Surround Sound

This sonic spectacular for percussion and plural pianos includes four 20th century classics—works so dynamic they could have been written yesterday. Bartók’s fascination for the combination of keyboards and percussion reached its climax in this Sonata. The Rite of Spring, too, has lost none of its power since its riotous premiere in 1913, and this fascinating arrangement throws new light on the score’s visceral rhythmic impulses.

Xenakis’ Persephassa of 1969 spreads the six percussionists around the performing space, creating a true sonic spectacle, while, in its simplicity and power, Reich’s Clapping Music, from 1972, represents a seminal moment in the history of minimalism—using only the kind of percussive effects created by hands clapping.