Word: timpanists
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...experiencing the very act of dying. The slowness of this page is terrifying.” As the final notes died out, an interval of silent, respectful awe finally gave way to a thundering standing ovation for Ozawa. A humble and diminutive man, he repeatedly acknowledged BSO timpanist Vic Firth, who is retiring this season after 50 years with the orchestra...
However, despite a historical background of blustering and banging, the modern timpani is an intensely subtle instrument. Depending on the music being played, a timpanist will use from two to five drums, each a different size and in a different register. Each individual timpani can be tuned up or down during the actual performance, so the percussionist actually has a significant melodic range. Formerly, this tuning was done by carefully twisting the screws holding down the drumhead but most timpanis today are constructed to be tuned with a pedal. This is quicker and allows one to tune two timpanis...
...first movement has a dramatic trumpet entrance, and is followed throughout the section with dark urgency. The BSO conveyed these emotions ably, exhibiting an impressive dynamic range. In particular, the timpanist threw his energy into the unusual parts scored for him, and successfully conveyed the excitement of the work...
Part I of the Oratorio was suffused with the joy of the Christmas festival. The opening chours exploded with, if anything, too much enthusiasm on the part of the timpanist. An initial nervousness was painfully noticeable in the faulty pitch of the above accompanying the first alto recitative. They recouped somewhat in the first chorale when the double-reed timbre out through the vocal sound easily and expressively...
When it comes to his fellow players, Goodman tends to respect those with the most difficult jobs, starting with his own. "A timpanist is the only one who is always alone." He concedes that the horn is even more difficult than the timpani. "I have never known a French-horn player who was a bad person. He may drink, yes, but he is never bad." Violinists, on the other hand, are "pinheaded, often buffoons and clowns"; cellists are "fanatic about their instruments"; oboists are "arrogant...