Julliard's Percussion Pummel Us into the 21st C

Last night's performance by Julliard's Percussion Ensemble @ Alice Tully was a contemporary program that is breaking new ground for its instrumentation, sound & innovation.  Prague composer, Ondrej Adamek's "Fishbones" '07, building on the innovations of Amer. composer John Cage, used a number of instruments that were played while immersed in water:  pipes, plastic boxes & wooden slats.  Six musicians played large bows against the sides of cymbals creating a sound slightly less irritating than nails on a chalkboard.  However, this got my attention focused on the arrhythmic acoustics that blended into a broad pitched composition sumptuous in sound & tempo. I've never heard anything quite like it.  Whistles were used that augmented the surprising mixture of sounds for a an exotic & intense dynamic.  Another piece by French composer Philippe Manoury, "Le Livre des Claviers" 1988, was an exciting & powerful composition using gongs, marimbas & vibraphones.  Mallets in varying shapes were played on inventive accoustic instruments in addition to xylophones.  The intensities & techniques provided a layered viseral experience in percussive compositions that was extremely exciting. I've learned to expect from Julliard the unexpected & the cutting edge in contemporary music.