BBC4 Young Musician - percussion

[salymap]

I love the story of the conductor who, on climbing up to the percussionist at rehearsal to check something,found he was studying a greenhouse catalogue, coverng his percussion part.

[John Skelton]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKTF0...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igah0...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CT5n...eature=related

[DracoM]

Astonishing Xenakis in first link! Many thanks indeed. Fascinating. Young Perc Musician of the Year - eat your heart out!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It seems the marimba has become the touchstone of percussion. It's a great instrument, but could you enter a competition without being an exponent of it? And was this ever thus?

There seem to be two stages in the history of the "Marimba Coup":
1) In the '70s, Steve Reich's compositions for the superb "keyboard" percussionists in his ensemble.
2) Since c2000, BBC documentary programmes which all include an obligatory sub-Reichian doodling in the background, regardless of the subject matter. 18th Century teapots? Doododiddleiddle, doododiddleiddle. The strange world of Quantum Physics? BiddyBiddypompom, biddybiddypompom. Humpback whales mating? Dom_pedee-bidibby, Dom_pedee-bidibby.
The growth of China as an economic power? Chuggacheegachoogie, chuggacheegachoogie.

[Pabmusic]

Dom_pedee-bidibby, Dom_pedee-bidibby...Chuggacheegachoogie, chuggacheegachoogie.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

yah but have you ever seen jo Jones take the room apart?

[Serial_Apologist]

yah but have you ever seen jo Jones take the room apart?

But Max peed ahead!

(Well, not ahead of Jo Jones, but ahead of all 3 of John Skelton's examples in #12

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

he learned how to do this from Jo J

[Serial_Apologist]

he learned how to do this from Jo J

It's the cymbalism that counts

[Caliban]

It's the cymbalism that counts

*groan*...

The fair-haired Rayner kid for me was the outstanding all-rounder and showed better than the others about how to play in full context with talented others.

I've just caught up with my recording of this, and I completely agree, Draco. I didn't 'buy' at all (in fact, found irritating) the trance-like approach of the girl who won, and found the others tedious - Richard Rayner I found compelling, and the only one who made me want to listen to what he was playing, and regret we couldn't hear more. Really musical, and I thought his totally natural communication of enjoyment, even amusement, at the sounds he was producing, drew one in. I think they missed a trick not putting him through. He's a