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World Premiere of Joseph Schwantner’s Concerto No. 2

Nov. 01, 2011

World Premiere of Joseph Schwantner’s Concerto No. 2

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hans Graf, premieres Joseph Schwantner's Concerto No. 2 for percussion section, timpani and orchestra. Taking place on November 11 and 12 at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in Indianapolis, the premiere performances feature members of the ISO’s percussion section. The Percussive Arts Society, in town for its 50th annual International Convention, honors Schwantner by hosting a private preview performance with the ISO for its members on November 10. Schwantner remarks:

The incredibly rich, timbral, sonic and articulate universe of percussion continues to nurture and inform the fabric of all of my music. The fast, first movement's (Feroce) large-scale design opens with the four soloists collaboratively playing a series of assertive bass drum and timpani gestures followed by sharp low register orchestral punctuations and rapid, spiky high register phrases in the piccolo and flutes. The slow second movement explores the deep resonant melodic and harmonic sonorities of the marimba. The third movement (con fervore) is fast and engages all of the drums, first as a collective ensemble followed by individual improvised solos. The final section introduces bucket drums in a spirited "give and take" of improvised cadenzas concluding, coda-like, with materials of the first movement.

Veteran ISO percussionist Paul Berns summed up the buzz surrounding the highly-anticipated premiere when he exclaimed, “This will be an epic evening!”

Learn more about the music of Joseph Schwantner at www.schwantner.net and by visiting his Composer Profile.

For more on the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's performances, visit: www.indianapolissymphony.org.

To find out more about the Percussive Arts Society, go to: www.pas.org.

Joseph Schwantner
Concerto No. 2 (2011)
for percussion section, timpani and orchestra
pic.22.ca.2.bcl.1.cbn-4.2.2.btbn.1-timp.3perc(rain stick, cowbell, tam-t, sus cym, bng, b.d, xyl, chimes, bucket drum, waterphone, bell tree, clav, stainless steel metal mixing bowl, Tibetan singer bowl, water triangle, mar, vib)-hp.pno(amplified)-str
30’

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