|
Sonata #1 was composed in 1970 after Cirone completed six years of intensive study with Saul Goodman.
The piano opens the work with a Maestoso statement; it sets the tone for the introduction, and is immediately followed by a similar statement on timpani.
The Allegro agitato is a fanciful romp through mixed meters; however, the compound harmonies in the piano ass a complexity to the music. The Allegro becomes slower an heavier as the piano and timpani trade off as soloist and accompanist.
The unison rhythms in the last segment of the Sonata represent a wish that some day we may be one with the master in greatnesses- but, for most, it is only a dream, because Saul Goodman will always be the ultimate virtuoso.
-Anthony J. Cirone
Number of Players: 2
Difficulty: Grade 4
Instrumentation:
Player I: 4 Timpani
Player II: Piano
Anthony J. Cirone, a percussionist with the San Francisco Symphony from 1965 to 2001, performed under the musical directorship of Josef Krips, Seiji Ozawa, Edo DeWaart, Herbert Blomstedt, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Some noted guest conductors included Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Eugene Ormandy, Kurt Mazur, Rafael Kubelik and James Levine. He was Professor of Music at San Jos State University from 1965 to 2001 where he conducted the Percussion ensemble and developed the Manuscript Preparation/Computer Engraving class. He also taught at Stanford University from 1983 to 1992.Mr. Cirone has over 70 published titles, including textbooks, three symphonies for percussion, four sonatas, a string quartet, and seven works for orchestra. His book, Portraits in Rhythm for Snare Drum, is used world wide for training percussionists. In 1999, he received a Special Distinction Award from the ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Composition Contest for his Pentadic Striation for Orchestra. He is the Percussion Consultant/Editor for Warner Bros. Publishing Co., and a clinician for the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Company and the Yamaha Corporation. Mr. Cirone is currently Professor of Music and Chair of the Percussion Department at Indiana University in Bloomington.
|
