Edgar Varèse: Ionisation (1931) – Scored for thirteen percussionists, Varèse’s masterpiece from 1931, "Ionisation", is more relevant than ever as a work. In it Varèse depicts the urban world by means of forty-three percussion instruments. This is a world that is both highly mechanized and extremely sensuous in terms of the sonorities that it produces. The city appears as a mysterious tissue of sounds, making it impossible to distinguish distant noises from others that are closer to hand. Habitats overlap, and movements acquire greater intensity before drifting away again. Sirens are heard and even the roar of a lion, martial tubular bells and a piano struck with the performer’s lower arms. Th e complex interplay of clashing sounds may recall colliding molecules and suggest what it was that inspired Varèse to give the work its title. John Cage was deeply impressed by "Ionisation", and Wolfgang Rihm’s "Tutuguri" is inconceivable without the example of Varèse.

Simon Limbrick: Machine for Living (2009) – Simon Limbrick’s compositions are all characterized by his own humanist beliefs. He is also convinced that everything that is created by human hand also attests to human nature, no matter how distant or objective one tries to be. In "Machine for Living" the percussion group is divided into three subgroups that take the form of "drum machines" and develop musical textures at three different speeds. The groups gradually move towards each other musically, and at the same time the listener comes to grasp the work’s underlying rhythm. Individual musicians come to the fore and perform freely improvised passages. In the second part of the piece the musicians envelop themselves in an aura of sound, and a clear pulse emerges. In the third section we return to the mood of the opening. This extrovert section leads to a coda. – "Machine for Living" was commissioned by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Music Council with funds provided by the North Rhine-Westphalia Foundation for the Arts.

Eckhard Kopetzki: Marimba Splash. Concertino for Two Marimbas and Four Percussionists (2009) – It was the instruments that gave "Marimba Splash" its name and that define its characteristic sonorities: splash cymbals are small cymbals that sound different depending on how they are struck, while their characteristic sonorities provide the work with its formal basis, namely A–B–A’–B’. The typical sound of a splash cymbal is very short, but it can also continue to reverberate for
longer periods if it is struck in a different way. The many variants between ice bells and tam-tam produce a fascinating range of sounds that create an even more shimmering impression when the instruments are brushed rather than struck. This also explains why Kopetzki has the vibraphone player use a bow instead of mallets. Two marimbas form the other instrumental extreme. In the calmer sections of the score, A and A’, these are played with relative reserve, and the second marimba is even dampened by means of a cloth. The uppermost impression in the listener’s mind is the heterogeneous sound of the metallophones. In the faster parts, B and B’, conversely, the marimbas build up speed to virtuoso effect and eventually take over control. – "Marimba Splash" was commissioned by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Music Council with funds provided by the North Rhine-Westphalia Foundation for the Arts.

Steve Reich: Music for Pieces of Wood (1973) – The pieces of wood of the title are five sets of claves, or tuned hardwood sticks. "Music for Pieces of Wood" is an example of the composer’s minimalist style involving constant repetition of the same musical material, which is slowly changed and subjected to reductive procedures. The claves articulate long sequences of bars that grow shorter over the span of the piece, which begins with a 6/4 time-signature. By the middle section of the work, this is 4/4, and by the end it is 3/4. The shorter the bar, the more often it is repeated. The work is scored for between two and five players, the change in the number of performers active at any one time serving to divide the piece into formal sections. At the same time, however, the metre remains constant, and in its unerring forward momentum the music appears to be part of an endless continuum, an impression due not least to the fact that Reich, in a way that is typical of all minimalist composers, dispenses entirely with anything resembling a memorable melody or motif.

tephan Froleyks: not yet near day (2009) – "not yet near day" is a genuine ensemble piece for seven players, all of whom enjoy equal status within the composition. Each of them performs on seven window boxes arranged in front of him, open towards the side. Each set of boxes produces a seven-note scale. Froleyks sees these as random scales, dependent, as they are, on objets trouvés picked up in the gardening section of a DIY superstore. If the instruments seem slightly out of tune with one another, then this is intentional. The composer’s interest is in the oscillations that arise between almost identical notes, an interest that is influenced by the Javanese gamelan. Froleyks also demands tricky tempo modifications from his players, including different kinds of accelerando and ritardando, sudden shifts of tempo and the occasional introduction of improvisatory passages coinciding with precise instructions for the other players. Why "seven times seven" instruments? In the present case the number seven has no deeper symbolic significance but is merely intended to allow the scale to be arranged symmetrically around a centre that avoids an octave interval. "not yet near day" was commissioned by the NRW State Music Council with funds from the NRW Foundation for the Arts (publisher: Verlag Neue Musik NM 11121).

Christopher Rouse: Bonham, for eight percussionists (1988) – Christopher Rouse studied with George Crumb and is famous for his courage in reconciling the worlds of classical music and rock. For many years he taught the history of rock music at the Eastman School of Music. In his own compositions he uses typical rock rhythms, which are generally centred around percussion instruments. His works for percussion strike a note that concert-goers may often not expect to hear. SPLASH shares Christopher Rouse’s enthusiasm for Led Zeppelin and in particular for the group’s drummer, John Bonham. In 1988 Rouse wrote a tribute to the former cult drummer that is a scintillating display of furious passion and sophistication. With eight percussionists, SPLASH shows how small and unnecessary is the gap between rock and new music.

Robert von Zahn