The DOUBLE CONCERTINO FOR TIMPANI AND PERCUSSION was commissioned by the Greenwich (Connecticut) Symphony and premiered in April 2006. The 3-minute piece showcased the talents of Glenn Rhian on timpani and myself on xylophone. It's subtitled When Professor Rhianini Met Lorenzo Spuccini, nicknames Glenn and I have for each other. Each soloist plays several toys, whistles and sound effects, and there is an improvised cadenza. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be zany.

The work is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba and strings. The timpanist uses 4 drums and also plays hi-hat, snare drum, cowbell, alarm bell, triangle, low wood block, ratchet, sandpaper blocks, nightingale whistle, whip and bulb horn. The percussionist plays xylophone, flexatone (solo!), high wood block, police whistle, siren whistle, cuckoo, train whistle, slide whistle, duck call, champagne pop and The Cymbal Guy. (This is the very first piece scored for my co-invention, a foot-activated cymbal crashing machine.)

Audiences and critics loved the piece. Mary Jo Heath in Greenwich Time called it:

"...a highly entertaining work whose musical language, orchestration and sense of humor would have made Leroy Anderson proud. It was full of dialogue between the two soloists and included every percussion instrument except the kitchen sink. The kids laughed and rocked along with every note and effect. I hope it gets played past its premiere. It's just right for its intended audience. As a note in the program said, kids love percussion."

Linda Phillips wrote in the Greenwich Citizen: ¦an array of instruments not seen since vaudeville included whistle, kazoo, xylophone, train whistle, a whirrer, and a popper, all played by hand, to wonderful comic and musical effect. Backed by the orchestra in a jazzy tempo, with syncopation, Spivack played like a Broadway band, ably backed by tuba and kettledrum. This work was more fun than, well, a barrel of rhinoceroses.

It was so successful that I recently completed a piano reduction of the orchestra part to make it performable at percussion concerts and recitals. I am proud to have Bachovich as my publisher for t his piece.

- Larry Spivack

Sample (Click Arrow to Play)

The DOUBLE CONCERTINO FOR TIMPANI AND PERCUSSION was commissioned by the Greenwich (Connecticut) Symphony and premiered in April 2006. The 3-minute piece showcased the talents of Glenn Rhian on timpani and myself on xylophone. It's subtitled When Professor Rhianini Met Lorenzo Spuccini, nicknames Glenn and I have for each other. Each soloist plays several toys, whistles and sound effects, and there is an improvised cadenza. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be zany.

The work is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba and strings. The timpanist uses 4 drums and also plays hi-hat, snare drum, cowbell, alarm bell, triangle, low wood block, ratchet, sandpaper blocks, nightingale whistle, whip and bulb horn. The percussionist plays xylophone, flexatone (solo!), high wood block, police whistle, siren whistle, cuckoo, train whistle, slide whistle, duck call, champagne pop and The Cymbal Guy. (This is the very first piece scored for my co-invention, a foot-activated cymbal crashing machine.)

Audiences and critics loved the piece. Mary Jo Heath in Greenwich Time called it:

"...a highly entertaining work whose musical language, orchestration and sense of humor would have made Leroy Anderson proud. It was full of dialogue between the two soloists and included every percussion instrument except the kitchen sink. The kids laughed and rocked along with every note and effect. I hope it gets played past its premiere. It's just right for its intended audience. As a note in the program said, kids love percussion."

Linda Phillips wrote in the Greenwich Citizen: ¦an array of instruments not seen since vaudeville included whistle, kazoo, xylophone, train whistle, a whirrer, and a popper, all played by hand, to wonderful comic and musical effect. Backed by the orchestra in a jazzy tempo, with syncopation, Spivack played like a Broadway band, ably backed by tuba and kettledrum. This work was more fun than, well, a barrel of rhinoceroses.

It was so successful that I recently completed a piano reduction of the orchestra part to make it performable at percussion concerts and recitals. I am proud to have Bachovich as my publisher for t his piece.

- Larry Spivack

Sample (Click Arrow to Play)