Concertgebouw Prize for American jazz icon Wynton Marsalis
AMSTERDAM, Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is the first jazz musician to receive the prestigious Concertgebouw Prize. This award is meant for musicians who over an extended period have contributed to the Concertgebouw’s artistic profile. With his many concerts in the Concertgebouw, his compositions and his efforts in the field of education, the American musician is of immense value to the Concertgebouw. The award was presented to Wynton Marsalis during a gala concert on 11 October in Amsterdam. General director Simon Reinink: ´His musicianship is deeply rooted in musical history, not only in jazz but also in classical music. A true musical icon of our time!’
Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, teacher and promoter of American musical culture. He has sold more than seven million albums and is the only person ever to win Grammy Awards in both the classical and jazz categories. Since a young age, he has played with the greatest jazz musicians including Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis, Sonny Rollins and Herbie Hancock, as well as classical orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Of his classical compositions, his Violin Concerto written for Nicola Benedetti was performed in 2016 during the NTR Saturday Matinee.
A year after establishing his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in New York in 1996, Marsalis came to the Concertgebouw to perform his Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio Blood on the Fields. The concert was a huge success and the orchestra subsequently returned to the Concertgebouw more than ten times for concerts and educational projects. Marsalis always has a good eye for young talent, as he proved last year by inviting the young Amsterdam saxophonist Gideon Tazelaar to solo with his big band in the Concertgebouw.
The Concertgebouw Prize, which will be presented for the twelfth time during a festive gala concert in the Main Hall of the Concertgebouw, is an initiative of the management and boards of the Concertgebouw and the Concertgebouw Fund. Previous laureates have included Cecilia Bartoli (2004), the Beaux Arts Trio (2006), Bernard Haitink (2007), the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (2009), Maurizio Pollini (2010), Thomas Hampson (2011), Janine Jansen (2013), Yo-Yo Ma (2014), Sir John Eliot Gardiner (2016), the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Broadcasting Choir (2017) and the Hagen Quartet (2019).
Past Performances in the Concertgebouw:
- 11 March 1997 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Cassandra Wilson, Jon Hendricks, Miles Griffith Blood on the Fields
- 21 June 1999 – Wynton Marsalis and Leonard Slatkin in Discussion – John Adams Institute
- 22 June 1999 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, American Adventures
- 23 June 1999 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, American Adventures
- 13 January 2003 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
- 2 February 2016 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
- 2 February 2016 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra – educational project
- 11 February 2016 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
- 17 December 2016 – Marsalis’ Violin Concerto performed by Nicola Benedetti during the NTR Saturday Matinee
- 20 February 2018 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: The Music of Duke Ellington
- 21 February 2018 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: Tribute to Benny Goodman
- 16 February 2020 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: Giants of Jazz
- 17 February 2020 – The Best of Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
SOURCE Het Concertgebouw