# Percussion concertos?



## Fredx2098 (Jun 24, 2018)

I love the piece From Me Flows What You Call Time by Tōru Takemitsu. It seems like a concerto for 5 percussionists. Are there any other pieces that are similar? Are there any pre-Modern pieces where percussion has such has such an important and central role?


----------



## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

the only two percussion concertos I know are
Kalevi Aho - Sieidi (Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra)
Einojuhani Rautavaara - Percussion Concerto "Incantations"


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Excluding lots of concertos for tuned percussion (marimba, xylophone etc), we have e.g.

Darius Milhaud - Concerto pour batterie et petit orchestre
Richard Rodney Bennett - Concerto for solo percussion and chamber orchestra
James MacMillan - Percussion concerto "Veni Veni Emmanuel"
John Corigliano - Percussion concerto "Conjurer"

and many others.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Nørgård´s For a Change in the Mortensen recording is my favourite.


----------



## Thomyum2 (Apr 18, 2018)

I'm also a big fan of _From Me Flows What You Call Time_, one of my favorites. For something in a similar kind of mood, if you're not already familiar with Bartók's _Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta _or his _Sonata for two pianos and percussion_, I'd highly recommend exploring those.

A couple more that I also enjoy are:

Michael Daugherty - UFO
Joseph Schwantner - Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra


----------



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Jonathon Harvey wrote a good one - I listened to it again the other day.

Sophia Gubaidulina wrote a few pieces
- Music for Flute, Strings and Percussion (not really solo percussion, though) 
- Glorious Percussion (a percussion concerto)
- Fachwerk (accordion, percussion and strings)
- In Erwatung (saxophone quartet and six percussionists) 

Peter Eotvos wrote Triangel ("Actions for a Creative Percussionist and 27 Musicians")

All the above I play quite often and enjoy. Also, Carl Vine's 5th symphony is essentially a percussion concerto.

There are also a great many pieces for percussionists / percussion ensemble - but you didn't ask about that.


----------



## derin684 (Feb 14, 2018)

Not exactly a percussion concerto but Bartok has a concerto for 2 pianos, percussion and orchestra.


----------



## Ras (Oct 6, 2017)

The July 2018 Gramophone magazine has a cover story about percussion music taking centre stage in contemporary music:

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/introducing-gramophones-july-2018-issue


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Iron Butterfly composed a piece titled "In a Gadda da Vida"; I think it's a percussion concerto, at least in the middle part. 
Then again, I may be thinking of Paul Desmond's composition "Take Five" from Dave Brubeck's album _Time Out_. I get more an more confused nowadays.

Meanwhile I'm going to listen to Charles Wuorinen's "Ringing Changes." I need a change. My ears are ringing (after listening to the two pieces mentioned above).


----------



## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Michael Colgrass (_himself a percussionist_) - Deja Vu for Percussion Quartet & Orchestra
Donald Erb - Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra
William Kraft - (_himself a percussionst_) - Triangles for Percussion Solo and Chamber Orchestra
Toshiro Mayuzumi - Concerto for Percussion and Wind Symphony


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

One of the best is Joseph Schwantner's "Percussion Concerto".


----------



## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

Philip Glass - Fantasia for 2 Timpani and Orchestra.
This is the wonderful 3rd movement:





Also Joe Duddell: Ruby - percussion concerto.






This Evelyn Glennie has some good stuff on it too.

https://www.amazon.com/Rebounds-Con...205503&sr=1-1&keywords=Evelyn+glennie+rosauro


----------



## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

One of my favorites that has not yet been mentioned: David Gillingham:_ Concertino for Four Percussion & Wind Ensemble:

_


----------



## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

SONNET CLV said:


> Iron Butterfly composed a piece titled "In a Gadda da Vida"; I think it's a percussion concerto, at least in the middle part.
> Then again, I may be thinking of Paul Desmond's composition "Take Five" from Dave Brubeck's album _Time Out_. I get more an more confused nowadays.
> 
> Meanwhile I'm going to listen to Charles Wuorinen's "Ringing Changes." I need a change. My ears are ringing (after listening to the two pieces mentioned above).


Re Dave Brubeck, maybe you were thinking of 'Unsquare Dance', with 5-beat clapping?


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Not a concerto but the work which sprung to mind (other than the ones by James MacMillan and Michael Daugherty) was _Pléïades_ by Xenakis, which is for percussionists only.


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I quite like the Geigy Festival Concerto and Les Echanges (Symphonie) on the Naxos disc (catalogue #8.555884) of Rolf Liebermann's music. The Concerto for Jazz Band is really cool, but not strictly something to be recommended here. 

A key work of the shorter type is Ionisation by Varese, and I'll also mention Stockhausen's Zyklus. I would second elgar's ghost Xenakis recommendation. I hardly listen to this sort of avant-garde repertoire any more.

An even more general recommendation is the music of Harry Partch. Extremely rhythmic and percussive, but his works are ritualistic and do not fit into any traditional categories, he was outside of all trends.


----------

