Capriccio (Score & Parts)

Istvan Capriccio (Score & Parts)
Scored for Vibraphon, Marimba and Percussion

Percussion instruments play an important role in the work of the important Brno composer and teacher Miloslav Istvan (1928-1990).  At first he used them in orchestral settings, later he included them in chamber works and finally in three compositions as solo instruments (Psalmus niger, Capriccio and Macroworlds). 

Capriccio for vibraphone, marimba and percussion was premiered on 23 April 1980 at the Besední dům in Brno.  The instrumentation of the piece is rich, the rhythmic structure highly differentiated, the two players often moving in different meters, sometimes even tempi, and their interplay is provided by landmarks inscribed in the notes.  Ištvan expressed his creative intentions and his relationship to percussion instruments in the author's commentary as follows:  Capriccio was created in 1978.  Like all recent compositions, it is the result of a consistent focus in several well-defined directions.  Its common denominator is an attempt to combine immediate impressiveness with appropriate informational richness and complexity.