The Percussion Concerto No. 2 is a

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

for solo percussion and orchestra by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was jointly commissioned by the

Netherlands Radio Philharmonic The Radio Filharmonisch Orkest (''Radio Philharmonic Orchestra''; Dutch abbreviation RFO) is a Dutch radio orchestra, based in Hilversum. The RFO performs under the aegis of the ''Muziekcentrum van de Omroep'' (Broadcasting Music Centre; NMBC), an ...

, the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

, the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the

São Paulo State Symphony SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

. It was first performed on November 7, 2014 at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, the Netherlands, by percussionist Colin Currie and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic under conductor James Gaffigan. The composition is MacMillan's second percussion concerto after 1992's '' Veni, Veni, Emmanuel''.

Composition

The Percussion Concerto No. 2 has a duration of roughly 25 minutes and is composed in one continuous

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

Instrumentation

The concerto is scored for solo percussion and an orchestra comprising two flutes, two oboes (2nd doubling

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

), two

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s (2nd doubling

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is consi ...

, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, two percussionists (

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

, two marimbas, tuned gongs, siren,

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

, suspended sizzle cymbal,

tam-tams The Tam-Tams is the informal name of a weekly free festival around the George-Étienne Cartier Monument in Mount Royal Park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its name imitates the sound of drums and refers to the drum circles that form the focal poi ...

, tubular bells, tom-tom drums,

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

, two suspended cymbals, two triangles, thunder sheet),

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, piano, and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. The soloist's percussion battery consists of crotales, cencerros, aluphone, vibraphone, marimba, steel drum, four

wood block Woodblock or wood block may refer to: * Woodblock (instrument), a percussion musical instrument * Woodblock printing, a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood * Woodblock graffiti * Toy block Toy bloc ...

s, two gliss gongs, eight "assorted pieces of metal", floor tom-toms, high tom-toms, and a pedal bass drum.

Reception

Reviewing the United Kingdom premiere of the Percussion Concert No. 2 with the

, Tim Ashley of '' The Guardian'' lauded the piece and its performer, saying the work "confirms Currie's status as an athlete and a star, as well as an outstanding musician." Richard Fairman of the '' Financial Times'' compared the work to MacMillan's '' Veni, Veni, Emmanuel'', saying, "The new concerto does not have the same bullet-like trajectory as that piece, though it shares a similar high-energy orchestral virtuosity." John Allison of '' The Daily Telegraph'' wrote: Reviewing the United States premiere of the piece at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Georgia Rowe of the '' San Jose Mercury News'' also praised the work, saying it "gave the orchestra a workout." He added, "Cast in a single movement, it's a high-energy work that employs an even larger orchestra than MacMillan's first percussion concerto, ''Veni, Veni Emmanuel''. The writing is distinctive — bows hitting strings, brass blaring, a growling bassoon. Toward the end of the piece, a gentle hymn emerges from the fray."

References

{{James MacMillan Concertos by James MacMillan 2014 compositions MacMillan 2 Music commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music commissioned by the Philharmonia Orchestra

Composition

Instrumentation

Reception

See also

References