About the Concerto for Vibraphone & Orchestra

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Orchestration: 1202 2000 timpani. Strings
Duration: approx. 27 '

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Work text by the composer: While the marimba, the wooden relative of the vibraphone, has been able to establish itself in literature and in the classical concert scene in recent years, in fact experienced a boom, the vibraphone completely wrongly leads a "wallflower existence" in the classical concert program. So I was all the more delighted by Evelyn Glennie's wish to write a concerto for this great instrument for her. An instrument that I have always valued very much and that has therefore played an important role in my orchestral works to date.

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In compositions for percussion instruments, rhythmic gimmicks are often in the foreground. These should of course not be missing in my vibraphone concerto. But I see the vibraphone primarily as an expressive melody instrument. The immense dynamic range, the possibility of polyphony and the precise phrasing by the pedal bring the vibraphone close to the piano. This great expressiveness should be able to develop in the solo part of this work.

The first movement begins with a dramatic force of sound, outshone by the bright sound of the vibraphone.
It is further characterized by a pulsating forwards thrust in the dialogue with the orchestra, in which orchestral sound eruptions are paired with a lyrical theme. After the dramatic first movement, the “unearthly” qualities of the vibraphone come into play in the calm, meditative middle movement, spherical sounds and mysterious-mystical moods, embedded in the velvety and dense strings. The last movement turned into a brilliant finale, a rondo scherzando that demands a lot from virtuosity and shows the instrument from its brilliant side.