Saxophonist Federico Mondelci commissioned Zahara from Psathas after hearing the composer's saxophone concerto Omnifenix performed in Bologna in 2000.
Zahara is a brilliant score exploring exotic new Psathas sounds in the first movement and giving us the big-band build-up in the last movement that we now expect. The finale is a bacchanalian dance scene – an effective, noisy end to a beautiful new score, superbly played and perceptively conducted.
