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All Rise: Strathmore’s Most Ambitious Production of the Season
The rehearsal for Strathmore’s biggest production of the 2016-2017 season is going smoothly—for the most part. During a break between movements, conductor William Eddins chastises the choir for seeming distracted. “Tomorrow,” he says, “I want all eyes on me.” Keep reading »
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Radical ideas reap rewards as CSO, Jazz at Lincoln Center mingle
What happens when two great orchestras — one jazz, one classical — share a stage and a score? Previously unencountered sounds can occur, as they did in abundance Friday night in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, where the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra appeared en masse. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis and JLCO colleagues swing their own tunes at Symphony Center
We’ve known for a long time that the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra stands as an ensemble of virtuosos. But that term generally refers to the level at which musicians play their instruments. In the case of the JLCO members, though, it also signifies the way they wield their pens. Keep reading »
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Review: Wynton Marsalis’s Urban Symphony for the Philharmonic
The next time Wynton Marsalis writes a symphony for the New York Philharmonic, he might want to plan from the start to keep it well under an hour. At least if he wants to assure that the Philharmonic will be able to perform it complete. Timing was a factor in 2010, when Alan Gilbert led the American premiere of Mr. Marsalis’s Symphony No. 3, “Swing Symphony,” on a season-opening gala program. Because it was being televised on “Live From Lincoln Center,” the concert had to come in under two hours. So Mr. Gilbert dropped the first of Mr. Marsalis’s six movements, which still left some 45 minutes of music. (The symphony was performed in full the following season, and then again, with yet another movement added, in 2013.) Keep reading »
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Marsalis & Friends Honor the Jazz Spirit of Ralph Ellison at NJPAC
Jazz and blues were central to Ralph Ellison, author of the 1952 novel Invisible Man. Reminiscing about his childhood in Oklahoma, he wrote, “In those days it was either live with music or die with noise. …” Keep reading »
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The Transatlantic Collaboration Behind Wynton Marsalis’ New Violin Concerto
Jazz great Wynton Marsalis, a virtuoso trumpet player and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, has written — wait for it — a violin concerto. As the daughter of the late virtuoso violinist Roman Totenberg, I was intrigued and wanted to know more. So I spent an hour with Marsalis — and the violinist he wrote his concerto with and for. (More on that later.) Keep reading »
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The Arts Desk - Nicky and Wynton: The Making of a Concerto, BBC Four
Two personable musicians, who win on all fronts: at the pinnacle of their highly competitive and skilled professions, highly articulate, and perhaps unlikely partners in their art. In one corner, ladies and gentlemen, the composer, world-leading jazz trumpeter, teacher, head of Lincoln Center Jazz, the New Orleans-born Wynton Marsalis, 55. In the other, Nicola Benedetti, 29, the Scottish classical violinist, teacher and leading campaigning proselytiser for the importance of music in all spheres. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis & Igor Butman Perform for Carmel Institute
Renowned jazz musicians Igor Butman and Wynton Marsalis took center stage at DC’s historic Lincoln Theatre to celebrate the fifth anniversary of AU’s groundbreaking Carmel Institute of Russian Culture and History, which was established to promote cultural diplomacy and educational exchange between the United States and Russia. Keep reading »
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NSO offers exuberant Marsalis concerto
Wynton Marsalis, the jazz artist, has made repeated forays into art-music composition — writing, that is, notated music for large ensembles, like “Blood on the Fields,” a jazz oratorio that won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize. In the last year he’s had a couple of significant orchestral performances in the Washington area: Washington Performing Arts presented a revision of his Blues Symphony at the Kennedy Center, in 2015, and the National Symphony Orchestra offered its first performance of his new violin concerto, which the orchestra co-commissioned, on Thursday night. Keep reading »
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Marsalis and Ward Join Becker for Final Morning Lecture
Longtime friends Geoffrey C. Ward and Wynton Marsalis joined in conversation reflecting on the events of the week and discussing the significance of jazz to American culture and the work they’ve done. President Tom Becker acted as moderator during the 10:45 a.m. Friday morning lecture in the Amphitheater. The lecture closed the season and this week’s theme “America’s Music with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center.” Keep reading »