Percussion

2022 American Prize, Composition (Sym. No. 2, Percussion Orchestra)

Grand Prize, 2017 Solo and Chamber Timpanist’s Initiative Competition
Contemporary classical works for Percussion – a collection of modern percussion music and arrangements by composer David Avshalomov, with sound files and scores.

ListenScoreTitleScoringDur.Year
view scoreAllegroglockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, timpani (4-5 pedal)5'1972
Order This»Colorful, rhythmic, motive-rich etude unfolding the potential of the pitched percussion quartet. Varied sonata form in diminished scale, built around opening motives; dance-like B tune in vibraphone. Bouncy changing meters and interweaving scale passages. First Prize, Aspen Festival Composition Competition 1972.Notes»
view scoreChiaroscuroglockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, timpani (4-5 pedal)5'1958/63
Order This»Ringing monothematic etude in whole-tone scale, moderate speed; fugal middle.Notes»
(ed. score)view scoreConcerto con Timpani (Battaglia)timpani soli (6-7), strings, harpsichord continuo14'1992
Order This»Concerto, early 18th-century concertato style. May use hand-tuned drums. Fun to play and hear. Score is style-edited, with Baroque performance guidelines. (Written under the nom de plume G. F. Salomon)Notes»
I. Intrada, Grave/ Allegro3'40
Ouverture (slow/fast/slow). Regal fanfare start/end. Rhythmic passages alternating between showy, busy soloist and ripieno, flashy drumming near the end.
II. Largo sostenuto5'35
Slow, elegant, affect of mourning.
III. Presto3'40
Rattling fast movement with longer solo passages, flashy wrap-up, echo ending.
view scoreDiversionviolin, 5 pedal timpani5'1966
Order This»Grand Prize, 2017 Solo and Chamber Timpanist's Initiative's Competition
Dancy etude in repeating polymeters that unfolds from a bouncing, rhythmic motif. Simple, tonal, and popular. ABA form; lyrical middle with drums on the melody; brash ending. Written for my Harvard senior recital.
See on YouTube
Notes»

Composer Talk
view scoreDrum Row5-8 unpitched percussion2'1980
Order This»Final variation from Lifeboat Variations. Rhythmic chain of micro-variations on the pitch shape of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," showing off the non-pitched percussion. Smash ending. Finalist, Korg contest 1989.
view scoreGlockenspiel MarchBand w/solo glockenspiel (or bell lyra) section (3)2'202002
Order This»Sprightly, simple, honest, fun, old-fashioned gazebo novelty march. Big start, contrasts of choirs, soft-shoe sandpaper break, reprise given to the 3 glockenspiels (or bell lyras). Playfully pompous "I Love Lucy/Til Eulenspiegel" ending.Notes»
(piano/vocal score)view piano/vocal scorePRINCIPLES (mixed chorus, piano/6-7 percussion)SSAATTBB, Bar. Solo32'1993-4/rev. 2022
Order This»
(full score)
view full scoreSame mixed chorus parts as the revised orchestral version, but with piano and percussion onlyLyrics»
view scoreNEW Symphony No. 2 "Lost Year (2020)"Large percussion ensemble31'2021
Order This»2022 American Prize, Composition (3rd Place). A full-strength symphony, my most ambitious work so far for percussion. Reflective of our times. Commissioned by consortium of US concert bands and percussion ensembles.FULL FORM PROGRAM NOTEShort Note
1. Masked Dirge (For the Victims of Plague)5'20
A slow, grim, lyrical ceremonial for a mass burial using diminished-scale monody over a low pedal tone for the start and end, with high bell punctuations. The middle a buildup to a big peroration tune with softer repeats. The reprise ending unresolved.
2. Interrupting Cow (Rondo Variations)5'
A jumpy, rhythmic attempt to release the incredible tensions of our lives in the past few years. Playful–but dark. Polymeters permeate it. Dancy happy music bursts forth but ends. Each time the downward-leaping rondo theme returns it is varied, once in the non-pitched percussion. The ending is a co(s)mic prank.
3. Farewells (Portraits)10'
A slow walking gallery tour through musical portraits of individuals lost to the Great Plague of 2020, as lyrical extended solos in marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, piano, and ringing metal keyboards, ending with a big, heartfelt harmonized tutti cadence. Accompaniments include “effects” (bowed crotale, cymbal, and tamtam, wind machine). To start and end, a quiet, mournful chorale in marimbas.
4. (I want you to) PANIC10'30
Music to express–but not purge–the stresses of living in a world gone nearly mad, with a call to action around climate change. A rhythmic multi-themed bent sonata form with interruptions, changes of mood, many new melodies, and urgent tutti warning outbursts. The mad, driven extended coda builds up overpowering manic energy. (Dedicated to Greta Thunberg.)
view scoreTemple Goddess (Angkor Wat)5-6 percussion: glockenspiel, xylophone, marimba, optional vibraphone, 2 tam tams (flat), timpani (4)1'1994
Order This»Quick Asian-flavor prelude, gongs/timpani ostinato with busy unison pentatonic melody in all mallets, speeding up to bright ending.Notes»

 

 

 

 

PERCUSSION TRANSCRIPTIONS

ListenScoreComposerTitleScoringDur.Order
view scoreSchumannProphet Bird 5 pitched percussion (glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, timpani; optional chime)3'Order This»
view scoreBachSinfonia, Cantata 29marimba (or xylophone) solo (or duet) with concert band3'15Order This»
DebussyFeu d'artifice10-12 percussion, mostly pitched5'15Order This»
view scoreDebussyNEW La Cathedrale Engloutie12-13 percussion, mostly pitched5'20Order This»
BartokGrasshopper's Wedding6 percussion1'45Order This»
BartokSong of the Feast5 percussion1'Order This»
BartokBear Dance6 percussion1'45Order This»
view scoreBartokInterrupted Melody (Mikrokosmos 83)5 percussion1'Order This»
BartokNotturno (Mikrokosmos 97)vibraphone (or marimba), timpani1'45Order This»
view scoreBartokMelody in the Mist (Mikrokosmos 107)5 percussion1'Order This»
view scoreBartokFrom the Island of Bali (Mikrokosmos 109)5 percussion2'Order This»
view scoreBartokClashing Sounds (Mikrokosmos 110)vibraphone, marimba1'Order This»
view scoreBartokVariations on a Folk Tune (Mikrokosmos 112)5 percussion1'Order This»
view scoreBartokBulgarian Rhythm (Mikrokosmos 113)6-8 percussion1'Order This»
view scoreBartokTriplets in 9/8 (Mikrokosmos 118)vibraphone, marimba1'Order This»
view scoreBartokFifth Chords (Mikrokosmos 120)5 percussion1'Order This»

BartokStaccato (Mikrokosmos 124)timpani, vibraphone, marimba1'15Order This»
BartokBoating (Mikrokosmos 125)timpani, vibraphone, marimba1'25Order This»
BartokTime Change (Mikrokosmos 126)6 percussion1'Order This»
BartokAlternating 3rds (Mikrokosmos 129)5 percussion1'Order This»
BartokUnison (Mikrokosmos 137)6 percussion1'25Order This»
BartokBagpipe (Mikrokosmos 138)6 percussion1'20Order This»
BartokMerry Andrew (Mikrokosmos 139)vibraphone, marimba1'Order This»
Bartok2nds & 7ths (Mikrokosmos 144)6 percussion4'Order This»
BartokOstinato (Mikrokosmos 146)6 percussion2'15Order This»
BartokBulgarian Rhythm 1 (Mikrokosmos 148)6 percussion1'45Order This»
BartokBulgarian Rhythm 6 (Mikrokosmos 153)6 percussion2'Order This»
view scoreSchoenbergOp. 19 no. 14-5 percussion0'45Order This»
view scoreSchoenbergOp. 19 no. 24-5 percussion0'46Order This»
view scoreSchoenbergOp. 19 no. 44 percussion0'30Order This»
view scoreSchoenbergOp. 19 no. 54 percussion0'20Order This»