Robert Saxton (b.1953)
Autograph manuscript signed ('Robert Saxton'), manuscript and sketches for 'Song without words for B flat clarinet and piano', 2004
A 'Song without words' by a composer noted for his exploration of mathematical principles in music.

Fair copy in pencil, three pages, 297 x 210mm, on three systems of three staves, 12-stave paper roughly removed from a spiral-bound pad (blank staves covered with paper slips or correction fluid); sketches in black, red and green ink and pencil on 8 pages, 440 x 297mm (some in landscape orientation). Blue cloth portfolio.

Provenance:
(1) Sotheby's, 1 December 2010, part of lot 110.

(2) Schøyen Collection, MS 5477/2.

Robert Saxton's compositions have been noted for their 'considerable technique and ... compelling melody (though not always in the conventional sense)' (The Observer), for his influences drawn from his Jewish roots and for his interest in the intersection between mathematics and music.