Concerto Repertoire
For Symphony Orchestra or Chamber Orchestra
Kalevi Aho
Sieidi
Andy Akiho
Percussion Concerto
John Corigliano
Conjurer
Tansy Davies
Earthworks
Joe Duddell
Ruby
Tan Dun
Concerto for Water Percussion
Danny Elfman
Percussion Concerto
Helen Grime
Percussion Concerto
HK Gruber
Rough Music
Jennifer Higdon
Percussion Concerto
Simon Holt
a table of noises
Robert Honstein
Juvenalia
Nicole Lizee
Blurr is the Colour of My True Love's Eyes
Steven Mackey
Time Release
James MacMillan
Veni, Veni Emmanuel
Percussion Concerto No. 2
Bruno Mantovani
Allegro barbaro
Dave Maric
Towards Future's Embrace
Olga Neuwirth
Trurliade-Zone Zero
Andrew Norman
Switch
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Incantations
Joey Roukens
Percussion Concerto
Christopher Rouse
Der gerettete Alberich
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Martland Memorial
Julia Wolfe
Body Language
For Mixed Ensemble or String Ensemble
Louis Andriessen
Tapdance
Luke Bedford
Staggered Nocturne
Elliott Carter
Two Controversies and a Conversation
Joe Duddell
Snowblind (string orchestra)
Philippe Hurel
Quatre Variations (vibraphone and ensemble)
Kurt Schwertsik
Now you hear me, now you don't (string orchestra)
Erkki-Sven Tüür
Memoirs (double concerto for violin, percussion and strings)
Conductors
Marin Alsop, Andrey Boreyko, Dougie Boyd, Martyn Brabbins, Baldur Brönnimann, Joanna Carneiro, Alpesh Chauhan, David Danzmeyer, Thomas Dausgaard, Tan Dun, Kevin John Edusei, Maxim Emylanychev, JoAnn Falletta, Thierry Fischer, Michael Francis, Fabien Gabel, James Gaffigan, Edward Gardner, HK Gruber, Giancarlo Guerrero, Matthew Halls, Håkan Hardenberger, Antony Hermus, Manfred Honeck, Pietari Inkinen, George Jackson, Carlos Kalmar, Francois Leleux, Hannu Lintu, Brad Lubman, Christian Macelaru, Sir James MacMillan, Bruno Mantovani, Juanjo Mena, Gemma New, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Eva Ollikainen, Sakari Oramo, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Ruth Reinhardt, Andre de Ridder, David Robertson, Kwame Ryan, Donald Runnicles, Yutaka Sado, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Clemens Schuldt, Alexander Shelley, Leonard Slatkin, Dima Slobodeniouk, Chloé van Soeterstède, Tugan Sokhiev, Thomas Søndergård, Carl St Clair, John Storgårds, Frank Strobel, Rebecca Tong, Bramwell Tovey, Osmo Vänskä, Gilbert Varga, Ilan Volkov, Joshua Weilerstein, Ludwig Wicki, John Wilson, Naomi Woo
Colin Currie Quartet
The Colin Currie Quartet is a virtuosic percussion quartet led by Colin Currie, and performance highlights include concerts at the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, Paris Présences Festival, GAIDA Festival, Cambridge Music Festival, NCPA Beijing, Toolbox Festival Hong Kong and Nagakute Cultural Center.
Programme 1
Andy Akiho Pillar I
Aileen Sweeney Starburst
Ben Nobuto percussion quartet
Interval
Steve Reich Mallet Quartet
Anna Meredith Dodgem Studies
Programme 2
John Luther Adams Qilyuan
Rolf Wallin Twine
David Lang So Called Laws of Nature Part 2
Interval
Steve Reich Drumming Part 1
Connor Shafran Continental Divide
Julia Wolfe Dark Full Ride
Programme 3: Celebrating Steve Reich
Steve Reich Clapping Music
Steve Reich Nagoya Marimbas
Aileen Sweeney Starburst
Steve Reich Mallet Quartet
Interval
Steve Reich Drumming Part 1
Julia Wolfe Dark Full Ride
FILM GALLERY
REVIEWS
"A scintillating display of virtuosity from the world-leading percussion quartet. To Akiho for a dazzling finale, this is a phenomenal group and they made light of the monstrous difficulties of "Pillar IV". Sharing instruments, pairing off in rhythmical games, a floating sense of pulse, now a woody texture, now something metallic - and all at a ferocious pace - it was a sheer delight." Arts Desk, 2024.
"The performance was scintillating for its dextrous precision and intoxicating interaction... the Reich-like adrenalin rush of Julia Wolfe’s Dark Full Ride had a sense of exhilaration as this dazzling floor show powered towards its final thump." VoxCarnyx, April 2024
“The Colin Currie Quartet made Kings Place resound with radical rhythms and technical precision… This was rhythm as pure excitement, and it concluded a concert that richly explored the nature of music and rhythm.” Financial Times, January 2023
“A sonic display of startling magnificence. The centrepiece was Drumming, tuned bongos impeccably synchronised, slipping and looping in and out of phase... Julia Wolfe’s Dark Full Ride, crackling, eruptive, dangerous, made a noisy and spectacular finale.” Observer, January 2023
"I have described Currie and his friends as daredevils and super-heroes, for their bravura performances of Xenakis." Bachtrack
"In John Luther Adams’ Qilyaun, the performers stood at all four corners of the auditorium balcony, sending out waves of unruly noise through rolling crescendos and decrescendos... at times it felt as if we were caught in a storm swirling round a vast open landscape, while at others a more synchronised regular beat filled the room with a sense of ritual." Arts Desk
Colin Currie Conducts Reich and More...
Colin Currie Conducting Engagements (Spring 2025)
24th January 2025
Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble: Martland, Andriessen, Reich, Tippett
14 & 15 February 2025
Hallé Orchestra & RNCM: Philip Glass
Hallé Orchestra: Philip Glass
23 March 2025
Brighton Philharmonic: Steve Reich
3,5,8,11 April 2025
Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble: Steve Reich
18 May 2025
OSESP Academy Orchestra: Meredith, MacMillan, Andriessen, Grime
Solo Recitals
Solo Percussion Recital
Premiere: 2025 Wigmore Hall & Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
Kevin Volans Asanga
David Horne Pulse
Tansy Davies Dark Ground
Dani Howard Vasa
Interval
Andy Akiho Spiel
Toshio Hosokawa Reminiscence
Iannis Xenakis Psappha
Chamber Projects
Colin Currie & Håkan Hardenberger
Trumpet and Percussion Duo
Joe Duddell Catch
Tobias Brostrom Dream Variations
Toshio Hosokawa Reminiscence (solo percussion)
Toru Takemitsu Paths (solo trumpet)
HK Gruber Passing the Buck
Brett Dean ...the scene of the crime...
“A breathtaking performance… Both players exhibited stunning virtuosity, though always at the service of musical effect, never for its own sake.” San Francisco Classical Voice
Colin Currie & JACK Quartet
programme includes:
Suzanne Farrin Hypersea (percussion & string quartet)
Andy Akiho Aluminous (percussion & string quartet)
Steve Martland Starry Night (percussion & string quartet)
Colin Currie & Huw Watkins (percussion & piano)
Dave Maric Predicaments
Britten Holiday Diary (solo piano)
Joe Duddell Parallel Lines
Interval
Hannah Lash C
Tansy Davies Dark Ground (solo percussion)
Helen Grime Harp of the North (solo piano)
Huw Watkins Seven Inventions
Colin Currie & Nicholas Hodges (percussion & piano)
Birtwistle Intrada for piano and percussion
Stockhausen Klavierstück V (piano)
Birtwistle Variations from the Golden Mountain (piano)
Feldman King of Denmark (percussion)
Birtwistle Intrada for piano and percussion
Interval
Stockhausen Kontakte (piano & percussion)
“The combined genius of pianist Nicholas Hodges and percussionist Colin Currie, armed with a battery of percussion and piano, made thrilling theatre out of it, amplifying the electronic cues with a visceral immediacy that brought every moment to life. The entire presentation was directional, engaging and unquestionable proof that Stockhausen was not only onto something, but way ahead of the game.” Scotsman
Colin Currie & Sam Walton (percussion), Pavel Kolesnikov & Samson Tsoy (piano)
Ravel: Rhapsody Espanol M.54 for two pianos and two percussion
Rolf Wallin: Realismos mágicos (solo marimba)
Piano duo work
Interval
Bryce Dessner: Tromp Miniature (solo marimba)
Piano duo work
Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion
GramophoneColin Currie is at the summit of percussion performance today.
Guardian...the work confirms Currie’s status as an athlete and a star, as well as an outstanding musician.
SpectatorThe soloist was Colin Currie, surely the world’s finest and most daring percussionist.