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Amstel Tracks Now!
Samuel Barber - Maurice Ravel - Johannes Brahms - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Johann Sebastian Bach - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck - Tan Dun - Guillermo Lago - Jean Rivier

Amstel Tracks Now!

Amstel Quartet

Label: Challenge Classics
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917253429
barcode
Catalog number: CC 72534
Releasedate: 13-01-12
“The most colourful saxophone quartet in the world”, that is the Amstel Quartet. Old music, new music, popular music, world music, anything goes with Remco Jak, Olivier Sliepen, Bas Apswoude and Ties Mellema.
On one condition: the music played by the Amstel Quartet is good music, gripping music, and presented in a way that complements, enriches and clarifies the music. Technical limitations do not exist, and musical boundaries are there only to be crossed. This has earned the foursome a host of admirers all over the world. Not surprisingly, a performance by the Amstel Quartet is like a pop concert, full of energy, sincere contact with the audience, and the music is always exciting and moving.
  • After concerts, there is always someone from the audience who comes to talk to us and asks if the quartet have recorded this or that piece. They have heard this repeatedly over the years, so they decided to combine all of the pieces that the quartet and the audience like on one album
  • This album marks the 15th anniversary of the quartet
  • The Amstel Quartet’s programmes are always surprising, uplifting, educational, innovative and swinging
  • The strength of the Amstel Quartet lies in quality of the individuals, which, brought together, produces quality far beyond that
  • The Amstel Quartet as a whole also regularly wins awards
The idea is simple. After concerts, there is always someone from the audience who comes to talk to us and asks if we have recorded this or that piece. We have heard this repeatedly over the years, so we decided to combine all of the pieces that we and the audience like on one album. The other common link among these pieces is that all have been arranged or composed for or by us. There only one exception: the Rivier, a traditional saxophone quartet, but because we feel such a strong connection to this piece, we decided to make it as well. Before the release of the Amstel Tracks” we did not think it was such a strong concept, but we were wrong. The album turned out to be the most personal and successful Amstel Quartet CD. The concept of personal taste and emotional links to the works we play turned out to be much stronger than any concept on paper. Thus, we hope that Amstel Tracks Now! will live up to the expectations of all our fans. After we finished the recording, we realised that releasing this album would mark our fifteenth anniversary.