Igor Stravinsky - Ebony Concerto [With score]

Composer: Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (17 June 1882 -- 6 April 1971) Clarinet: Michel Arrignon Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain Conductor: Pierre Boulez Ebony Concerto for clarinet and jazz band, written in 1945 00:00 - I. Allegro moderato 03:00 - II. Andante 05:33 - III. Moderato - Con moto - Moderato Stravinsky wrote his Ebony Concerto for jazz bandleader Woody Herman, who premiered it with his ensemble the Thundering Herd in March 1946. It is modeled on the Baroque concerto grosso and obviously incorporates jazz styles popular during the wartime era. Cast in three very short movements -- the whole work lasting about nine minutes -- it is scored for clarinet and jazz band. Ebony Concerto opens with a lively Allegro moderato, where the themes are rhythmic and quite jerky in their unpredictability. Everything sounds Stravinskyan, though, the jazz elements fusing naturally with the composer’s neo-Classical style. The most lyrical-sounding theme comes on clarinet and trombone, recalling a theme in ragt