Timeline: Early Percussion Repertoire of the 20th Century

1918

Histoire du Soldat

by Igor Stravinksy

First piece for multi-percussion
Born out of necessity for a music/theater act that is small and can easily travel (Stravinsky had left Russia due to the Bolshevik Revolution)
3 versions of the percussion score/set-up by William Kraft, Morris Lang, and James Blades (the latter is the most commonly used)

1922

La Création Du Monde

by Darius Milhaud
* The earliest chamber orchestra piece to include drumset
* Inspired by jazz and focuses on the African myths of creation
* Was originally a ballet

1924

Ballet Mécanique

by George Antheil

Originally with film, though the piece ended up being twice as long as the film
Antheil wrote the piece as a statement about the increasing importance/presence of machines, akin to Futurist manifestos
The 1953 revision is scored for glockenspiel, small and large airplane propeller sounds, gong (tam-tam), suspended cymbal, woodblock, triangle, military drum, tambourine, small and large electric bells, tenor drum, bass drum, 2 xylophones, and four pianos

1928

The Nose

By Dimitri Shostakovich
* The opera's entr'acte was written solely for ten percussionists
* Shostakovich's percussion writing for the opera was demanding, especially for the xylophone
* The extensive percussion writing contributed to the bad reviews of the opera

1930

Ritmicas No. 5 & 6

by Amadeo Roldán

Considered the first percussion ensemble piece
Scored for 4 sets of claves, guiro, cencerros, maracas, quijada del burro, bongos, timbales, timpani, bombo, and marimbula
The short pieces are both based on 3-2 son clave

1930

Concerto pour batterie et petite orchestra

by Darius Milhaud
* First concerto for percussion soloist (excluding timpani concertos)
* Scored for 4 timpani, triangle, suspended cymbal, cowbell, woodblock, a pair of crash cymbals, castanets, slapstick, ratchet, tambourine, tam-tam, and 3 graduated drums w/o snares

1931

Ionisation

by Edgard Varèse

Though not the first percussion ensemble piece, it was by far the most influential due to Varèse's prestige and the piece's construction, timbral strength, and "organized sound"
Scored for 13 percussionists, utilizing 40 percussion instruments

1935