Scott Weatherson, a former student of the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music, has researched why European timpanists use the instruments they do, which factors influenced their choice of instrument, mallets and skins etc. To that end, he compiled a questionnaire and sent it to 13 European timpanists.
The result is a comprehensive description of the timpani, timpani mechanics, its history; the quotes by the actual players give a nice insight not only in their musical expertise, but also in their personalities; as Michael Vladar shows when he comments on playing pieces that were written with pedal timpani in mind on machine timpani:
I play the Concerto for Orchestra of Bartók on them : I must pay then a percussionist an eighth of wine, so that he turns the handle for me during glissandi. Otherwise one can play everything on them.
0 reacties:
Post a Comment