Klarinet Archive - Posting 000591.txt from 1999/09

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Composed for Benny Goodman
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 07:46:55 -0400

At 12:51 AM 9/20/1999 EDT, Teri Herel wrote:
>As I remember, the Bernstein was originally written for Benny, but was put
>aside for some reason or other and not performed by Benny at the time.
>Bernstein then reworked the piece into a show and dedicated it to Woody.
>Ironically, it was Benny who recorded the work later on.
>
It may not be the ultimate in authority, but according to Jack Gottlieb, in
the liner notes for the LP "Bernstein Conducts Bernstein" Columbia ML 6077
(1964):

"Originally commissioned by Woody Herman for his dance band, the Prelude,
Fugue and Riffs was to be part of a series of jazz works that already
included Stravinsky's "Ebony Concerto." The work was completed in November
of 1949, but Herman never performed it, nor did he pursue the series
project any further.

The work lay dormant until 1952 when Bernstein revised it for a smaller,
pit-size band in order to incorporate it, as a ballet sequence, in
"Wonderful Town." Known as the "Courtroom Ballet," the new version did not
survive its out-of-town performances since it did not fit in with the
decidedly lighter surroundings. However, a bit of the music remained in
the show.

Since its first performance on the television show, "What Is Jazz?" (1955)
by Bernstein and Goodman, it has been unperformed, most probably because of
its very special requirements of the "big band" sound, a phenomenon that
more or less died out with World War II."

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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