What are percussion\u2019s most exciting and precarious orchestral moments? Amanda Holloway talks to ten players about the bars that get their hearts pumping <\/p>
M<\/span>emorable moments for orchestral instruments such as violins or trumpets are ten a penny. Yet the percussion section, that varied and virtuoso group of musicians occupying the back rows of a symphony orchestra, is often relegated by composers to a much more s<\/span>upporting role. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The odd timpani bash, for instance, or the shake of a tambourine. But you don\u2019t have to delve far to discover that this assortment of instruments, from the booming bass drum to the tinkling triangle, has been assigned some of the most stirring and heart-stopping moments in all classical music. <\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve put together a list of percussion\u2019s greatest passages \u2013 long and spectacularly short \u2013 and asked ten leading orchestral percussion and timpani players what it\u2019s like to play them. Of course, our list isn\u2019t comprehensive \u2013 we could have included anything by Prokofiev<\/a><\/strong>, for instance, Wagner<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s clanking Ring<\/i> cycle<\/a><\/strong> anvils, the thunderous timpani in Also sprach Zarathustra<\/i> or even Var\u00e8se\u2019s astonishing piece for percussion alone, Ionisation<\/i>; even, perhaps, the hushed opening of Beethoven\u2019s Violin Concerto that surely sends every timpanist into a spin. <\/span><\/p>\n But here are ten passages for each of ten percussion instruments that give a rounded flavour of the challenges our be-sticked friends regularly face.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve included fiendishly tricky parts that are a joy to play when they go well (though not so joyful when they don\u2019t), and there are simple parts that rely on split-second timing for their effect. Now, over to the big hitters themselves\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Snare drum<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nGreatest percussion moments<\/h2>\n
Ravel <\/span>Bol\u00e9ro<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n