Anna

Item details

Description +
- Duration: 3.30 min.
  
  Anna is dedicated to Anna Tuena.
Instrumentation +
- Marimba (5-octave)
About the composer +
- Manuel Leuenberger was born in 1988 in Switzerland, and started pursuing music from a young age. At the age of six he began cello lessons, but soon became fascinated by the world of percussion. He began by playing the drums and during secondary school, he took percussion and piano lessons. It was only in 2005 that he first became acquainted with the marimba, and came to the realisation that his knowledge of the technique of the percussion instrument and the melodic abilities of the piano could be perfectly matched together in the marimba – thus being the perfect instrument for him to express his musicality.
  
  A year after beginning the marimba, Manuel made his debut with an orchestra and won first prize with distinction at the 31st Swiss Youth Music Competition. In the summer of 2010, he graduated from the ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste), where he studied orchestral percussion, marimba and vibraphone with Horst Hofmann, Thomas Dobler and Rainer Seegers. After completing his bachelor's degree with distinction, he committed himself entirely to the marimba and played his debut in the Tonhalle Zürich, where he performed Emmanuel Séjourné`s Concerto N° 1 for Marimba and Strings.
  
  His skills on the marimba as well as his open-mindedness and curiosity of other artists and pedagogues soon opened many doors for him. Thus he gained opportunities for him to work with famous artists such as Katarzyna Myćka, Svet Stoyanov, Emmanuel Séjourné, Pedro Carneiro, Shoko Sakai and Eric Sammut. In autumn 2011, Manuel had the privilege of premiering Emmanuel Séjourné`s Magellan Concerto and also performing with the Donau Symphony Orchestra Budapest.
  
  In the 1st quarter of 2012, he received a full scholarship from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami to pursue graduate studies with Bulgarian virtuoso Svet Stoyanov. Manuel Leuenberger is a laureate of the Friedl-Wald Foundation in Switzerland and is endorsed by marimba one.
Reviews +
- Review
  
  5.0-octave marimba Dedicated to Anna Tuena, this richly romantic work for solo marimba uses the full range of a 5.0-octave instrument as it weaves its way through continually changing moods and emotions. Throughout its three-and-a-half minute duration, Manuel Leuenberger’s solo rarely rests at a single tempo for more than a few measures. The time signature is more consistent, but the composer does sprinkle in a few metric varieties (particularly 7/8 time) in the work’s primarily common-time meter. Featured regularly in this piece is a recurring lefthand, open fifth double lateral stroke marking the beginning of measures. Strung between these anchors are fluid scale passages and dancing, groove-based ideas. The middle section breaks from this structure to explore a calm chorale and dramatic contrasting statements using right-hand octaves. The final section introduces even more variety as it intermingles octave statements with scale passages, all while utilizing the previously established left-hand open fifths in new and more active ways.
  
  “Anna” is a beautifully complex but accessible work. It lies well for the player and will allow marimbists to display the full performance value of the instrument in an entrancing work for audiences to appreciate.
  
  —Josh Gottry
Credits +
- Front Cover layout: Sune Kliborg Lynge (Kliborg Design)
  Engraving: Manuel Leuenberger & Johan Svitzer
  Photo: Irene Kim (smile little bird)
  Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Copyright © Edition SVITZER
  www.editionsvitzer.com

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