GERSHWIN RHAPSODY IN BLUE
Instrumentation Two flutes , two oboes , three clarinets , two bassoons , three horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , two alto saxophones , banjo , tenor saxophone , timpani , bass drum , cymbals ( pair ), glockenspiel , gong , snare drum , triangle , and strings .
Leonard Bernstein
Born August 25 , 1918 in Lawrence , Massachusetts Died October 14 , 1990 in New York , New York
ON THE TOWN : THREE DANCE EPISODES [ 1945 ]
Of all the composers on this program , Leonard Bernstein is perhaps the one who most successfully and consistently dominated the following arenas of American music : Broadway ; the concert hall ; and film music .
On the Town : Three Dance Episodes , comes from the early stages of his eclectic career . Taken from the musical On the Town , itself born from Bernstein and Jerome Robbins ’ Fancy Free ( 1944 ) ballet , On the Town tells the story of three U . S . sailors on shore leave , looking for love and falling in love with New York City . In Bernstein ’ s orchestral setting , hear elements that would become core stylistic features : cool , swung rhythms ; jazz tonality ; shocking articulation in the brass ; and a youthful character .
The latter is very apparent in I . “ The Great Lover Displays Himself . Allegro pesante .” It is cacophonous , arrogant , and confident . Brass and oboe play prominently here . It ’ s a perfect foil to the introspection of II . “ Lonely Town . Pas De Deux .” The lyricism , blues tonality , and orchestral voicing create an open , spacious quality . III . “ Times Square . 1944 ” is the longest of the movements , and the most overt in its embrace of big band swing and youthful aspiration . It ’ s important to remember that in 1944 – one year before the end of World War II – swing , a jazz subgenre , was the popular music of the United States . A beloved American export for more than 20 years , a style synonymous with drive , energy , and hope .
Instrumentation Flute , oboe , three clarinets , two horns , three trumpets , three trombones , alto saxophone , timpani , bass drum , suspended cymbal , wood block , xylophone , drum set , snare drum , triangle , piano , and strings .
Duke Ellington
Born April 29 , 1899 in Washington , DC Died May 24 , 1974 in New York , New York
HARLEM [ 1950 ]
Like many of his contemporaries , Duke Ellington recognized the classical-jazz binary as purely arbitrary . One of the most popular bandleaders of the 20 th century and recognizable faces in American jazz , Ellington and his long-term collaborator Billy Strayhorn codified the big band sound and jazz ’ s association with elegance and respectable swagger .
But Ellington also drew from classical composition techniques and genre standards . His 1943 work , Black , Brown , and Beige ( composed for his Carnegie Hall debut ), explored the use of jazz tonality and flexibility of form to achieve the scope of a tone poem . Harlem is an extension of this creative interest , Ellington ’ s programmatic ode to the New York neighborhood that was a hot bed of creativity and ingenuity in the 1920s and 1930s – known by many as the Harlem Renaissance .
The seeds for Harlem began in 1950 , when Ellington was commissioned by music Arturo Toscanini to write a work that would be part of a larger , New York-inspired composition . The project fell through , leading Ellington to debut and record the work in 1951 . Harlem exists in two versions : one for large jazz orchestra , orchestrated by Ellington ; another for symphony orchestra , orchestrated by Luther Henderson .
Ellington envisioned Harlem as a musical tour . As he shared in his memoir :
“ We would now like to take you on a tour of this place called Harlem … It is Sunday morning . We are strolling from 110 th Street up Seventh Avenue , heading north through the Spanish and West Indian neighborhood towards the 125 th Street business area … You may hear a parade go by , or a funeral , or you may recognize the passage of those who are making Civil Rights demands .”
A growling trumpet opens with the musical spelling of “ Harlem .” The work feels more experimental than familiar . While moments of swing emerge , including claves and Latin jazz rhythms , the tonality is less commercial . Most of the episodes are driven by motivic shifts and sequential motion than statement and transformation of a clear melody . There is an edge and urgency to the character , reflecting shifts in jazz and classical music at this time from populist to intellectual . In some ways , it is also a retrospective : an acknowledgment of a time in Harlem that no longer existed . Acknowledgement that the passage of such a time didn ’ t make the place any less inspirational .
Instrumentation Three flutes , three oboes , three clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , four trumpets , three trombones , tuba , two alto saxophones , baritone saxophone , two tenor saxophones , timpani , bass drum , cowbell , drum set , snare drum , small tam-tam , piatti , suspended cymbals , tom toms , gourds , African drums , harp , and strings .
Maximilian Franz
JAN-FEB 2024 / OVERTURE 35