The concerto, a set of short cadenzas followed by movements with titles such as Wood,Metal and Skin, mixes two different groups in artful and interesting ways. For instance, in Wood the pitched instruments (xylophone and marimba) are combined and contrasted with unpitched ones (wood block, claves, log drum); the result is music of sinew and strength. That Conjurer comes across with such conviction is due in no small part to Glennie’s white-hot playing and the first-rate recording.

I simply can’t remember when I’ve heard percussion arrays captured with such realism; just sample the scalp-tingling combination of tubular bells, tam-tams and suspended cymbals in the cadenza to Metal. Even the quiet, yearning orchestral part that follows has a tonal sophistication that I don’t usually hear in Naxos recordings. Climaxes are thrilling and fatigue-free, and the soundstage is wide and wondrous. Goodness, what mellifluous and haunting sounds composer and soloist conjure up here; the taut beats and varied rhythms of Skin are no less engrossing or accomplished.

It’s little wonder that Conjurer scooped the instrumental solo award at this year’s Grammys. […] What an aural and musical pleasure this album has turned out to be; and how refreshing it is to find contemporary music that’s accessible without stooping to the anodyne. Even more appealing is the lack of pretension in both Corigliano’s liner-notes and the works themselves; how often have I had to wade through hefty treatises on what the composer intended, only to find I’m none the wiser? The recording teams need to take a bow as well, for this is as near a demo disc as I’ve ever encountered from Naxos.

Fresh, vital, vigorous; contemporary music of quality, winningly played.

By Dan Morgan

In his booklet notes John Corigliano explains why writing a percussion concerto posed such a challenge, not least to avoid making the concerto ‘sound like orchestral pieces with an extra-large percussion section.’ […] He disciplines himself by restricting in each movement the types of percussion instruments for which he writes. […] The first movement, Wood uses pitched instruments – xylophone and marimba – and unpitched ones. For the latter Corigliano has devised a kind of ‘keyboard’ to enable the player to make unpitched sounds more readily. […] The wooden instruments sound right across the stereo spectrum from left to right. […] There are many fascinating sounds to stimulate the listener’s ear.
One might have expected that the use of metal instruments in the second movement would produce loud aggressive music. Indeed, the preceding cadenza, which starts with mighty tam-tam crashes, is ‘loud and clangorous’, as the composer puts it. However, once the movement proper has got under way much of the music consists of extended soft lines for the strings underpinning subdued ideas for the soloist. […] Towards the end of the movement the vibraphone takes centre-stage, albeit softly. We hear some ravishing, melodic textures as the instrument is both struck and bowed.

The cadenza preceding the third movement, Skin, features a pedal bass drum, such as one finds in drum kits, and an ingenious ‘talking drum’ which produces sounds that change pitch – this is described more fully in the booklet notes. The movement itself begins with sharply detached rhythms and all manner of drums are deployed, including hand-played pedal timpani. After a more subdued central section, during which the brass players are not involved, the concerto explodes into a pyrotechnic cadenza followed by a fast and furious conclusion.

The concerto was commissioned for Dame Evelyn Glennie. She plays it with staggering virtuosity and one can tell that even without seeing her in action. The music itself is never less than intriguing. I think that the work could catch on just as James MacMillan’s Veni Emmanuel has, especially with such a champion as Glennie to play it. The percussion instruments have been recorded with stunning realism by the engineers.

By John Quinn 

Corigliano: Conjurer, Vocalise
Naxos: 8.559757
Released: September 2013