Joseph Schwantner

Concerto

Subtitle	for percussion and orchestra
Year(s) composed	1994/1997
Publisher	Schott Music
Instrumentation	transcribed for wind ensemble by Andrew Boysen Jr. (1997)
Duration	30'
Movements	I. Con forza II. 'In Memoriam': Misterioso III. Ritmico con moto (with restrained energy) con forza
Premiere	Original version premiere: January 6, 1995; New York, NY, Avery Fisher Hall (USA) · Christopher Lamb, percussion · Conductor: Leonard Slatkin · New York Philharmonic
Commission	Commissioned by the Philharmonic–Symphony Society of New York for its 150th Anniversary, with funding support by AT&T
Composer note	One of the most performed works by a living American composer in the classical music repertoire, Joseph Schwantner’s Concerto, for percussion and orchestra, was written for the New York Philharmonic’s principal percussionist Christopher Lamb and for the occasion of the orchestra’s 150th anniversary. Cast in three movement arch form, the concerto employs a good deal of improvisation on the part of the soloist and is a tour de force of virtuosity within a framework of wide ranging musical idioms and moods.