Czardas - Alto Sax and Piano

The origin of the Csardas can be traced back to the 18th century Hungarian verbunkos, used as a recruiting dance by the Hungarian army. Many composers throughout history have used csardas themes in their works including Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Pablo de Sarasate, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and others. One of the best known is the virtuoso violin solo composed in 1904 by Vittorio Monti (1868-1922).

The music has been adapted for several other instruments including winds, strings, piano and accordion. This edition has been arranged by John Anderson for solo alto saxophone with piano accompaniment. The solo saxophone part is meant to be double-tongued but the articulated passages are also very successful if slurred. An (optional) altissimo section is found in the middle of the movement. An arrangement of the accompaniment for wind ensemble is also available.