Jess Gillam and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales performed Sir Karl’s Stravaganza at the BBC Proms, with conductor Nil Venditti at the helm. The performance, given at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the venue where Sir Karl begun his 80th Birthday tour earlier in the year, started with saxophonist Jess Gillam off-stage “in the distance”, gradually emerging as the opening riff developed.

Stravaganza, which means ‘eccentric’ in Italian, explores themes of carnival and extravagant fantasy and was written especially for Jess, inspired by her experience of first trying a saxophone at a carnival centre in her native Cumbria. The four-movement work blends Jenkins’s backgrounds in jazz and classical music, and features some truly virtuosic moments for the soprano saxophone, played here by Jess with her trademark skill and expressiveness.

Sir Karl says: “The inspiration for Stravaganza is that Jess first played a saxophone and found her musical home in a carnival centre, having first tried the stilts and then the drums. The work is in four movements, and a certain eccentricity or quirkiness pervades throughout. In many ways it is programmatic, but the listener may create her or his eccentric fantasies. To my delight, Jess chose the soprano saxophone (the highest in pitch of those in common use) for this particular ‘parade’. It has been wonderful to work with Jess on this over the last few years and to see her bring this concerto to life.”

Stravaganza was paired with works by Grace Williams and Louise Farrenc, as well as a lively rendition of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.

Photograph: Boosey & Hawkes