Everything I Thought I Wanted

Description

Vibraphone 1, Vibraphone 2, Kalimba, Sizzle Cymbal, Toy Piano, Shaker, Hi-hat Cymbal, Cajón, Crotales, Temple Block, Suspended Cymbal, Glockenspiel, Marimba, Kick Drum — Everything I Thought I Wanted was composed Fall 2022 through Spring 2023, when I was musing (perhaps more than usual) about my childhood wishes and dreams and trying to translate some of those musings into music. Full disclosure: this is an assignment I typically give my composition students; maybe I thought I’d try my own assignment. Sonically, this influenced the choice of instrumentation, and led to the inclusion of the toy piano, kalimba, glockenspiel, and crotales into the ensemble. Individual movements initially had specific impressionistic titles, though I removed them after they were completed, hoping to inspire more open-minded listening and personal imagery. I am deeply grateful to Doug Perkins, who organized the wonderful consortium of percussion studio teachers around the US to co-commission the work. Robert Maggio’s imaginative and evocative post-minimalist percussion quartet EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I WANTED grew out of the composer musing about his childhood. Movements like “Imaginary Friend” and “Glass Carousel” spring from childhood experiences themselves, while others, like “Endless Possibilities,” are an introspective look at his child self thinking forward to adulthood. Maggio creates original textures from an inventive array of sounds, with instruments like toy piano, egg shaker, and kalimba joining the more standard selection of marimbas, vibraphones, drums, and cymbals.