Dances of Earth and Fire

Peter Klatzow

General Info

Year: 1988
Duration: c.10:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: PME
Cost: Score and Parts - $0.00   |   Score Only - $0.00

Program Notes

commission: Robert Van Sice; premiere: 20 October 1989, Amsterdam, R. Van Sice

Review

"Dances of Earth and Fire" can be added to the expanding list of compositions for solo marimba that utilize that instrument in serious music making. Although written idiomatically for the marimba keyboard, Klatzow never resorts to using technique as an end in itself, but rather as a means to his musical goals. This is not to imply that the piece is lacking in technical demands. The marimbist will find challenge enough in coping with the range of the music, which fully utilizes all registers of a 5- octave instrument. The piece is couched in two sections. The first begins misterioso in the lowest register, eventually building to a fortissimo climax, before fading away to a pianisissimo close. The composer uses silence and dynamic contrast to great effectiveness. A dance-like dotted rhythm pervades the second section, which is characterized by a very active fabric using both linear and chordal textures. A vivace possibile ending brings to an exciting conclusion a stimulating and musically rewarding work that would be excellent recital literature for the advanced college-level marimbist. - John R. Raush

Recent Performances

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Works for Percussion by this Composer

A Sense of Place - Marimba, Cello
Ambient Resonances (Echoes of Time and Place) - Percussion Duo
Concerto for Marimba (Klatzow) - Marimba, Orchestra
Dances of Earth and Fire - Marimba
Double Concerto (Klatzow) - Marimba, Flute, Orchestra
Figures in a Landscape - Marimba, Flute
Inyanga - Marimba
Lightscapes - Marimba; Chamber Ensemble
Night Music, with Illuminations - Marimba, Flute
Return of the Moon - Marimba, Male Vocal Ensemble
Six Concert Etudes for Marimba - Marimba
Sonata for Solo Marimba - Marimba
Variations on THE theme of Paganini, for 2 marimbas - Percussion Duo
Words by Watson - Marimba, Male Vocal Ensemble