Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra

Debussy’s Rhapsody was commissioned by the wealthy amateur Elise Hall, who paid the composer a considerable sum in advance. Yet work on it was not easy; following his death all that existed was a finished orchestral sketch, a short score. Debussy’s friend Jean Roger-Ducasse undertook versions for piano and orchestra based on the sole authentic source.

Ever since its first performance in Paris in 1919, both of these versions of the work have formed part of the saxophone’s core repertoire. Our study score contains the first transcription of the autograph in printed form. It is a valuable addition to our Urtext edition for practical music making (HN 989).?