Philip Glass Violin Concerto Arranged for Vibraphone and Marimba

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3cdUwQAWlg&feature=youtu.be

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was written in 1987, marking Philip Glass's first work for orchestra. With the exception of a concerto for two timpanists, Glass has not written for solo percussion. Glass, being one of my favourite composers, I have selected this concerto to adapt for marimba and vibraphone.

Arrangements of violin music for percussion can be challenging. The sound and timbral properties of the violin are much different than the mallet percussion instruments. For example, one of the characteristics of this piece is the soaring sound of the high register of the violin. The marimba however sounds thinner in the higher registers. To create the fullest and richest sounds with the marimba, I have arranged octave displacements, octave additions and sometimes even orchestrated one note in four octaves at once. The result is a full sound that still projects like the high strings on the violin. I have also interpreted the driving rhythmic passages to be played on the marimba, adding extra articulation, while producing a big warm sound. As for the lyrical second movement and coda, I have chosen to bow the vibraphone to imitate the violin bowing on strings.