In this KGNU interview, Sanford Baran speaks with acclaimed composer Joan Tower and saxophonist Steven Banks about their collaboration on Love Returns, a new saxophone concerto premiering at the 2025 Colorado Music Festival. Inspired by the loss of Tower’s husband, the piece evolved from her earlier work Love Letter and marks a more emotionally open chapter in her music. Tower and Banks discuss their close working relationship, made possible by conductor Peter Oundjian, and how their shared experience as performers shaped the concerto’s development. Banks hopes the work will expand opportunities for classical saxophonists, while Tower emphasizes the importance of flexibility and collaboration in bringing new music to life. The premiere promises to be a powerful highlight of this year’s festival.
Sanford: I’m thrilled to be joined today by two extraordinary artists who are making history together at this summer’s Colorado Music Festival. With me are composer Joan Tower, whose groundbreaking work has earned her three Grammy Awards and the distinction of being the first woman to win the prestigious Grawemeyer Award, and saxophonist Steven Banks, the first saxophonist ever to win first prize at the Young Concert Artists International auditions and recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant. They’re collaborating on the world premiere of Joan’s Saxophone Concerto, “Love Returns,” at the Colorado Music Festival in July, under the baton of music director Peter Oundjian. Welcome, you two.
Steven and Joan: Thank you. Thank you.
Sanford: How did this collaboration begin? How did you two find each other?
Steven: Peter is a friend of both of ours, and I think he had the brilliant idea to connect us. When he brought that up to me, I was like, are you serious? Because I’m such a fan of Joan’s work. He was the mastermind behind it.
Joan: You’re absolutely right. Peter knows how to find performers and composers and put them together. Which most conductors, I don’t know any conductor who’s done that before, actually with me anyways. And he was the one who suggested you to me. And I was like, really? And I had gotten to know the saxophone through two other pieces that I wrote for saxophone. And I just thought this is great. This is a great challenge for me. So it was very exciting.
Sanford: What’s it actually like to work together on bringing a brand new concerto to life?
Steven: Well, for me this has been a unique experience in that I don’t think I’ve ever played a concerto with the composer at the piano before. We got together a few months ago and there was already a piano version of the piece. And to get to play it with Joan was really exciting. And now, in a way, I’d say mentally it’s maybe the most prepared that I’ve been for a new piece, just because the music itself has actually existed for quite some time. It’s really cool to feel like, okay, I have an idea of what the essence of the music is before going in. It’s not just showing up and being like, oh, I wonder what this sounds like.
Joan: Well, I was a performer for many years, and I’m very empathetic to the fact of time with a new piece. So I’m usually early with my pieces. And with a concerto, I do the reduction first, and then I orchestrate it. So I can play the accompaniment myself, usually. So having that ready for you, I’m glad it worked out because I think players need time. They need, especially with new pieces, they need time to kind of digest them and live with them a little bit.
Sanford: What makes this kind of close collaboration so important for both composer and performer?
Joan: I’m extremely, as a former performer, very much in tune with what performers can do or can’t do or need to change. So for me, working with the player ahead of time, way ahead of time, not just three days before the concert, is super important because I can make changes. And when Steven and I worked together, there were some things that were just awkward and we had to change them. I just didn’t know that you couldn’t trill up there on the saxophone. It was the wrong register. So I don’t think that every composer knows everything about every instrument. So working with that instrument is important to me ahead of time, so that I can figure it out, not during the concert.
Steven: As a performer, part of the reason I started composing was because I wanted to have my own things to say sometimes. But the meaning of that is so that when I play other people’s music, I can really try to tap into what is it that they’re trying to say and not feel like I’m trying to put my own words in their mouth, basically. And so, to me, it’s really helpful just to hear what the intention is from the person who made it. That was the cool thing about playing together – certain things that I’m like, oh, well, maybe it goes like this, and then Joan can play it and be like, well, this is how it goes. And then I’m like, oh, okay, yes, I’ve got it. So that’s very exciting to me because I think it’s more than just learning the notes, but really trying to inhabit another mind and peek into a new universe.
Joan: The fact that you compose is extraordinarily important. And the fact that I play is important, too, because it’s putting us on the other side of the page to make us actually much more empathetic to those activities. Because you don’t view the page as a done deal. As a composer, you know that that page is very flexible and can change. You’re not treating it as some kind of Bible, which a lot of players do. And conductors, oh my God, if you ask them to change something, they have an epileptic fit. Not Peter. Peter’s very flexible because he’s a player and he’s been in a quartet, so he knows how flexible that page is.
Sanford: The title “Love Returns” is quite evocative. What emotional territory are you exploring in this new work?
Joan: Okay, this is a hard question for me, but I’m finally facing it. My husband of 50 years died two years ago. And I wrote a simple little piano piece called “Love Letter.” And it’s a very personal, different kind of piece for me. And people loved it. The piece before that was “A New Day,” the cello concerto, which was also expressing the fact that I treasured every day my husband was alive, because he was dying. And then came the “Love Letter,” and the saxophone concerto is a variation form of that “Love Letter.” So at the end of every section, this rising fifth, sometimes fifth, sometimes fourth, ends the section. So that’s the return to me. It’s kind of a love return theme. So that’s why I called it that. And it’s basically based on the piece I wrote for him called “Love Letter.” It’s wonderful therapy. But it’s turned into three very different pieces for me. They’re emotional pieces, they’re more exposed from my previous style. It really has affected my style.
Sanford: Steven, what drew you to the saxophone originally?
Steven: Well, as a kid in middle school, I wanted to play the saxophone for very silly reasons. It was just really cool looking, you know, shiny. And I really liked the kinds of music that it was associated with, like gospel music and spirituals. But I feel like I had sort of a second awakening with the saxophone when I started studying with my teacher, Tamar Sullivan. That I sort of fell in love with a different aspect of the saxophone, and it was more so the lyrical capabilities that it has. When it’s played in the classical context, it can really sound like it has the power of an opera singer, but also the sort of dexterity of the woodwinds and can make brass-like sounds. And so I feel like there’s such a range of expression that is actually pretty much unlike any other instrument, and I think that a lot of that hasn’t been tapped quite yet.
Sanford: For many people, there’s a concept of what a saxophone sounds like – usually jazz or R&B. But the classical saxophone sound is very different.
Steven: Totally. There are technical things that are very different. Some people literally have a classical instrument and a jazz instrument. The mouthpieces that we use have completely different dimensions inside, different reeds, ligatures, the embouchure or how we form our lips around the mouthpiece is completely different. But I also just think that the state of mind is very different. The way you’re trying to express yourself is super different. And another layer is that the saxophone is a family. I think a lot of people forget that it’s a family of instruments too. So I feel like a completely different person when I’m playing the baritone saxophone versus playing the soprano. One, I’m like a cello impersonator, and the other one, I’m like a dainty flutist. So you kind of have to be an actor too.
Sanford: Looking at the bigger picture, what do you hope “Love Returns” will contribute to the saxophone repertoire and contemporary classical music?
Joan: Well, that’s a hard question. That’s a legacy question. Well, you hope that people respond to it, the players in the orchestra and the conductors, and all the people that make things happen. You hope that it has some legs. And that’s my wish. I always hope that, particularly for the saxophone. I hope it has some legs, that it becomes something that maybe people want to play. I mean, it’s a humble wish.
Steven: Yeah, I think my goals are the same, honestly, because the entire mission of my career is to leave behind repertoire that people can use to have careers playing music. I’ll never forget, I taught at Ithaca College for a few years, and I was sitting in auditions with my predecessor. A student came in and said they wanted to be a performance major, played very well. And he said, “Perform where?” And I saw the light leave that student’s eyes at that exact moment. And so a big part of what I want to do with this piece and all these pieces is allow there to be an answer for that kid who loves music and wants to play. So I view every new piece that’s written for me as standard repertoire already. Because I feel like if I can treat it that way and put it out into the world that way, then maybe they’ll believe it.
Sanford: What’s it going to be like when you get to Boulder and work with Peter and the orchestra?
Joan: To me, this is the most luxurious situation for a premiere. I’ll tell you why. First of all, you have a conductor who is not watching the clock. With the premiere of my cello concerto, he was just so composer-like. He would say, well, you know, maybe the strings sound better here off the string than on the string. You want to hear it? So he’d play it and give me a choice. And the tempo here, maybe this is a little too slow for the drama you want. Can I try it faster? I mean, he’s got great instincts, Peter, but he’s willing to work with you. Number two, I have this fantastic soloist who I’ve already worked with. There’s a third component – I have my copyist who’s going to be there, and he’s going to make changes on the spot. So this is the most luxurious premiere situation I can ask for. It’s just beautiful.
Steven: I agree with all those things. I would say one thing that is a challenge, actually, that I’m a little worried about is the altitude. Because it’s not only the breathing aspect, but also reeds are very different in high altitudes. So I’m, of course, looking forward to everything. But the reeds are sometimes a little scary when you come up to Boulder.
Joan: I’m sorry to hear that. I’m going to call Peter as soon as we hang up and see if we can move it to Denver.
Sanford: Joan and Steven, thank you so much for this fascinating conversation. We can’t wait to hear the magic you’ll create together when “Love Returns” has its world premiere at the Colorado Music Festival this July. This is a chance to witness musical history in the making. The Colorado Music Festival runs July 3rd through August 3rd at the historic Chautauqua Auditorium in Boulder. Thank you both so much.
Joan and Steven: Thank you so much for having us.
Sanford: This is Sanford Baran for KGNU
