Elegy for "Checkpoint Charlie" - Alto Sax and Piano

Elegy for 'Checkpoint Charlie' was originally composed for Solo Alto Saxophone and Junior Wind Band, the object being to make a more advanced solo part play alongside a typical school wind ensemble.

'Checkpoint Charlie' was the former sector crossing point for foreigners, diplomats and military personnel between East and West Berlin during the Cold War and, as such, remains an iconic memorial to the days prior to the former Soviet Union and the 'Nato'-West abandoning their political differences. The world saw the coming-down of the Berlin Wall in 1989 ending 28 years of division of Berlin.

My Elegy is written to preserve the memory of those days and also to remember the 70 people who lost their lives trying to escape the East for the West - over 100 were wounded attempting flight and more than 3000 arrests took place preventing further 'moonlight-dashes'. The music recalls the shade world of spies and counter-spies as evidenced in the novels of Len Deighton and John le Carre.

-Notes from the composer

Includes score and part