Guest Artist Asya Fateyeva gives passionate saxophone concert at Voxman
The saxophonist performed a wide range of pieces from many different styles and periods in her performance at the Voxman Music Building on Sunday. She was accompanied by fellow artists and teachers.
The Voxman Music Building is seen on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020.
February 8, 2023
The University of Iowa Voxman Concert Hall fell quiet as Asya Fateyeva walked on stage with her saxophone in hand. Everyone waited in anticipation as she prepared her instrument, nodded to the pianist, and started to play.
The UI hosted Fateyeva on Sunday. Her performance featured piano accompaniment by Asiya Korepanova and Casey Dierlam Tse and soprano saxophone accompaniment by Kenneth Tse.
The audience was filled with guests of different backgrounds, from UI students and students from other schools to teachers and fans of Fateyeva. Students Ashley Tyson and Abby Hartlane worked with Dierlam Tse and also attended the performance.
“We are both music education majors, saxophone, so our whole lives have been about music,” Tyson said.
Tyson added that music is a big part of her life, and she was excited to see the performance after Dierlam Tse recommended it to her. Hartlane said before the concert she was looking forward to learning and hearing new pieces on the saxophone. She found it interesting that some of the pieces were original works.
“One of the big things for educators is getting a new range of pieces,” Hartlane said.
The concert showed off Fateyeva’s wide range of skills on the saxophone with both chilling, intense pieces and softer, lighthearted pieces. The concert started with a piece called “Seven Deadly Sins,” which was composed by Thomas Sleeper. In three movements, the dark and compelling piece showcased musical interaction between the piano and the saxophone.
The next piece performed was “Poéme,” composed by Korepanova, with a special focus on how piano and saxophone could be played together to optimize each instrument’s full potential. The piece displayed the range of sounds a saxophone can make and was a deep and compelling piece overall.
After an intermission, Fateyeva and Korepanova returned with “Sonata Op. 11, No. 4,” which was a more uplifting selection than the previous two. The piece had three movements, each making light and airy additions.
Following the sonata, Tse joined on soprano saxophone, and Dierlan Tse joined on piano for “Five Pieces”, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, and “Spreetz for Two Soprano Saxophones and Piano”, composed by Emile Lukas.
Fateyeva started her musical career when she was young and first learned piano until she discovered the saxophone. As a guest professor at the UI, she will take over Tse’s class while he is on sabbatical. She shared that it has been an interesting experience in the class.
“Music is fun; music is emotional,” Fateyeva said. “It is as exciting to listen to music as it is to watch a cinema.”
The spirit of the city is something that Fateyeva likes about Iowa City, but she admitted that she finds Iowa cold. She shared that it has been a dream to be in the music department, and she said the people in the department are amazing.