Word: marimbas
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...Marimba Madness...
Sunday afternoon, percussion virtuoso Evelyn Glennie returned to Jordan Hall for another Celebrity Series engagement. My seatmate, a percussionist herself, remarked that the concert program showed just how successful Glennie has been as a missionary for her art. Five years ago, Glennie would likely have played only the marimba in such a setting, but thanks to her growing popularity, she has been able to expand her solo repertoire to include more drum-based literature." It was truly a percussion recital as opposed to a marimba recital. This specialized repertoire develops in tandem with commissions from contemporary composers, many of whom...
...allusions to the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies and the Brahms Hungarian Dances, all poured into the formal mold or a concerto movement. Glennie's arrangement of a Kevin Volans piece, "She who sleeps with a small blanket," is, in her own word, "disconcerting," scored for bongos, congas, bass drum, and marimba. Whoever "She" is, she has nightmares. The concert continued with a virtuoso marimba solo, "Velocities" by Joseph Schwantner. Schwantner, a composer-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, has undoubtedly made a fine contribution to the contemporary marimba literature with this visionary piece, which used...
...last item on the program, Stewart Wallace's "The Cheese and the Worms," combined a Parmenidean theory of creation with a raucous bagpipe solo to strange effect--apocalyptic even--(thoughperhaps I am thinking ahead to Commencement morning). All in all, her solo or accompanied marimba performances left a better impression than the drum pieces, which made Glennie's two encores especially welcome...
DIED. RED NORVO, 91, jazz's original mallet virtuoso (vibraphone, xylophone and marimba); in Santa Monica, Calif. Born Kenneth Norville, he changed his name after an emcee mispronounced it. A masterly improviser known for moody, delicate arrangements, Norvo led several experimental--and highly respected--drummerless jazz bands. He also worked with Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra...