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| | Arts Calendar / April 25 / Concerts |
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19:00 | Duke Ellington Orchestra (USA) |
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By the time of his passing, he was considered amongst the world's greatest composers and musicians. The French government honored him with their highest award, the Legion of Honor, while the government of the United States bestowed upon him the highest civil honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He played for the royalty and for the common people and by the end of his fifty-year career, he had played over 20,000 performances worldwide. He was The Duke, Duke Ellington. This legacy continues with The Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Paul Ellington. Duke Ellington was the most important composer in the history of jazz as well as being a bandleader who held his large group together continuously for almost 50 years. The two aspects of his career were related; Ellington used his band as a musical laboratory for his new compositions and shaped his writing specifically to showcase the talents of his band members, many of whom remained with him for long periods. Ellington also wrote film scores and stage musicals, and several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. In addition to touring year in and year out, he recorded extensively, resulting in a gigantic body of work that was still being assessed a quarter century after his death. President Lyndon Johnson presented Duke Ellingtonwith the President’s Gold Medal in 1966. President Richard M Nixon presented Duke Ellington with the Medal of Freedom in 1969. Duke Ellington received 13 Grammy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Duke Ellington influenced millions of people both around the world and at home. He gave American music its own sound for the first time. In his fifty year career, he played over 20,000 performances in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East as well as Asia. Duke Ellington is best remembered for the over 3000 songs that he composed during his lifetime. His best known titles include; "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing", "Sophisticated Lady", "Mood Indigo", "Solitude", "In a Mellotone", and "Satin Doll". The most amazing part about Ellington was the most creative while he was on the road. It was during this time when he wrote his most famous piece, "Mood Indigo"which brought him world wide fame. Duke Ellington and his Orchestra is perhaps the greatest of all jazz bands. The group stayed together for over fifty years and recorded and wrote some of America's greatest music. The band started in New York City under name of the Washingtonians in 1923, they then briefly became known as Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra, then as Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra from 1927 to 1930. It was through weekly radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club that the orchestra gained nationwide exposure and became famous. After 1931 the band was billed as Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Duke Ellington led his Orchestra from 1923 until his death in 1974. His death did not end the band, which was taken over by his son Mercer, who led it until his own death in 1996. Paul Ellington, Mercer's youngest son, took over the Orchestra from there.
MMDM Svetlanov Hall  |
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20:30 | Volkonsky Consort Ensemble |
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Old music ensemble "Volkonsky Consort" (art director - People's artist of Russia Larisa Pyatigorskaya) will present a program "Sagrada Familia. Spanish music of old masters " and perform compositions by de Selma, Cabezon, Mudarra, Valente, Victoria, Otis. The concert will be a part of "Evenings by candleligh" series. The Volkonsky Consort (formerly known as "Madrigal"), one of the oldest and most eminent Russian early music ensembles, was founded in 1965 by the legendary composer and harpsichordist, Prince Andrey Volkonsky. The Consort got its original name from the best-known vocal genre of the Renaissance. After Prince Volkonsky departed to the West in 1972 the ensemble was headed by the renowned singer and soloist Lidia Davydova, who led it until her death in March 2011. Today the Consort comprises the third generation of its members, some of whom have performed in it for over fifteen years. The Consort's present name enhances the continuity of authentic musical traditions established by Prince Andrey Volkonsky and carried on by Lidia Davydova. The Consort's present Director is Larisa Piatigorskaya, People's Artist of Russia and member of the Madrigal since 1967. The Consort's repertoire can well be called unique. It spans an immense time range from the 6th to the 17th century, bringing to audiences the music of Byzantium, the School of Notre Dame, Ars Nova, and Netherlandish polyphony. Performances of the Volkonsky Consort are distinguished by highly professional commentaries given by the musicians themselves. Listeners thus have a rare opportunity not only to hear early music, but also to partake of the culture of different countries and periods, to learn more about traditional genres, and get acquainted with various authentic instruments, such as recorders, bagpipes, crumhorns, shawms, lutes, rebecs, viols, harpsichord and percussion.
Roman Catholic Cathedral of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
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