M. Camargo Guarnieri’s Concerto for String Orchestra and Percussion
Revisit our performance of the Concerto for String Orchestra and Percussion by composer M. Camargo Guarnieri, who is sometimes known as “the Brazilian Mozart.” We performed the piece in October of 2020 with conductor Zachary Schwartzman in a physically distanced, livestreamed concert from the Fisher Center at Bard. In his notes on the concerto, former TŌN percussionist Charles Gillette observes that the work is “scored for strings, timpani, and two snare drums, . . . an unusual pairing of two sections in the orchestra that rarely play together.” He said that he was “struck by the way Guarnieri pairs rhythm with lyricism in this piece. He dedicated his 1942 piece Abertura Concertante to Aaron Copland, and I can definitely hear Copland’s influence in Concerto for Strings and Percussion.” You can read Charley’s full concert notes by clicking here.