DUKING IT OUT
In 1943, Duke Ellington premiered two works about the experience of Black Americans—one, Black, Brown, and Beige, traced their collective history and another, New World A-Coming, imagined a hopeful future. Ellington wrote about the latter in his biography, “I visualized this new world as a place in the distant future, where there would be no war, no greed, no categorization, no non-believers, where love was unconditional, and no pronoun was good enough for God.”
Within the context of the orchestra, Ellington explored these themes, as well as his faith, in many forms, from sacred concerts to extended suites to tone poems. He brought the full range of his musical vocabulary to bear on his symphonic work, weaving spirituals, jazz, blues, and even West Indian dance music into his orchestrations. In two programs over four nights, January 20-23, 2022, Thomas Wilkins leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a weekend dedicated to the orchestral music of a great American composer.
Get tickets at LA Phil.
In the first program, explore the symphonic range of Ellington from the whimsical dances in Night Creature to his majestic ballet The River. Plus, jazz pianist and composer Gerald Clayton lends his touch to New World A-Comin’.
Here is the program on Thursday January 20 at 8 and Friday January 21 at 8:
Symphonic Ellington: New World A-Comin’ with Gerald Clayton
- Duke ELLINGTON (ARR. BERGER) Night Creature
- ELLINGTON New World A-Comin’
- Intermission
- Duke ELLINGTON (ARR. PERESS) Black, Brown & Beige
- Duke ELLINGTON (ORCH. COLLIER) The River Suite
(listen to this program’s playlist on Spotify)
Here is the program on Saturday January 22 at 8 and Sunday January 23 at 2:
Symphonic Ellington: Sacred Concerts
- Duke ELLINGTON (ARR. PERESS) Black, Brown & Beige
- Duke ELLINGTON (ARR. GOULD) Solitude
- Duke ELLINGTON “David Danced”
- Intermission
- Duke ELLINGTON Selections from the Sacred Concerts
to hear a playlist of pieces that will be at the concert, visit LA PHIL
