Evoke Ferio Saxophone Quartet & Timothy End

• Dimitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Jazz Suite:
• 1 Shostakovich: Jazz Suite: I. March 03:05
• 2 Shostakovich: Jazz Suite: II. Polka 01:55
• 3 Shostakovich: Jazz Suite: III. Waltz No. 1 03:34
• 4 Shostakovich: Jazz Suite: IV.Foxtrot 04:18
• 5 Shostakovich: Jazz Suite: V. Little Polka 02:29
• 6 Shostakovich: Jazz Suite: VI. Waltz No. 2 03:50
• 7 Shostakovich: Jazz Suite: VII. Dance 03:06
• Iain Farrington (b. 1977): Animal Parade:
• 8 Farrington: Animal Parade: I. Entrance 00:56
• 9 Farrington: Animal Parade: II. Penguins 02:05
• 10 Farrington: Animal Parade: III. Barrel organ monkey 01:24
• 11 Farrington: Animal Parade: IV. Alley cats 02:55
• 12 Farrington: Animal Parade: V. Blue whale 03:33
• 13 Farrington: Animal Parade: VI. Exit 01:43
• Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875): Carmen Suite:
• 14 Bizet: Carmen Suite: I. Prelude 02:32
• 15 Bizet: Carmen Suite: II. Habanera 02:13
• 16 Bizet: Carmen Suite: III. Aragonaise 02:13
• 17 Bizet: Carmen Suite: IV. Intermezzo 02:26
• 18 Bizet: Carmen Suite: V. Seguidilla 01:58
• 19 Bizet: Carmen Suite: VI. Toreador's Song 02:46
• 20 Bizet: Carmen Suite: VII. Gypsy Dance 04:59
• Pedro Iturralde (1929 - 2020): Memorias:
• 21 Iturralde: Memorias: I. Introduction 02:35
• 22 Iturralde: Memorias: II. Casablanca 03:34
• 23 Iturralde: Memorias: III. Alger 04:42
• Total Runtime 01:04:51

Info for Evoke

Evoke is the third album of the Ferio Saxophone Quartet, following their previous critically acclaimed albums Flux and Revive. In this recording the Quartet are joined by the pianist Timothy End for a programme of original works and arrangements for piano and saxophone quartet. Shostakovich’s Jazz Suite opens the proceedings, followed by Iain Farrington’s extremely descriptive Animal Parade. Next is Carmen Suite, a virtuosic arrangement of excerpts from Bizet’s opera, before the programme closes with the quintet Memorias by the Spanish composer Pedro Iturralde Ochoa. All the arrangements are by Iain Farrington and recorded here for the first time.

Ferio Saxophone Quartet:
Huw Wiggin, soprano saxophone
​Ellie McMurray, alto saxophone
​Anthony Brown, tenor saxophone
​Katie Samways, baritone saxophone
Timothy End, piano

Ferio Saxophone Quartet
As one of the leading British saxophone quartets among the new generation of artists, the Ferio Saxophone Quartet consistently receives a highly enthusiastic reception from audiences and critics alike. ​

In 2015 Ferio made their debut at the Purcell Room, as winners of The Philharmonia/Martin Musical Ensemble Award and during the same year were winners of the Royal Over-Seas League’s Ensemble Competition. They received the Tunnell Trust Award in 2014/15 and were Park Lane Group Artists for the 2016 season. The ensemble was a St John’s Smith Square Young Artist 2016-2017; during the course of the year this scheme involved Ferio in a number of projects focusing on marketing, commissioning and outreach work in addition to a series of concerts. ​

The ensemble has performed at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Conway Hall, Cambridge Summer Festival and the Three Choirs Festival, and has given concert tours in Scotland and the Channel Islands. They have also played at the Bermuda, Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton, Newbury, Machynlleth, North Norfolk and Petworth Festivals. In November 2017 the quartet travelled to New Zealand giving concerts organised by the Royal Over-Seas League where they also joined the panel of adjudicators for the Pettman/ROSL Arts Scholarship auditions. ​

Commissioning new music is also an important strand of Ferio’s work. As Park Lane Group Artists, they gave the world premiere of the ‘Ludovico Technique’ by Laura Bowler which they subsequently performed at Wigmore Hall. They have also worked closely with composer Guillermo Lago and commissioned him to write a new work for the quartet. The resulting composition, inspired by three of William Wordsworth’s poems, received its premiere performance at St John’s Smith Square, London, in April 2017. In May 2017 they gave the first performance of ‘Close Shave’ by Simon Rowland-Jones, which was commissioned by the St John’s Smith Square Young Artists’ Scheme.

More recent highlights include performances at Beaminster and Ryedale Festivals, a first visit to Festival Septembre Musical de l’Orne in Normandy, further collaborations with pianist Timothy End at Church Stretton Festival and Absolute Classics in Dumfries and Galloway, and taking masterclasses at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. ​

The quartet recently launched an exciting collaboration with young vocal ensemble the Corvus Consort. Their first project together was a video recorded in isolation and produced during the first Coronavirus lockdown, which was premiered by The Sixteen as part of their Sounds Sublime Online Festival in July 2020, and they now look forward to performing live together at various venues during 2021.

In 2017, Ferio signed with Chandos Records and released their debut commercial CD, ‘Flux’, a programme of original works for saxophone quartet which traces the saxophone’s history from the time of its invention to the present day. Their second album, ‘Revive’, is a set of Baroque transcriptions, including works by Bach, Handel, Purcell, Corelli and Byrd, which was launched in November 2018 at ‘Rhinegold Live’, hosted by Classical Music Magazine. Their third album for Chandos – in collaboration with Timothy End – was recorded in May 2021 and is due for release in November 2021.

Timothy End
BMus, DipRAM, ARAM graduated with a first class honours degree in music from King’s College, London in 2006 before entering the Royal Academy of Music, gaining the DipRAM award for an outstanding recital. He held the Shinn Fellowship at RAM for 2008-09 studying under Julius Drake and Patsy Toh. He is much sought after as a chamber musician.

A multiple first-prize winner, Timothy was awarded both the Pianist Prize and Jean Meikle Duo Prize with the baritone Jonathan McGovern at the Wigmore Hall Song Competition in September 2011. Further prizes include the Acccompanists’ Prize at the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards, the Parnell Award for an Accompanist at the ROSL Annual Music Competition, the Gerald Moore Award and the MBF Accompanist Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Competition.

Further concerts include a recital with the bassoonist Karen Geoghegan at the Philips Collection in Washington DC, a transatlantic engagement in New York with the trumpeter Alison Balsom and a recent opera production with Size Zero Opera in Singapore. Timothy performed at the newly-created Domingo Festival in Seville earlier this month in a Jazz and Blues programme with the sopranos Micaela Oeste and Angel Blue.

Timothy and Jonathan performed a lieder recital at Restoration House, Rochester in April. This marked his debut on the fortepiano.

Timothy is a member of Alchemy with the saxophonist Samuel Corkin and the duo perform regularly on the Live Music Now scheme. Timothy has performed on In Tune with the bassoonist Karen Geoghegan and the mezzo-soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons.

Booklet for Evoke