March 31, 2005
listening list
Evan Ziporyn - This is Not a Clarinet
John Adams - Nixon in China
Adam Green - Friends of Mine
Steve Reich - Works - 1965-1995
Evelyn Glennie - Rebounds
This woman Evelyn Glennie is totally incredible. She is a virtuosic percussionist and she is 'profoundly' deaf. I'm not kidding. She performs barefoot because by some twist of Darwinian persistence, she has effectively turned her feet into listening devices. She feels the minute sound vibrations through the floor and her feet rather than through the air and her ears. Weird, huh? I don't know how she does it, but what is entirely clear is her ability to perform at the highest levels with countless other musicians.
It is incredible when you think about it, but I have not done her justice here at all. Being a deaf musician is fascinating, but being an incredibly talented and multi-faceted musician is what is truly worth writing about. When you are a percussionist, unlike virtually all other musicians, you have to master a huge number of far flung instruments. Believe it or not, playing the maracas is totally different from playing timpani, or marimba, or snare drum or... Yes Evelyn, you are amazing.
As far as this cd goes, the concerto for marimba by Ney Rosauro totally kicks ass.
