Graiser, Brian- Uno per Franco, for percussion sextet

Uno per Franco, for percussion sextet, includes a score and parts. 

Program notes:

Uno per Franco: In Memoriam Franco Donatoni

“Uno per Franco” was written in 2014 and premiered by the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Percussion Ensemble as a part of the composer’s doctoral lecture-recital, under the mentorship of Allen Otte, and was the winning composition of the 2016 Strikeclef Composition Contest (Ensemble Category). The work was conceived as a composition in the style of the influential Italian contemporary composer Franco Donatoni, taking inspiration from his percussion compositions, albeit with an expanded instrumentational palette fit for a globally-sourced 21st-Century composition (Donatoni himself never wrote for West African talking drums or Chinese opera gongs). The title itself is a tribute to one of Donatoni’s own works, “Duo per Bruno” (dedicated to the late Bruno Maderna). As in much of Donatoni’s later work, “Uno per Franco” is marked by distinct “panels” of material, identified by sudden changes in texture, instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics. These structural devices are further marked by the shifting distribution of percussive qualities: pitched vs. unpitched vs. relative-pitched instruments, woods vs. skins vs. metals, dry vs. sustaining sounds, etc. Donatoni’s compositional “games” were the subject of much discussion, and his cleverness and joy are hopefully captured here in this musical tribute that, like Donatoni, is both calculated and flamboyant.

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Review from Percussive Notes (2023):

This newly published piece for percussion ensemble was created by Brian Graiser for his doctoral lecture-recital and premiered at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. “Uno per Franco” was inspired by and created to celebrate the composition style of Italian composer Franco Donatoni (1927–2000). The title itself is an homage to the title of one of Donatoni’s works.

At nine minutes in length, this work is a journey of texture, meter, and instrumentation at a graduate/professional level. The instrument list is long, but the composer uses this to create multiple landscapes with interesting combinations of voices. Each scene has its own themes, instrumentation, and groupings of meters. This work certainly embodies that, which is one of the wonderful aspects about percussion: the in-depth exploration of sound.

If one is looking to program this piece for a concert or recital, the players must be at an advanced level and ready to accept a challenge. With so many different textures and meters, the performers must stay on their toes. However, I imagine that this piece would be amazing if done with any kind of media; perhaps working with a digital or visual artist. This work would be incredible to hear performed at an art show or museum, offering many great opportunities to program this wonderful exploration of sound!

—Ben Cantrell

 Sample: