Recorded in 1946, Igor Stravinsky conducts the Woody Herman Orchestra in the Ebony Concerto. It doesn’t get much cooler than this.
I. Moderato
II. Andante
III. Moderato
Recorded in 1946, Igor Stravinsky conducts the Woody Herman Orchestra in the Ebony Concerto. It doesn’t get much cooler than this.
I. Moderato
II. Andante
III. Moderato
December 3, 2010
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Tim,
I have several recordings of this piece-but none with Woody playing it. Thank you.
The band sounds crisp and, for lack of another adjective, “Stravinskian”.
This is a piece that seems to be lost in historical significance, and doesn’t get performed much.
It’s got all of those little silences in unexpected places, and bizzare instrumental combinations that
gave me shivers when I first listened to Duke Ellington’s compositions. “Now what
in the heck was that?” Like those gorgeous #9 chords in the last movement, and then ending
with a uniquely voiced minor 7. Perhaps it’s not a masterpiece, but it’s very cool Igor AND Woody!
“Perhaps it’s not a masterpiece” … Maybe not, I don’t really know. I do know that it gets better every time I listen to it. I think it should be performed a little more often than it is. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a live performance.
The Stravinsky stereo remake was done in New York with Benny Goodman as the clarinet soloist. An interesting sidenote is that one of the sidemen in the band was one Carl “Doc” Severinsen. I think it “swings” a little better.