Instrumentation 3(3rd dbl. picc)/3/3(3rd db. bcl)/3(3rd dbl. cbn); 4/3/3/1; timp + 3 perc; harp; orchestral strings
Percussion requirements (1) mba, vib, chimes, maraca, vibraslap; (2) bass dr, lion’s roar, ratchet, 2 bongos; (3) crotales, tambourine, sizzle cymbal, lg. tamtam, whip, flexatone

Timing 3’40”

Composed 1994

Commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra

World Premiere April 17, 1994, Severance Hall, Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland Orchestra; Jahja Ling, conductor

Programme Notes

The title Ricochet was suggested by the string technique of a bouncing bow, but the picture is of a rubber ball thrown against a solid object, which then ricochets into another solid object. In this piece, this bouncing image is depicted at different rates of time. After an initial “wind-up,” the music ricochets at first in slow motion. After each subsequent rebound, the music accelerates a little, so that by the final bounce, it is moving in real time again. In a final parting gesture, the ball, now low on kinetic energy, bounces off into the distance.

PDF perusal score

Ricochet perusal

Audio excerpt

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