– On January 31st I updated my blog with an article on the “petit timbale” used in “Mlada” by Rimsky-Korsakov and its connection with Stravinsky. Please check it HERE.
– On January 11th, I updated the blog with an article dealing with the “V” for “Victory” signal recorded by James Blades. You can read it HERE.
– On December 18th, my instruments will be used by the Orquesta de la Universidad de Oviedo in a concert at the cathedral.
– On December 12th, I updated my blog with an article dealing with a mistake in the uber-popular tambourine pat in “Trepak” (“The Nutcracker”). You can read it HERE.
– On December 8th, my instruments will be used by the OSCNC in a concert at the “Príncipe Felipe” auditorium in Oviedo.
– On November 27th I updated my blog with an article dealing with the timpani part in Mendelssohn´s “Italian” symphony. It includes a pdf file containing my full edition. You can read it HERE.
– On November 22nd I updated my blog with an article dealing with the timpani part in Mendelssohn´s 2Scottish” symphony”. It includes a pdf file containing my full edition. You can read it HERE.
– Since mid-November, I own an octave of tuned crotales (C-c, high octave). They are available for rental.
– On November 19th, my baroque timpani will be used by Les Arts Florissants in a production of “The Fairy Queen” (H. Purcell) at the Kursaal in San Sebastián.
– From November 4th to the 6th, the ORCAM will be using some of my Precolombian instruments in Revueltas´ “La noche de los mayas” during the Autumn Festival in San Lorenzo del Escorial.
– Since late September, I own a set of three Premier Academy timpani (28″, 25″ and 22.5″). Fitted with Remo Renaissance heads, they are perfect for contemporary music, setups, chamber ensembles and contexts where mobility is a plus. They are available for rental.
– On August 28 I updated my blog with an article in memoriam Kurt-Hans Goedicke.
– On June 24 the blog was updated. I am linking to the second part of the article in the “Carmina Burana” series that I am writing for GROVER PRO.
– On June 18 I added an article on my blog dealing with the bass drum part in “Symphonie Fantastique” (H. Berlioz).
– On May 30 I updated my blog with an article dealing with the timpani part in “Falstaff” (G. Verdi). I also include a pdf containing my edition of the part.
– On April 27 my blog was updated. I am linking to the article that I wrote for Grover Pro on “Carmina Burana”.
– On April 6 and 8, the French orchestra specialising in historically informed performance “Le Cercle de l´Harmonie” will be using my Baroque timpani and the Jähne & Boruvka kurbelpauken for their concerts in Oviedo and San Sebastián.
– On April 5 I will be recording the Orquesta Clásica de Arriondas.
– Since January 6 I own a pair of Jähne & Boruvka “kurbelpauken” (“crank timpani”) fitted with Super Kalfo heads. Also known as “Salonpauken”, these instruments are perfect for chamber orchestras and the 19th-century repertoire (Schumann, Mendelsohnn, Weber, Beethoven, etc.). Do not hesitate to get in touch should you need me to play this repertoire on these drums. They are available for rent, too.
– On December 16 a new article was added to my blog. I write about the interpretation of several passages in “Scheherezade” and include a pdf with my own edition of the snare drum part.
– On November 20 a new article was added to my blog. I deal with the timpani part in “Messiah”, showing the manuscripts and including my own edition of the part.
– Since PASIC 2024 I own a new snare drum, a Grover Pro G3T-8 (14″x8″) custom-made for me as part part of my artist deal. I have also added a Grover Pro 45th anniversary tambourine, TB-BS and TB-TD triangle beaters, a set of 6″, 8″ and 10″ Liberty One ganzas and a wonderful pair of NOS 19″ Zildjian cymbals.
– I will participate in PASIC 2024. I will be presenting “Histoire Du Soldat Revisited: The Original Concept”. It will be in Room 205 at the Indianapolis Convention Center at 10:00 AM. More information on this LINK.
– On July 20, the Orquesta Clásica de Arriondas will use some of my instruments in a new production of “La Verbena de la Paloma” (T. Bretón).
– On June 28 I added a new article to my blog. I include my own edition of the snare drum in the distance part in Mahler #3
– A pair of 10″ old cymbals (perfect fot the “cymballi antichi” part in Carmina Burana”) and a pair of Tibetan cymbals have been added to my collection. All of them are available for rent.
– On June 18 I added a new article to my blog dealing with the relationship between the bowings in the strings and the stickings on the snare drum, using “Polovtsian Dances” as an example. The video has also been added to the Grover Pro You Tube channel.
– Several of my instruments have been rented by the Fundación Valdés-Salas for the premiere of Guillermo Martínez´s work commissioned for the 1000th anniversary of the monastery in Cornellana.
– On April 4 I have added a new article to my blog describing how I converted a tomtom into a snare drum.
– I have added several instruments to my collection: a Polinesian pu´ili, two small strings of sleigh bells, a pair of rosewood claves, a set of five bronze hand bells, two wind chimes of different sizes, a large kokiriko/binzasara, two Indian tablas, a matraca, two huéhuetl (perfect for Chavez´s “Sinfonía India”), two soprano timpani (for Ravel´s “L´enfant et les Sortileges”, Rimsky-Korsakov´s “Mlada”, Milhaud´s “La Creation du Monde”) and a LP Raw Trash Snare. They are available for rental.
– On March 15 I published a second part of the article dealing with the “xilofono basso” in Turandot”.
– My set of sticks for “Histoire du Soldat” has been sold to percussionist in Spain, Germany, U.S.A. and Chile.
– On February 28 I updated my blog with an article on the “xilofono basso” in “Turandot”.
– On December 28 I updated my blog with an article dealing with the tambourine part in the “Arabian Dance” (“The Nutcracker”), by Tchaikovsky. This article was also published on the GROVER PRO website as part of my collaboration and endorsement of the brand.
– The Oviedo Filarmonía will be using my low C tuned gong on the premiere of Martinez´s “Cloches”. It will also be used on the recording of this work between January 30 and Febraury 2, 2024.
David Valdés is a Grover Pro Artist