“Last Flight of Saint-Ex” inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Thursday 29 May 2025 – 1230pm
Sydney Conservatorium Saxophone Orchestra
Director: Dr Michael Duke
Last Flight of Saint-Ex by Katia Beaugeais
Sax Orchestra version
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Verbrugghen Hall
Sydney
Click here to WATCH the World Premiere at the Croatian National Theatre, in Zagreb.
Buy Sheet Music:
https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/work/beaugeais-katia-last-flight-of-saint-ex
This piece is also available for Saxophone quartet or Clarinet, cello, piano.
Official Concert Program Note – Free to use for Concert Programs
Last Flight of Saint-Ex for saxophone ensemble was premiered at the 2018 World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia, by the Australasian Saxophone Orchestra.
Last Flight of Saint-Ex was originally composed for oboe and string quartet for a performance by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellowship players. This recomposed version for saxophone ensemble is a new work of its own, showcasing the virtuosic tonal possibilities that saxophones can create.
Last Flight of Saint-Ex is inspired by the famous French writer and pilot, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944), also known as Saint-Ex – author of the international bestseller Le Petit Prince – whose plane was likely shot down by a young German pilot in 1944 in the South of France. In 2004, the wreckage of a plane was pulled from the Mediterranean near the southern French city of Marseille and identified as Saint-Exupéry’s. Though evidence indicates that he had likely been shot down, the true cause of his death remains unknown.
A fast, pulsating, rhythmic style governs this piece. A feeling of urgency and unrest is created by complex syncopated rhythms, irregular metres and erratic dynamic changes, exploring the technical capabilities of the four soloists and whole ensemble.
In the slow middle section, a feeling of sadness, pathos and grief is conveyed by a haunting baritone saxophone solo. Slap-tongue motivic figures and thick rippling trill and chordal textural sound mass effects build to a loud and dramatic climax.
Last Flight of Saint-Ex includes contemporary playing techniques. However, if the saxophonists cannot slap-tongue or flutter-tongue, players can perform without the extended techniques.
© 2018 by Katia Beaugeais
