DESCRIPTION:
Performed by the Eastman Percussion Ensemble, Michael Burritt Director.

Kyoto (2011) for percussion quintet by John Psathas

A departure from my earlier aggressive, percussion works such as Drum Dances and Matre’s Dance, Kyoto is similar in its supple complexity to my marimba concerto Djinn, and One Study One Summary. A constant but shifting pulse sustains a quiet but intense momentum, with brief moments of silence giving way to jazz-inspired harmonic shifts. Two states alternate in this piece — the rhythmically driven melodic lines, and the arpeggios heard in the vibraphone — before coming together at the climax of the piece.

The title of the work refers to a 1976 improvisation by pianist Keith Jarrett which was recorded in Kyoto. This improvisation of Jarrett’s is, more than anything, the piece that woke the composer in me, and set me on this journey of creating my own music for others.

Kyoto was commissioned by the Ju Percussion Group, for the Taipei International Percussion Convention, and premiered by them in Taipei on 20 May 20 2011. It is dedicated to the Ju Percussion Group on its 25th anniversary.

Instrumentation
Players 1&2: 5 octave marimba (shared), or 2 marimbas
Player 3: vibraphone
Player 4: toms, suspended cymbal, triangle
Player. 5: vibraphone, glockenspiel, triangle

Score: http://www.prometheaneditions.com/php/WorkDetail.php?WorkID=446&Composer=John%20Psathas&ComposerID=10
Recording: soon to be available on Naxos, featuring Pedro Carneiro

More Works by John: http://bit.ly/2CPAbu1

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