Chamber Concerto
for percussion solo and ten winds
1975
17 minutes
Instrumentation: percussion soloist (xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and non-pitched instruments), flute/piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, piccolo trumpet, trumpet, and trombone
Premiere: Larry Snider, percussion soloist
American Composers Ensemble
April 20, 1975
Thomas Siwe, conductor
Movements:
I. Andante con moto
II. Scherzo
III. Adagio
IV. Theme and Variations
[Not available for performance.]
Composer notes: Chamber Concerto challenged the skills of the whole ensemble, but especially the percussion soloist, who had to perform at virtuoso levels on multiple instruments. Much of the time the soloist and ensemble were pitted against each other. The work was rhythmically complex and highly chromatic. Occasional pitch emphasis prevented the work from being completely atonal, but saturated levels of dissonance and chromaticism prevented it from being clearly tonal.
From the distance of a few years I felt little personal connection with this work and decided to withdrawn it.