Concerto No. 2 for Timpani and Orchestra, XIII The Grand Encounter

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Composer Name

William Kraft

General Info

Year:
Duration: c.
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher:
Cost: Score and Parts - $0.00   |   Score Only - $0.00

Program Notes

James M. Keller

The new concerto occupied Kraft through much of 2004. He completed the composition early December and in February 2005 sent a complete score to David Herbert for final technical editing. Its subtitle --- "XIII/The Grand Encounter" --- is a quintessentially Kraftian reference. Since 1975, the composer has produced a series of pieces titled Encounters that typically highlight the interaction of percussion (soloist or ensembles) with another instrument or small grouping. The title 'The Grand Encounter' refers to the more substantial scale of this thirteenth entry in the Encounter series.
Kraft's 'Timpani Concerto No. 2" is a full-scaled piece of about a half hour's duration, cast in four parts though without any substantial break between them. The chromatic array of higher-pitched kettledrums allows for a great deal of lyric writing. The percussion section of four musicians plays an especially prominent role in the orchestral texture, and the harp might also be singled out for its active contributions. Kraft's First Timpani Concerto had already included passages in which various instruments of the orchestra doubled or mirrored the timpani to reinforce, enrich, or otherwise shade the color of the solo line. The composer continues this method in the Second Concerto. A good example comes in Part One, when the string section, divided into thirteen parts, echoes the glissandi that have just been enunciated by the timpani. The transition to Part Two is achieved through a myterious passage that fades almost into inaudibility, after which the orchestra (again with much-divided strings) gently launches the second half. This soon leads to a notated, wide-ranging cadenza, first for timpani solo but then underscored with repeated rhythmic patterns from the orchestra. Following this extended cadenza, the composer develops his musical material through a brilliantly scored sonic landscape until the concerto reaches its very decisive end.
"A great timpani concerto," says David Herbert, "would be one that uses the instrument for what it is normally used, which is for drama and for color. And then it would explore the instrument's possibilities for drama and color in imaginative ways and work them out well in a musical sense, but without trying to ask more of the timpani than they really can do. Kraft's First Timpani Concerto is so successful because, even with all the notes, the solo part is beautifully integrated with the orchestra, with a sense of give and take that goes to the heart of the concerto style." And what about Kraft's Concerto No. 2? "Mind-expanding," he replies. "And a joy to play."

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