On 22 February Vivi Vassileva performed Danny Elfman’s Percussion Concerto with Nürnberger Symphoniker, conducted by Johannes Fritzsch at the Meistersingerhalle. It follows the Bulgarian premiere of the 25-minute piece with the Sofia Philharmonic conducted by Emil Tabakov at the National Palace of Culture, given by Vassileva on 1 January.
The Concerto is cast in four movements - Triangle; D.S.C.H; Down; Syncopated. Its outer parts are imbued with a motoric energy from the get-go, whilst its two inner movements are more laid back, entailing a waltz-like tribute to Shostakovich and the shimmering, atmospheric ‘Down’. In addition to the soloist’s extensive collection of instruments – the score lists 12, including an assortment of pots and pans and a metal ‘gizmo’ – five orchestral percussionists make their own thrilling contributions.
Elfman says of the work,
Percussion has always been an important part of my life. Beginning in my travels though West Africa when I was only 18 years old, when I began collecting and learning to play ‘balafons’ (kind of like the African version of a marimba), through my years of playing in metal-based Indonesian Gamalan ensembles in my twenties, as well as building my own strange metal and wood percussion ensembles in my early theatrical performance years, it has always been a lifelong obsession.
The world premiere recording of the piece from Colin Currie (for whom it was written), JoAnn Falletta and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra was released in 2024, as part of an all-Elfman orchestral portrait on Sony Classical, that also included his orchestral suite Wunderkammer (2020/22), and short choral-orchestral piece Are You Lost? (2023). Since its debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Ludwig Wicki, Currie has performed the work with the Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Greensboro Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and Pacific Symphony Orchestra.
In the outer movements what you might call a maximisation of the minimalistically motoric makes for an infectious confection which keeps Currie on the move. Only the slow movement ‘Down’ seeks out repose as strings take the lead and tuned percussion – like the seductive marimba – lend embellishment and shimmer. I love the spooky John Carpenter-like ending of this movement. Pure Elfman.
Gramophone (Edward Seckerson), June 2024
This is a virtuoso piece which will attract more performances.
Financial Times (Richard Fairman), 23 May 2024