# Percussive pieces



## vavaving (Apr 20, 2009)

There are relatively few works for percussion, it seems.


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## bdelykleon (May 21, 2009)

Ionisation.


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## vavaving (Apr 20, 2009)

That's kind of random (sounds more like a warm-up to me). By comparison, I like the Song of Quetzalcoatl, by L. Harrison. Most off-beat pieces baffel me. Especially those which use a lot of silence.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Penderecki third symphony relies heavily on the percussion, even as solo instruments.


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## vavaving (Apr 20, 2009)

I'm thining that it needs more cowbell.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Hahaha

(I hate this character limit)


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## vavaving (Apr 20, 2009)

Great percussion is out there, and its like panning for gold to find it. Most is closer to world music, with some arrangements of classical pieces, and a few chamber works.


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## Guest (Jul 17, 2009)

Take your chance to find young students and graduates of composition - and ask them to write pieces for you!

Very few composers - except those who are financially successful, which is not many! - will refuse a direct request to write a piece, or a suite, or a set of pieces. And then you can play the World Premiere of a piece written for YOU


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

The works of Australian composer *Peter Sculthorpe* have interesting use of percussion, eg. _Sun Music I-IV, Kakadu, Piano Concerto_...


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## Guest (Jul 17, 2009)

vavaving said:


> Great percussion is out there, and its like panning for gold to find it. Most is closer to world music, with some arrangements of classical pieces, and a few chamber works.


Hmmm. I have tons of percussion pieces on CD. None of them were particularly hard to find. Cage, Xenakis, Carter, Katzer, Sandstrom, Cowell, Taira, Knaack, Reich, Norgard, Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, just to name a few composers. Amandina, Kroumata, Strasbourg, Percussion Group The Hague, Safri, So, just to name a few ensembles.

Knaack is a great percussionist/composer, as are Fritz Hauser and Matt Hannafin.

Only a very little of what I have is at all close to "world music," and all of it is original music.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I must also add that a good percussion ensembe here in Australia is *Synergy*. Sculthorpe & other Aussie composers have written much interesting music for them to play...


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