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Ellington and Shakespeare: Such Sweet Thunder

The last hit song that Duke Ellington wrote was “Satin Doll” in 1953 (in collaboration with Billy Strayhorn and lyricist Johnny Mercer), but many of his greatest compositions were still to come.

We continue our lecture series on Ellington’s music by exploring highlights from the remarkable body of concert pieces for jazz orchestra that he composed in the 1950s and ‘60s. These works, usually composed in some form of collaboration with Billy Strayhorn, reveal Ellington’s ever-expanding musical reach and vision, and are, without question, a high-water mark in the history of jazz composition, influencing jazz and non-jazz composers alike to this day. First up: Such Sweet Thunder from 1957, the terrifically imaginative Ellington/Strayhorn exploration of favorite characters and themes of William Shakespeare.











When: Thu., Jun. 29, 2017 at 1:30 pm
Where: The 92nd Street Y, New York
1395 Lexington Ave.
212-415-5500
Price: $45
Buy tickets/get more info now
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The last hit song that Duke Ellington wrote was “Satin Doll” in 1953 (in collaboration with Billy Strayhorn and lyricist Johnny Mercer), but many of his greatest compositions were still to come.

We continue our lecture series on Ellington’s music by exploring highlights from the remarkable body of concert pieces for jazz orchestra that he composed in the 1950s and ‘60s. These works, usually composed in some form of collaboration with Billy Strayhorn, reveal Ellington’s ever-expanding musical reach and vision, and are, without question, a high-water mark in the history of jazz composition, influencing jazz and non-jazz composers alike to this day. First up: Such Sweet Thunder from 1957, the terrifically imaginative Ellington/Strayhorn exploration of favorite characters and themes of William Shakespeare.

Buy tickets/get more info now