For solo percussionist Colin Currie, the support of the right orchestra for his talents is musical perfection — one beat after the other.
“There are some wonderful new pieces coming into the [percussion] repertoire, and this work by Jennifer Higdon is a celebration of that,” he said of Higdon’s “Percussion Concerto,” a piece written in 2005 exclusively for Currie, and one he will reprise with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore on Thursday.
“I have a great relationship with the BSO,” the Scottish musician continued. “They have such a strong tradition of supporting new music and I love performing with them.”
| Onstage |
| Colin Currie |
| » Where: Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| » When: 8 p.m. Thursday |
| » Info: $33 to $93; 410-783-8000; bsomusic.org |
And so, the stage is sent for Currie’s musical stylings — times 30, since that is the approximate number of instruments he will use onstage throughout the course of the concerto. Other pieces in his musical toolbox include bass drum, bongos, brake drum, castanets, claves, cowbell, crotales, cymbal, gong, vibraphone, temple blocks, timbales, tom-toms, wood blocks and the marimba, which is one of Currie’s favorite instruments.
“The piece starts with me playing the marimba, which is the largest of the tuned instruments,” Currie explained. “It has a big range — five octaves — and it functions a bit like a piano [with] a keyboard, and it makes this beautiful, sonorous wooden sound.”
In order to move freely from one instrument to the other, Currie wears sneakers for the performance, which has composer Higdon quipping, “It’s a little bit like an Olympic event. I always tease him and say Colin deserves a gold medal for making it through all of the parts.”
Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” another heavily percussive composition, has also earned a place on the evening’s program, conducted by BSO Music Director Marin Alsop. Having received its premier in March 1943 around tax time, and with America 15 months into World War II, Copland noted, “I am all for honoring the common man at tax time.”
Inspired by Copland’s fanfare, composer Joan Towers wrote her own piece, “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman,” in 1986. Her composition will also be performed tonight, with Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony closing the program.
