OK, I heard this on a local classical music station on the radio many years ago - mid-1990s, maybe. It was a percussion-only piece, and the title was something like Sonata for Six Sticks, or Movement for Four Sticks and Drums, or something to that effect. I feel like the title definitely had the word “Sticks” in it, and I think also a number.
I have googled to no effect. Does anyone have any idea what the hell I’m talking about?
It couldn’t have been Six Marimbas, could it?
Do you remember if it had pitched percussion (marimbas, vibes, xylophone, etc.), non-pitch percussion or a mix? That would help…
I want to say it was non-pitch only but I’m not sure. I also want to say that it started out with simple drumsticks clicking together and then added in wood blocks, but again, I’m not entirely sure. I know this is vague.
It was not Six Marimbas, but that is really cool anyway.
Bump just in case. For all I know, this may have been some local composer’s piece that only ever got played the one time that I happened to hear it. You never know, though.
It sounds like Steve Reich’s compositional approach, but I just looked over his list of works on wiki and didn’t see anything with “sticks” in it. You might want to check out Drumming Music or Clapping Music (because it sounds like you’d enjoy them, even if they aren’t the ones you’re looking for). As you saw, he wrote the piece Le Ministre recommended. Hell, listen to his entire ouvre. It’s worth it!
There’s Ionisation, by Edgar Varese, written (I’m guessing) sometime in the twenties, but it obviously doesn’t have the word “sticks” in the title. But it’s for non-pitched percussion. Well, there’s some chimes and stuff in there. But no marimbas or xylophones.