Historically, the Divertimento was usually written for small groups of instruments (three to ten). I have chosen this title more for its meaning (from the verb divertire: to entertain) than for any historical considerations. It is also probably safe to assume that in writing divertimenti composers meant them to be entertaining for both the performer and the listener. Consequently it was with this thought in mind that I wrote the Divertimento for Alto Saxophone and Piano. After the introduction by the saxophone solo, the piano enters in the first of seven uninterrupted sections. A change in tempo as well as a change in texture distinguish each section. Each of the sections brings out the saxophone’s ability to sound, especially in its lower register, at times brassy and harsh and at others, in its upper register, sweet and more flute-like. The piano, often behaves more like a partner rather than an accompaniment; sometimes helping the saxophone present its ideas and at other times charting a course of its own. Also, the piano defines the various sections with colors from its wide range: the “crystalline” section where the piano plays single lines in its extremely high register; the “barbarous” section where it utilizes accented notes and thick chords in its very low register. Divertimento is written for and dedicated to Ken Radnofsky. Pasquale Tassone