compulsory piece for saxophone from me, and I thought it was logical
that a Dutch publisher would publish this. But what I didn’t know, was that this person
had no experience with this kind of score.
It’s a strange story, because during the competition, almost nobody played this piece,
because they said “You cannot play this. It’s too difficult.” And I think then it was Otis
from Indiana University, I think he was the first person play it in Dinant. 23 He really
brought attention to it. Then I started to get a lot, a lot, of emails from abroad saying
“where can we find this music?” Every time I contacted this publisher asking, and he
said “yes, no problem” but it got worse and worse. At a certain point it was so horrible,
that I almost had to sue him in court to get my rights back. Also the score was full of
mistakes. So I had a lot of problems – it cost me thirteen years to get this back. Then I
contacted a Belgian legal scholar, and they said “Yes, you can break your contract, but he
still has 6 months to repair his faults.” On the very last hour of the 6 months, he sent me
a new edition of Klonos. And this was my big rescue, because it was horrible. He was
probably so stressed about this second edition, and I started correct and revise everything,
and I discovered 500, 600 mistakes. It was unbelievable. But I was very happy because
I had the proof that he was unable to do this. So then I called and said “I’m sorry, but if
you don’t agree to give me the rights, I will sue you.” And then he was very afraid, and
he signed a new contract and everything was in order. This was 2007 I think, and this
one of the reasons I decided to publish myself. I only had negative experiences with
publishers. I don’t know if you really want to know about all of that.
RE: There’s a section in my chapter of Klonos that will focus on the errata between the
old version and your published version, so I’m very interested!
PS: Yes, of course the old version is still displayed very regularly, and I still get a lot of
emails – I don’t think it’s my best piece, but anyway. But there are really some very
intelligent saxophone players who point out some spots in my own revised edition where
they discovered things. Like a slur in one bar and in the recapitulation it’s slightly
23
The Concours International Adolphe Sax is held in Dinant, Belgium every four years. In 1996, the
competition included Swerts’ Klonos in the first live round of the competition. Adolphe Sax was the
inventor of the saxophone, and this competition is hosted by his hometown. The Concours International
Adolphe Sax is one the largest and most intense international competition for the saxophone.
138
different. I must say, I think they are right. It’s never perfect of course. Notation is
frustrating. I think the revised edition is ok. I don’t have complaints about it, but if there
is something not clear, people should ask me. I do a lot of reprints of this piece.
Because of this piece I got a lot of commissions – I just completed a new piece for alto
saxophone, violin, and piano, and it is for an existing young Belgian trio. 24 In the
beginning I though “hmm, violin and saxophone…” but I heard them live – I must say,
really interesting. This is the last one I did, and then the new piece I did for Arno
(Bornkamp), and many people are already asking about this piece. 25 Arno asked me to
wait until September to publish this because they want to record this, and of course they
are the commissioners. There was also one American quartet who commissioned the
quartet [version of Klonos] and they only played it in Strasbourg – at the World Congress
– but since then not many have payed this. I don’t know. I think they are always
“Klonos! Klonos!” I don’t know why -- I can’t understand. Maybe they like it because
it’s not long, but I think I have better pieces than Klonos. For saxophone, I don’t’ know,
the Kotekan is too difficult I think, but this Horta Suite (the new one) its nice, but its
another style. Perhaps it has to do a lot with the style. Klonos is very macho, a lot of
testosterone in this piece. I was in my thirties, what do you want? But I remember this
was the very first piece ever that I composed with Finale software.
At that time it was completely new, and since then I always, almost always work with
computer. And of course this has the fantastic advantage of control. And you can try out
things you perhaps might not have been able to realize if you try on piano. Because I
work with a digital piano that is connected to the computer. But if you take the beginning
of Klonos, or the ending- the coda section, it’s very difficult if you can not make a
sample of all those sections so you can listen and hear the real effect. If you have to
imagine it, I think it might never have been composed. And this is one of the reasons
why the tempo in the original edition was much too high. I think it was 182 (bpm) or
something, and I get that question very often. Now it’s 168 (bpm), and I probably still
think it’s too quick. This is the danger of listening to sample performances of the
computer. I know it’s not a problem for me now, but in the beginning it has negative
influence on your composing. In the beginning, when I worked with this program, you
aren’t able to compose silence or rests or breathing, because you always have this
impression that it goes on and on, and the next bar and next bar – not good. But now I
have control over these thoughts. At that time, I think all of these factors were
influencing certainly the composition process of Klonos.
RE: you mentioned that towards the beginning of your career, you felt like you didn’t
have much technique, but now you have so much more technique. How else has your
composing changed over time?
24
Retro for violin, alto saxophone, and piano by Piet Swerts (2018).
25
Horta Suite for alto saxophone and piano by Piet Swerts (2018).
139
PS: Well of course, you think a lot about every piece: what is good, what is not, what
works well, what doesn’t work well. A lot of these things are sort of mechanisms. Like
this coda section in Klonos, for instance. It’s the idea – you have this chromatic
harmonic progression, which a sort of inner polyphony. It is something I find in the
scores of Lutoslawski: you have a seventh chord and then one of the other notes are going
a semitone or major second higher, and then the other is a sort of imitation, but this is not
enough. I think at that time, my problem was – Hah my ex-wife also blamed me, in that I
composed too many progressions and sequences. It sounds easy, like copy, paste, and
transpose, but that’s not the case. For instance, if you look to this chromatic progression
in the piano part, you try to find in your ear the right, correct bass note that sounds and
works well against this, and doesn’t need to be a chord note, for instance. But this is just
one thing that is not music, but a mechanism. But then you have to find the form to
realize this thing in music and movement. There I remember thinking very consciously,
that the piano part is in 5/16, but the saxophone part is in 3/16, so its three against five.
For a composer, these are very important things. You can find these mechanisms
everywhere, in the whole musical literature.
As a pianist, I’ve played a lot of piano music, and if for instance you look at Chopin, he
does it all the time. Or Brahms. You have a 3/4 bar and it’s written in two and not in
three, or two against three. These are just technical things to see how this works. I think
in that period I was very occupied by these things: polyphony, harmony. With the years
passing, I composed a lot of vocal like opera. I think I composed four or five oratoria, so
a lot of music with voice. And so the melodical development is very important. In the
last five years I’ve worked with a retired singer who had a big career, and I’ve learned a
lot through his singing. Working with the voice influences your thinking about
composition.
I have the impression now that, say the last seven years, I’ve completely changed. Four
years ago, in fact I think it was 2012, there was a young director named Jan-Willem van
Ewijk who was looking for music for the film Atlantic, and he heard my music. He had
funding from Belgium, and the soundtrack needed to be Belgian, so he was looking for a
Belgian composer. He had already refused thirty of them, and then he heard my Elegia
from my clarinet quintet, and he said “This is what I’m looking for!” We started talking
and it was a project of two years. This was my first real soundtrack for a movie. This was
unbelievable because I think I designed for this movie about seventy to seventy-five
models from small design and drafts. In the end we recorded 13, and they used only 9!
And they used them in a different way than they were intended. I was completely
shocked, but it was very interesting because I learned a lot of things.
The first thing is that you need unbelievable skills to satisfy the director who doesn’t
know what music is. He had an idea in his head, but he couldn’t say specifically what he
wanted. So you try and you try, and in the end I was so surprised. The soundtrack is all
on SoundCloud and you can listen to it for free. This music is, in my eyes, so simple. And
when I came up with this, he said “Oh I have tears in my eyes,” and I was like “I mean….
140
It’s an F major chord.” I remember there was one theme, one design – it was number 22.
We were looking for a main theme for this movie, and it was a very sad movie. At last I
found, I think still, the most beautiful thing I ever wrote in my whole life. I really was so
happy with it. I sent it to him, and he was also touched and said it was so great. Six
months later, the movie was delayed and postponed, and in the final editing he said to me
“Let’s forget everything and start from scratch.” And I did! I composed this whole thing
in two weeks – It was about 90 minutes. It was unbelievable. Unfortunately my beautiful
theme never appeared in this movie.
But two months later in 2014, I got a commission for a symphonic orchestra here. We
have a Belgian harp player who is a soloist with the Vienne philharmonic. She’s really
fantastic, and she played a concerto with orchestra, but it was too short. The program was
short by 15 minutes. So they asked me if I was interested in writing her a piece, and I
said “Of course.” I composed a sort of concerto, but it’s not quite a concerto. The name is
Etoiles, which means “stars” in French. And finally I took my beautiful theme, which
never appeared in the movie, and I worked it out completely with strings and harp. You
can see the performance on YouTube in Brugge in the concert hall, and this theme starts
around 11 or 12 minutes. 26 It was a full hall, and you could feel this intensity increasing
unbelievably from the moment she played the first note of this theme. The finale is about
6 minutes, it’s a very long, unending theme, but very tonal. I was so afraid because “what
am I doing? This is an antique, aeolian scale…” but people were just ecstatic about it. It
was a huge success, and we had to come back out four or five times for the applause.
Everyone wanted to buy a CD. Afterwards I sent the recording to the film director, and he
so much regretted that he didn’t use it. But now he is developing his first American
movie, and I almost worked with him, but for me this was a very important lesson.
You know when you are younger, you absorb a lot, and you study and listen to Bartok,
Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Debussy – I love them all – and Lutoslawski. And you have a
certain awareness to position yourself, and now I just don’t give a shit! I’m getting too
old for this, and I learned a lot, and I think sometimes it’s exaggerated – it’s too far, it’s
too extreme. Now I’m in a stage that I think I still have so much to discover in tonality,
and I sometimes think “Why didn’t I see this before?” I don’t know if you’ve heard the
piece that I wrote for Arno, Horta Suite? You can’t compare this with Klonos. I think if
you really analyze the score, it’s of course not simple, but I think it’s more smooth, it’s
more fluid, it’s more obvious perhaps, but it’s not cheap. I have this feeling that I’m still
discovering tonality, and this is what has happened since the movie.
My 24 sonatas that I just composed, are organized into the 24 keys. 27 I was also
influenced by my own PhD studies 6 years ago, and I was interested in the issue of large-
scale form. How can you develop a large cycle form without the classical exposition,
climax, recapitulation – other solutions that I found in my dissertation. I want to give
more concerts now as a pianist, so I thought “I don’t like my piano music of ten years
26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LebbF8S39Jw, accessed on June 16 2020.
27
24 Straight Strung Piano Sonatas, by Piet Swerts.
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ago.” I was also so distracted because I have six piano concertos and I’m still not
satisfied with them. But now with this idea with the 24 scales, like in the music of Bach,
the order of scales is chromatic: major, minor, major, minor… So I was thinking about it
and said “Why not?” and I just switched things to minor, major. I used circles of 5ths to
the left. So I started with a minor, then A major, and then I go to D, G, and so on. The
idea came from my piano studies, like Scarlatti sonatas I like very much. Very
transparent and clear. This was enough for me to generate suddenly this huge amount of
music in three months.
Very often, these sort of commissions -- Arno talked about Horta, this architect -- this
sort of thing molds you into a certain directional thinking. With commissions like
Kotekan, which had to be with an orchestra which was only 15 strings, so I had to do
something special. Now I don’t worry too much about these techniques, and I’m more
interested in the content. You should have the impression when you play a piece that
everything is just perfect. There’s not one note too many. Everything is perfect. Perfect
length, the breathing, the phrasing, the register, everything. It’s a very down-to-earth
consideration. If you work like that, you are closer to the performer, and perhaps you are
really able to tell a narrative story.
I think I am just a romantic composer. I think many composers are just not interested in
that, and I feel myself like an alien. If I see all these scores that are so complex and not
to the point, totally not to the point. You have this a lot in saxophone music too, but not
only saxophone music. I think 90%, maybe 95% of contemporary music… I don’t want
to invest energy in that – I’m always trying to keep my ears open. Everybody has to find
his own way, but I don’t care anymore. I want to do my thing, and if you don’t like it, I’m
sorry. But, I get a lot of response, and that’s very nice of course, but it’s a never ending
story.
The issue of composition is unbelievably complex. Every work you think about editing,
but I’m at a stage and I don’t think anymore, consciously. In the last seven years, when I
have a day off like today, I know that I’m working for commission for a good friend of
mine, a clarinetist, and he has an ensemble with piano and string quartet, so sextet. We
have an agreement and I’m developing a full evening production, only with my music,
but I simply need a concept. So the concept will be animals, and I made a new
orchestration of Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. But now, I’m working on Le
Bestiaire of [Guillaume] Apollinaire, which is a sort of analog cycle of thirty poems
about animals. It will be one whole – one big unit of about 80 minutes. This morning I
wrote about 6 minutes, but I never stress anymore. I know it will come. Today, I had
nothing planned, so I got up and ran errands around 8 o’clock, and I just see what
happens. Most of the time I never know what will happen, but I finish around three
o’clock. Six hours non-stop, and you get so into something, and everything I touch on my
piano, be it a chord or small rhythm, immediately you have a technique or a fantasy. It’s
very intuitive. When I listen, my intuition tells me “this is too short,” “this needs an
introduction,” “you have to divide it or prolong it more”… all of this kind of stuff. And
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then I just don’t interfere too much and just let it happen. In the end you just get nice
music and it’s just great.
My standards are very high, but I don’t put pressure on myself because I know it will
realize itself without interfering. This is how it works for me the last seven years, and it’s
just great. I don’t know how to explain it otherwise. I think you are a very virtuosic
player, and you play without thinking. I mean scales, or whatever, you don’t think “I
have to put this and this…” and composition is almost the same. Very often in my case, I
would have very small ideas or very small decisions make a huge difference. Very often
I’m very surprised, when you have motive or phrase, and I start shifting. I think shifting
is something that I use all the time. It’s together, it’s not together, a little bit more, no it’s
better there. I’m looking to the best interaction between two instruments, or
accompaniment and melody, or first layer and second layer or whatever. Also the length
of notes is unbelievable interesting, and I can spend hours and hours talking about this.
I remember I had a big production with four hundred musicians two years ago as a
commemoration of the first world war: ten choirs, a big orchestra, soloists. I worked for
about two years and it was sort of a war requiem, like Britten – same size, same idea.
There was one spot in 3/4, and most of the music was slow because it would be
performed in a huge cathedral with a lot of reverb, so I decided the tempo must be slow,
like 64 as the quarter note. There was one section, which was rhythmically dramatic and
almost double tempo, so it needed a transition. This transition, I realized just with the
timpani part, I don’t recall precisely, sort of a tremolo and then “buh-bum”. We were
listening during the rehearsal in the church with one of the choir directors, and he said
“wow what a nice transition!” I looked at him and said “You know, I worked on this one
bar and it cost me a whole day!” Just for one bar – how do you do this? It has to sound so
natural, that it sounds easy like nothing. It's never easy. It’s always very difficult, and the
more it sounds natural and fluid, you can bet the person that made this has worked very
hard on it.
Of course there is talent; some people have more talent than others, and perhaps it goes
easily for one person than the other. But in the end, this makes the difference between
first-rate music and second-rate music. I don’t want to make second-rate music. I would
prefer to spend two weeks on one bar, instead of saying “Ok, I’m just getting rid of it.”
Because you spend your whole life in this. I had a big depression after my first opera. A
big dissolution, and disappointment because of problematic interactions and cooperation
with a lot of people. I was too young – I was thirty-three at the time. But, fantastic
learning opportunities – major, big lessons. In the end, around my forties or so, more than
15 years ago, you ask yourself big questions like “What am I doing with all of these
stupid notes all the time?” No? Always every day: notes, notes, notes.
For me, the only conclusion is that I have no choice. This is what I am. This is for me,
existence. It’s just a part of me. Very often I don’t write for months, but the all the time
I’m preoccupied with composition. Even if I so-to-speak “don’t write”, I write all the
time. It’s just part of my system and I have to accept this. It cost me a lot of time:
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sometimes bad months and bad years. I had some horrible years in my forties. Now I’m
in the best time of my life! I really am enjoying it, and it gives me the feeling that I’m
just starting. You have certain moments where you have this feeling and impression, not
that you know it all, but you have an overview of it. You deeply understand the
mechanisms of music, what music is, how music works. How can I manipulate listeners?
I often say to people who ask me how I do it, “If you want, I can guarantee you I will
make you cry in two minutes.” I mean, this of course disgusting from an ethical point of
view, but something like Richard Strauss said the same for composers. It’s not all about
technique. You need it, but it’s just the start and then you have to leave it behind. When I
work, I try to know nothing, because virtually anything is possible. It’s fantastic. It’s
addicting to be creative. That’s what I try to do, and I hope I can do it a long time.
RE: Do you have the score to Klonos nearby? I have a few specific questions. Many
months ago, you sent me the slides from your own analysis of Klonos, and I’m curious
about “figure X”. As I analyze this work, I realize everything can be described as shifting
chromatic motives, and “figure X” is everywhere. When you write that sound, do you
think of it as a chord with both the minor and major third, or do you instead think of it as
a chord with an extension, like a major chord with a #9?
PS: You know I never think in names of notes, they are just pure sounds. If you look to
this figure, I’m a pianist. This lays so easy on the piano. Is this really well thought out for
saxophone? I don’t know, but harmonically it falls so naturally on the piano keys. Very
often it’s pure tactile, and I feel the keys. I think I drop my hands on the keys, and they
find their way. It’s a very easy grip, it’s easy to play. It’s minor and major. In the
beginning, the first fourteen bars of Klonos the piano part is what I started with when
composing. Even not thinking about the saxophone there, and the scale there is octatonic.
If you think octatonic, then these major-minor chords are just notes common to the
octatonic scale, and that’s all.
If you start with this first bar, and then you prolong and develop it, and then the
saxophone enters. Harmonically it all fits with the piano part because it’s octatonic. On
the one hand here, you have the groups on the piano, but if you play the octatonic scale,
you automatically find these chords too. But it’s only the beginning. There it’s very
pronounced, but I was very much aware of the dangers of writing in octatonic. The risk
arises that you can’t get away from it because it’s so compelling. It’s a very dangerous
scale, and so it starts to move away in m. 15. I tried to get rid of the octatonic scale with
the harmonic progressions in the right hand of the piano. These are all very small ideas.
If you take m. 16 for instance, this figure is Scarbo from Ravel. 28 But of course, I never
played Scarbo, but I heard it a lot. Some things just subconsciously stay in your head. I
was not aware of it, but afterward I was like “This is Scarbo!” Of course the left hand is
different, and there is a saxophone part, but this is Scarbo, yes. There are many things
28
Scarbo is the third movement of Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit for solo piano.
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which I see now, like m. 25, the right hand is something I discovered in the 8 preludes of
Frank Martin. 29
I’m always interested in relationships between composers and pieces. I discovered that
Lutoslawski had a certain way of printing harmony which interested me. It’s a part of the
contrary motion in m. 25: the minor second going up, and the perfect fourth going down
– so you have a different kind of triad. This is nothing new, it’s something Frank Martin
already used for his 8 Preludes for piano and his Symphony Concertante, and I
discovered it with Lutoslawski, and I saw that he used a passacaglia in his 3rd
Symphony, and I saw that Dutilleux also did this. There are many connections between
those composers, and sometimes you can discover what they studied or listened.
For me, all of these small things are things I learned from the scores of Lutoslawski. M.
34 for instance, and 35, these chords are major minor chords, and it’s transposed two
times. So you have nine different notes, and this was something I was interested in when
I was in my twenties. How can you find harmonic aggregation even just between three to
four notes, and you transpose them and they have the same structure, same intervals. But
by transposing them, you fill in the chromatic scale. It’s something Lutoslawski used, but
in my case it is much more tonal than Lutoslawski.
Like for instance, in m. 31, you have the minor third, like E-G, but the left hand fills in
the notes between E-G, and these all are ways to think about chromaticism. In bar 33, it
could have been the partita of Lutoslawski. 30 This is a figure he used in his third
symphony for instance, it’s full of this. I think certainly Klonos was sort of a collection of
small ideas that I discovered on the way in the years before by studying works. In m. 56
in the piano, of course it’s chromaticism, but the right hand is not. If you look to the first
two 16th notes in 56 of the piano, you have D-A, then you have Bb and Db, and this is an
idea I saw and played in Lutoslawski’s second piano etude. 31 He has two etudes for
piano, and I believe composed in 1940 or 1941, I’m not sure. But the second one is a
fantastic etude, about a very simple idea: black keys and white keys. If you take Eb and
Ab, and then you play A-D, you have a 5th and a 4th. On the piano this is very easy, and
he made a whole etude about this and I loved it. It was a sort of extended tonality. If you
take those Eb and Ab and you make a 5th of it, then you have the relationship of the
tritone between D-E, and Ab- Eb, and it is essentially the influence of Bartok. But here,
this idea in m. 56 is a sort of derivation of what I discovered by playing these fantastic
piano etudes. I think it’s very noble to discover something, and become fascinated by it,
and say “how does it work?” And then you try it and at a certain moment it because part
of the system. That’s how you develop technique, and after some while, all of these
influences are one big synthesis. You just use what you need when you are in the process
of developing a new piece, and perhaps this is what one describes as “style”. People
often say when they listen to a new piece, “I immediately know this is you.” How can
29
Prelude IV, from Frank Martin’s 8 Préludes for piano.
30
Partita for Violin and Piano by Witold Lutoslawski.
31
Non troppo allegro from Witold Lutoslawski’s Dwie etiudy for piano.
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you know this? But they say it. Many of these bars in Klonos like 86 for instance, there
are only two chords: a minor and g# minor. You know, we had an interview with
Lutoslawski in 1982, and I brought some scores. At the time he had composed a double
concerto for oboe, harp, and strings, and he of course didn’t tell me everything. He was
always occupied with twelve-tone aggregations, which is huge massive sound. The sound
is so thick, and I think he wanted to focus on thinner textures. He said in this double
concerto “I discovered a rule. A rule which enables me to composer thinner textures.” Of
course I wanted to know his new rule, but he wouldn’t tell us. It was frustrating, but also
interesting. So I bought the score and studied. I think some years later, he composed a
piano concerto for Krystian Zimerman, and there you have a switch of language which
becomes more romantic. Textures become more thick. Of course I studied it a lot and my
conclusion was that if you want to develop a more free language that not tonal, but also
not atonal, but logical and well organized, you can realize this by several means of
expression, but it’s about the transposition of a small chord, like a triad for instance. Like
in m. 86, it’s one and the same chord, but you can put it and stack it with a second chord
like a minor, then you have above it the G#. This sound has a very specific quality
because every unit is the same sort of composition. I think this is the rule he discovered,
because he did it all the time. He used chords with four notes and then transposed it a
minor second higher. But this is not new! You know who does it a lot? Maurice Ravel. If
you look to his piano concerto, or violin sonata: the second movement, the blues section.
It’s very tonal. The violin plays in G major, just G major chords in pizzicato, and the
piano plays just bass in Ab. This is so typical Ravel, and it’s the same procedure that
Lutoslawski used, and I discovered this too. You can make more attractive and complex
chords and harmonies, on the condition that the way you compose them, how they are
built, they need to be a construction of more units, but the same constellation. This is
what I was trying here, more or less, in Klonos. I see but a lot of chromaticism. I still
have the feeling that I was not yet where I wanted to be, but it’s not bad. Like for instance
m. 169, the right hand is just double and 7th chords, the left hand is the same but one
minor second higher. I think it has a certain appeal in the ear. These are just small things
that don’t make a composition, but you need to build on these things. I think every
composer, certainly me, are occupied with these kind of things for years. This micro
composition, how does it work? If you really examine and analyze it and understand it, it
becomes very natural. I think it’s a typical characteristic of my music. It’s logical. It has
to be logical to me. I really cannot stand a score where I see a note and can’t understand
what it is doing there, and there is a lot like this. That’s not me. Perhaps I’m a maniac of
control.
RE: I have a question about your piano playing. Do you ever play jazz music?
PS: You know, I would love to do that, and it’s not a frustration, but I don’t have the
time. I can improvise very easily, so perhaps I should have studied jazz composition. I
could easily improvise a whole evening.
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RE: The reason I asked is because many of the great jazz saxophonists use motives to
build their solos, and I see many similarities in the way you have written for the
saxophone in Klonos.
PS: Yes! For me, I have to “see” the piece. It’s very difficult to explain. I don’t hear it,
but I have to have an image of something, and then the notes come. I remember with this
piece, my image was myself as a saxophone player playing free jazz. I don’t like free
jazz, but it’s because I don’t understand it. If I don’t understand something musically, I
don’t get frustrated, but I get very appealed by it because I want to understand it. At that
time, I thought this was a good image for the piece, because I hadn’t composed for
saxophone. This was my first idea, because when I thought about the saxophone, I
thought about free jazz. That’s why this piece perhaps goes in this direction. It’s very
horizontal. Also this title, Klonos, is a medical term. It means to make very wild gestures,
and I compared it to somebody playing free jazz. The form of jazz is not for me, it’s too
limiting. You play the standard and then improvise, but how they use harmony is
fascinating – I love it. I will never find the time to dive in that, but I think I’m always
occupied with form. I think form makes the huge essential difference between the best
composers and a good, average composer. Form is everything. For me, the music of
Beethoven and Mozart are eternal because of the quality of the shape and form. Form is
the content, I think. A lot of composers are not so occupied with form. More about effects
and special things. For me, it seems like avoiding and escaping the essential problem of
composition, because it’s the most difficult one. Most of them can not handle it, but
that’s my opinion.
RE: You mentioned in your music, there is often a sense of the time shifting, and I think
the listener is drawn to the moments when the parts come together. In m. 71, it seems like
the piano is in 5/16 and the saxophone is in a different time signature.
PS: Yes, I did that on purpose of course. In that time, I first composed the piano part. The
idea was m. 70 – just three plus two, and then an octave for the last note. If you keep
repeating this figure, then you get a feeling of shifting because the last note could be the
first beat of the next bar. I love this, because you have this power. With the last note off
the beat, you have so much more power than if it’s on the beat. When I was designing the
saxophone part, my main preoccupation was to avoid the first beat. That’s why the
listener might have the feeling like it goes like this, but I did it on purpose. That’s why
there are a lot of notes linked to the next bar. It’s obvious to me, but it’s procedure. You
can compare it with the compare it with the Final of The Rite of Spring. It’s always the
same, but it’s never the same. You have a lot of shifting of earlier and longer, but it’s
more or less the same idea. When I see it now, I think it’s comparable to Le Sacre du
printemps.
RE: Is there anything else you’d like to talk about in regards to Klonos?
PS: You know sometimes people ask me to sing how I think this piece should go. I’m a
pianist, so I am very sensitive to the quality of sound, and when I play piano, I’m always
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very much listening to how something sounds, and I think this is something many, many
performers are not aware of. With this kind of music, and certainly with saxophonists, I
think it’s very risky or very easy to forget the sound, because the music is difficult and
they show off and want to show that they can play perfectly and quick. It doesn’t interest
me at all. You should play Klonos like it was an aria of a Cantata of Bach. I have a
certain sound in my head, which might be a sort of ideal sound, and I think every
musician should have this. I have this for piano, and I love to go to recitals, but I think
there are only four or five pianist in the world who have this quality to mold a sound that
is projecting in a natural way. Even in the high professional level, you have musicians
who have brilliant technique, playing perfectly, but it’s so boring because it’s just so
perfect and everything sounds the same. For me, the main thing is musicality, and I am
very sensitive, and I love to hear musicians who are looking for musicality in the small
things in the phrase. If you have a phrase, which note is more sensitive than another one?
Is it tradition? Harmonic reason? You can pick out this kind of musician just like that.
Somebody like Horowitz was like this. You need unique sound, not because he could
play everything, but because in the first place he was a musician. He was a very sensitive
because he was very near to the essence of the music. This is so dangerous with this kind
of scores with many, many notes. When I look at a score for the first time, I always skim
and go through it to have a general idea about how it looks, and where it goes. Direction
is everything, for me it is essential. Good music is direction. If you talk about musical
direction, some notes will be more important than other notes. If you can find notes and
discover the direction, then you are more occupied with sound in another way than just
some beauty, excellence, or brilliancy. This is what I’m always looking for. I did a
recording on a new piano, and I’m sure my interpretation will probably draw criticism
from reviews, but It’s my music. It’s so not conventional anymore. If you go to concerts,
you very often have perfect performances, but this is one condition perhaps, but it’s not
the most important condition. It’s your duty as a musician to understand what you are
playing and what it is about. If you dive into music, you will find the solution and you’ll
sound completely differently. I think somebody like Kenneth Tse and Arno are musicians
who play on the saxophone, rather than a saxophone player. They are musicians who play
on a saxophone – this is so important for me. So don’t worry about all of those notes.
July 21st, 2020

Personal Message via Email
1:05pm Eastern Daylight Time
Dear Bob, I noted some remarks in your file and added my English version of my
biographical cv which is more extend. I guess you can extract some extra facts from that
file as well. Below my answers, don’t hesitate keeping me posted, good luck, cheers, Piet.
Concerning my version for quartet of Klonos, this was an artistic decision I made not
especially on demand of any quartet at all, I considered it useful to make this version
148
because the piece was and is still very much in demand and at the other hand I regarded
this arrangement as a good introduction to think in the medium of saxophone quartet.
[Regarding the different time signatures in mm. 92 and 101 of Klonos for saxophone
quartet] Yes, you can interpret these small additions in the time signatures as written out
caesuras.
[Regarding Quintet for alto saxophone and string quartet] Also here I made the same
kind of decision that the originally quintet for clarinet and string quartet might be played
as well by saxophone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOnozur3Sac So the
adaptation I made for saxophone is very small, it is almost identically to the clarinet
version. It was Carlos Canhoto from Portugal as far as I can recall who gave the first
performance of this version in 2019.
[Regarding Le Tombeau de Ravel for soprano saxophone and piano] Afterwards it was
Kenneth Tse who asked me to arrange a version for soprano saxophone, he definitely was
one of the first to play this work in this version but it was Amy Dickson Sony Artist who
suggested me to make an orchestration as a proposal for a congress with Scottish
Symphony, but it didn’t pass this proposal although I almost orchestrated two entire
movements of it.
July 29th, 2020

Personal Message via Email
3:04am Eastern Daylight Time
[Regarding Quintet for clarinet and string quartet] The quintet was commissioned by
Roeland, yes, but not specifically the Tempera Quartet. Their corporation was then
limited to some concerts and the recording of this quintet. [In] 2018, Roeland found his
own Roeland Hendrikx Ensemble and for them I created a large chamber music cycle ‘Le
bestiaire’ for clarinet, piano and string quartet which will be released in September by the
label Evil Penguin Records.
[Regarding Dance of Uzume] Yes, he (Nobuya Sugawa) commissioned it for a special cd
he was recording with Tokyo Kosei and played it very often afterwards. Initially, I
entitled the piece ‘Concertino’ but this suggestion of Dance of Uzume came from him, it
is a famous figure in Japans history.
[Regarding Hat City Sonata] This work is perhaps one of my most personal works in the
sense that my inner personal world here was directly connected to my musical world. The
subtitles have nothing to do with the main title, they are indications of what each
movement expresses separately. The main title was suggested at the time by Dan Goble
who was suggesting me that the history of the city of Danbury used to have to do with the
production of hats. This sonata is perhaps one of my 'darkest' works. It was a very
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difficult transition period in my life, the work was composed during my divorce and
transition to a new chapter with many question marks for the future. Hence perhaps the
title of the first part. The finale of it 'free fall' also points in that direction: not knowing
what is going to come, in this case musically speaking. But above all it was my intention
to make a real chamber music piece in which both parts are equal to each other and there
should be a lot more diversity in the moods.
[Regarding Quite a Ride] Belgian radio organized a call to Belgian composers to write a
piece of up to three minutes for different duo combinations. The intention was to bundle
these pieces as 'Fingerprints' on a CD. Quite A Ride was my entry for this. Although the
performers I knew personally thought it was the very best entry, for (political) reasons it
was not selected. preference was given to unknown and young beginning composers. So
this piece is no commission nor dedicated to anyone and has not yet been created
officially.
[Regarding Mai Tai] She (Inge Smedts) is piccolo soloist at the Royal Symphonic
Concert band of the Belgian Guides and created the project ‘Cocktail Maison’ to ask
several composers specifically to think about a cocktail of own preference and to
compose a piece for flute and marimba. I preferred alto flute and marimba. I don’t like
cocktails at all, but ‘Mai Tai’ I preferred just because the sound of its name is very
tropical and suggestive. Afterwards I realized the version for alto saxophone and piano
and did several adjustments for this version.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baker, David. How to Play Bebop, Vol. 1. Alfred Music, 1988.

Cain, Joren. Voices of Dissent: Music for Saxophone and Piano. MSR Classics MS1408,
2011.
Cold, Benjamin. Analysis of a Recital: A Report on Piet Swerts’ Klonos and Ingolf
Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra, 2002.
Denisov, Edison. Sonata for alto saxophone and piano. Editions Alphonse Leduc, 1970.
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A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO KLONOS FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO BY

Submitted to the faculty of the

December 8th, 2020

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iii

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ iv

List of Examples ............................................................................................................................. vi

List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. x

List of Appendices .......................................................................................................................... xi

Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1

Chapter 2: Klonos For Alto Saxophone And Piano (1993) .............................................................. 5

Historical Background ............................................................................................... 5

Pedagogical Considerations ...................................................................................... 66

Performance Suggestions ......................................................................................... 70

Alternative Fingering Suggestions ............................................................................ 71

Practice Strategies ................................................................................................... 83

Original Version And Errata ..................................................................................... 89

Versions Of Klonos ................................................................................................. 94

Chapter 3: Other Works For Saxophone ...................................................................................... 115

Kotekan for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra (2006)......................................... 119

Black Paintings for Saxophone Quartet (2015) ........................................................ 127

Quite A Ride for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2016).................................................. 130

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 151

Example 2.1: Klonos, mm. 13–15 .................................................................................................. 18

Example 2.2: Klonos, mm. 16–26 .................................................................................................. 20

Example 2.4: Klonos, mm. 27–29 .................................................................................................. 26

Example 2.5: Klonos, mm. 30–37 .................................................................................................. 28

Example 2.6: Klonos, mm. 38–47 .................................................................................................. 32

Example 2.7: Klonos, mm. 48–55 .................................................................................................. 34

Example 2.8: Klonos, mm. 56–60 .................................................................................................. 36

Example 2.9: Dwei etiudy, mm. 1–6 .............................................................................................. 37

Example 2.10: Klonos, mm. 61–69 ................................................................................................ 39

Example 2.11: Klonos, mm. 86–92 ................................................................................................ 45

Example 2.12: Klonos, mm. 93–101 .............................................................................................. 46

Example 2.13: Klonos, mm. 142–145 ............................................................................................ 57

Example 2.14: Klonos, mm. 215–229 ............................................................................................ 64

Example 2.15: Klonos, mm 61–67. ................................................................................................ 68

Example 2.16: Klonos, mm 9–15. .................................................................................................. 69

Example 2.17: Klonos, m. 55. ........................................................................................................ 72

Example 2.18: Klonos, mm. 60–67 ................................................................................................ 75

Example 2.19: Klonos, mm. 75–78 ................................................................................................ 77

Example 2.20: Klonos, mm. 182–185 ............................................................................................ 78

Example 2.21: Klonos, mm. 167–168 ............................................................................................ 79

Example 2.22: Klonos, mm. 226–229 ............................................................................................ 81

Example 2.26: Klonos, piano part, m. 104 ..................................................................................... 92

Example 2.27: Klonos for saxophone quartet, mm. 23–29 ............................................................ 95

Figure 2.1: Klonos, mm. 1–6 ......................................................................................................... 13

Figure 2.3: Klonos, mm. 6–12 ....................................................................................................... 17

Figure 2.4: Comparison of Klonos, mm. 23–24,............................................................................ 24

Figure 2.5: Klonos, m. 15, m.70, m. 16, m. 76 .............................................................................. 40

Figure 2.6: Klonos, mm. 70–85 ..................................................................................................... 42

Figure 2.7: Klonos, mm. 102–112 ................................................................................................. 52

Figure 2.9: Klonos, mm. 129–138, mm. 17–26, Alto Saxophone.................................................. 56

Figure 2.10: Klonos, mm. 146–149 ............................................................................................... 59

Figure 2.11: Klonos, mm. 154–162 ............................................................................................... 60

Figure 2.12: Klonos, mm. 163–165, mm. 56–58, Alto Saxophone................................................ 61

Figure 2.19: Altered rhythmic patterns .......................................................................................... 85

piano, mm. 16–24 .................................................................................................................. 97

piano, mm. 30–37 .................................................................................................................. 99

piano, mm. 97–101. ............................................................................................................. 102

piano, mm. 94–101. ............................................................................................................. 103

piano, mm. 105–109 ............................................................................................................ 105

piano, mm. 142–143 ............................................................................................................ 106