(1912 - 1983)
Igor Markevitch was a composer and conductor whose highly original works are being rediscovered through new recordings. He studied piano with Alfred Cortot and composition with Nadia Boulanger. At the age of 16 was commissioned by Diaghilev to write a Piano Concerto, premiered at Covent Garden. Markevitch's radical scores include Cantate to texts by Cocteau, the Ramuz collaboration La Taille de l'Homme and the ballet score L'Envol d'Icare featuring quartertones. His love of mechanistic musical processes foreshadows minimalism. Rhythmic energy and a sense of orchestral colour make his works highly suitable for choreography but in the 1940s, with the old world swept away by war, he turned away from composition to focus on conducting. Markevitch had permanent appointments in Stockholm, Paris, Montreal, Madrid, Monte Carlo and Rome. In the last years before his death he turned his baton towards his own works.
Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Cantate
Timpani + 1 percussion
Tenor drum, snare drum, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals
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Cantique d'amour
Timpani + 3 percussion
1) Piccolo snare drum without snares, snare drum without snares, orchestral bass drum, 2) triangle, suspended cymbal, tam tam, 3) glockenspiel, vibraphone
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Cinema-Ouverture
No Timpani + 4 percussion
Electric klaxon, tambour, suspended cymbal, clash cymbals, car horn, orchestral bass drum, electric siren, whistle, timbales, cimbalom
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Concerto Grosso
Timpani + 4 percussion
Clash cymbals, triangle, snare drum, orchestral bass drum
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Hymnes
Timpani + 2 percussion
Snare drum, tambourine, orchestral bass drum, triangle, clash cymbals
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Icare
Timpani + 4 percussion
Tambourine, snare drum without snares, snare drum without snares, orchestral bass drum, triangle, suspended cymbal, tam tam, xylophone, glockenspiel
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Icarus
No Timpani + 3 percussion (1 doubling timpani)
1) 3 timpani, orchestral bass drum, suspended cymbal, tambour militaire, tenor drum, tambour, triangle, caisse claire, large suspended cymbal, 2) glockenspiel, orchestral bass drum, 1 octave crotales, bass bow, tenor drum, triangle, xylophone, caisse claire, tambour militaire, 3) caisse claire, tambour, triangle, orchestral bass drum, tambour militaire, suspended cymbal, tenor drum, small tam tam
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L' Envol d'Icare
Timpani + 4 percussion
1) Snare drum without snares, tambour provencale, 2) triangle, suspended cymbal, tam tam, 3) snare drum, orchestral bass drum, tenor drum, 4) xylophone, glockenspiel
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Le Nouvel Age
Timpani + 3 percussion
Snare drum without snares, orchestral bass drum, triangle, suspended cymbal, clash cymbals, tam tam, glockenspiel, xylophone
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Le Paradis perdu
Timpani + 4 percussion
1) triangle, antique cymbal, suspended cymbal, tam tam, 2) tambourine, snare drum without snares, 3) snare drum, tambour provencale, orchestral bass drum, 4) xylophone, glockenspiel
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Lorenzo il magnifico
Timpani + 2 percussion
1) Tambourine, snare drum without snares, orchestral bass drum, 2) triangle, suspended cymbal tam tam
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Petite Suite d'apres Schumann
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Timpani, snare drum without snares, triangle, orchestral bass drum with cymbals attached
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Piano Concerto
Timpani + 1 percussion
Clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, snare drum, orchestral bass drum
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Psaume-Tehillim
Timpani + 4 percussion
1) triangle, clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, tam tam, 2) snare drum without snares 3) tambour provencale, tabor, orchestral bass drum, 4) xylophone, glockenspiel
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Rebus
Timpani + 1 percussion
Triangle, tambourine without jingles, snare drum without snares, military snare drum, orchestral bass drum, suspended cymbal, clash cymbals
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Sinfonietta in F
Timpani + 1 percussion
Clash cymbals, orchestral bass drum, snare drum, snare drum without snares, military drum
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