Bizarro

Michael Daugherty

General Info

Year: 1993
Duration: c. 9:20
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Peermusic
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental | Score Only - $50.00

Instrumentation

Full Score in C
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboes I-II-III
Bassoon I-II-III
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
Horns in F I-II-III-IV
Trumpet in Bb (or C) I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Electric Bass
Piano (acoustic or digital)
Percussion (4 players), including:

Bass Drum (small, medium, and very large)
Crotales
Glockenspiel
Hi-Hat
Piccolo Snare Drum
Ride Cymbal (medium and large)
Snare Drum (medium and large)
Splash Cymbals (two, 8 and 10 inch)
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

During the composition of the Metropolis Symphony, I created a work inspired by another foe of Superman: Bizarro (created by Lex Luthor's duplicating ray) is an imperfect copy of Superman, with spiky black hair and Frankenstein-like features. My nine-minute composition Bizarro is scored for woodwinds, large brass section, piano, electric bass, and a sizable percussion battery that includes three rock and roll drummers. Bizarro inhabits a musical world without strings, and revels in the brash energies of rock and big band jazz, propelled on his course by a fast tempo and rhythmic excitement. Melodic fragments coalesce, contrapuntally, into a swinging yet menacing little theme that is previewed by the flutes and piccolo, taken up by a solo trumpet, and finally performed in a virtuoso canon for three trombones and four trumpets. Volume and intensity keep building as the monstrous Bizarro careens out of control.

- Program Note by Michael Daugherty

Commercial Discography

Audio CD: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (David Zinman, conductor)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of Oregon (Eugene) Wind Symphony (Jason Silveira, conductor) – 23 November 2019
University of Cape Town (Rondebosch, South Africa) (Alexander Fokkens, conductor) - 24 April 2018
Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Md.) Peabody Wind Ensemble (Harland D. Parker, conductor) – 28 April 2017

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Made for You and Me: Inspired by Woody Guthrie (Adaptable Band) (2020)

All Wind Works

American Gothic (tr. Daugherty and Galyen) (2013/2019)
Asclepius (2007)
Alligator Alley (2003)
Bells for Stokowski (2002)
Bizarro (1993)
Brooklyn Bridge (2005)
Dead Elvis (1999)
Desi (1991)
Dreamachine (2014/2022)
Labyrinth of Love (2012)
Ladder to the Moon (2005)
Lift Up Thine Ears (2021/2022)
Lost Vegas (2011)
Made for You and Me: Inspired by Woody Guthrie (Adaptable Band) (2020)
Motown Metal (1994)
Niagara Falls (1997)
Of War and Peace (2017)
On the Air (2012)
Passacaglia in Primary Colors (2023)
Raise the Roof (2007)
Red Cape Tango (tr. Spede) (1993/1999)
Reflections on the Mississippi for Tuba and Band (2013)
Rio Grande (2015)
Rosa Parks Boulevard (2001)
Songs from a Silent Land (2019)
Timbuktuba (1995)
UFO (2000)
Vulcan (2014)
Winter Dreams (2015)

Resources

McCutchan, Ann. (1999). The muse that sings: composers speak about the creative process. New York: Oxford University Press.
McGarvey, Timothy D. (1987) “Desi, Bizzaro, and Motown Metal: The Wind and Percussion Music of Michael Daugherty.” D.M.A. dissertation, University of Cincinnati. 184 p.
Scott, Judson. (2003). "Michael Daugherty" from A Composer's Insight, Volume One." Galesville, MD: Meredith Music.
Stotter, Douglas. "Bizarro." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 11, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 867-875. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2018.