I’ll disclose right off the bat – I’m not really a big fan of this piece. And I don’t really like percussion concertos. Sorry! I know – I’m supposed to be the number one advocate of percussion pieces. Especially concertos, but I just don’t think that any of the ones I’ve heard so far are really very good pieces of music. Sure the percussion soloist is a cool and different thing for people see in front of an orchestra and “for god’s sake” they’re always in the back doing interesting things, so why not let them play a solo, right?
Don’t get me wrong – I think that percussion is a worthy solo voice! It’s just young – and that’s ok. The fact that percussion is now a standard addition to the Lunaire instrumentation is proof alone that we are going to have stuff to play for a long time. And, almost every composer you can find now has been commissioned by a solo percussionist or percussion ensemble. This is all great. Progress for percussionists is great. But it’s not all roses people!
Higdon, Jennifer: Percussion Concerto
Jennifer Higdon (Marin Alsop)
Track from: Alsop Conducts MacMillan, Adès, & Higdon
[London Philharmonic Orchestra]
This is the official listing in the Grammy book for Category 106. (I cut and pasted it directly from the website.) Oh, by the way – Congrats! You won. Yes, I’m pleased that a percussion concerto won the grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. It’s awesome – and a million of my percussionist friends have spent the last couple of days pointing this out to the world. So, what’s my gripe? It doesn’t credit Colin Currie!!!
I know – the award is for the composition, but if Marin Alsop and the London Philharmonic had played their parts without Colin I don’t think that this piece would have won. Not to mention that Colin commissioned the piece, worked tirelessly with Ms. Higdon on the details, and most importantly – Played it with orchestras all over the freaking place!!! He’s the reason that the piece was written and that it has received so many performances and was even recorded at all. And after all that the piece actually wins a Grammy, and it’s biggest advocate after Higdon herself can’t get any credit for even being on the recording. Somehow I don’t think this would have happened to Emanual Ax or Yo Yo.
So yes it’s great that a percussion concerto won this award, but sorry all of you drummers out there – Until little things like this change we’ve still got a lot of work to do. And yes – A gigantic CONGRATULATIONS to Colin Currie!!
And by the way – I told him that I don’t really like the piece.
CD available here.