Ebony Concerto

Igor Stravinsky

General Info

Year: 1946
Duration: c. 10:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Clarinet and big band
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown | Score Only - $22.95

Movements

1. Allegro moderato
2. Andante
3. Moderato, Con moto, Moderato, Vivo

Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo B-flat Soprano Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone I-II
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Horn in F
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV-V
Trombone I-II-III
Piano
Harp
Guitar
String Bass
Percussion I-II, including:

Cymbal
Drum-set
Tom-Tom

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Ebony Concerto was written for Woody Herman and his orchestra. It was introduced by that orchestra in a concert at Carnegie Hall, New York, on March 25, 1946.

- Program Note from score

Igor Stravinsky wrote the Ebony Concerto in 1945 (finishing the score on December 1) for the Woody Herman band known as the First Herd. It is one in a series of compositions commissioned by the bandleader/clarinetist featuring solo clarinet, and the score is dedicated to him. It was first performed on March 25, 1946 in Carnegie Hall in New York City, by Woody Herman's Band, conducted by Walter Hendl.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Commercial Discography

Audio CD: London Symphony Orchestra (Lawrence Leighton Smith, conductor)
Audio CD: Netherlands Wind Ensemble (Edo de Waart, conductor)
Audio CD: DePaul University Wind Ensemble

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Penn.) Wind Ensemble (George Vosburgh, conductor) – 29 September 2018
Illinois State University (Normal) Wind Symphony (Anthony C. Marinello, conductor; Anne Dervin, clarinet) – 16 September 2018
Lynn University (Boca Raton, Fla.) Wind Ensemble (Kenneth Amis, conductor; James Abrahamson, clarinet) – 8 September 2018
Indiana State (Terre Haute, Indiana) Wind Orchestra (Timothy Foley, conductor; Kelley Rogers Niiyama, clarinet) – 25 February 2016 (CBDNA 2016 North Central Division Conference, Ames, Iowa)
University of Missouri-Kansas City Wind Ensemble (Steven Davis, conductor; Jane Carl, clarinet) – 8 November 2008
Cornell University Wind Ensemble (Cyndi Johnston Turner, conductor; Richard Faria, clarinet) – 17 October 2008
Southern Methodist University Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, conductor; Brent Buemi, clarinet) – 3 October 2008
Eastman Jazz Ensemble (Bill Dobbins, conductor; Ray Ricker, clarinet) – 15 June 2009

Works for Winds by This Composer

Berceuse and Finale from "The Firebird" (arr. Longfield) (1910/1998)
Berceuse and Finale from "The Firebird" (arr. Goldman) (1910/1941)
Berceuse and Finale from "The Firebird" (arr. McAlister and Reed) (1910/1989)
Circus Polka (orch. Raksin) (1942/1948)
Concertino for 12 Instruments (1920/1952)
Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments (1950)
Ebony Concerto (1946)
Elegy for JFK (1964)
Excerpts from "The Rite of Spring" (arr. Buckley) (1913/2015)
Fanfare for a New Theater (1968)
Finale from "The Firebird" (arr. Story) (1910/2014)
The Firebird: Finale (arr. Hanna) (1910/2023)
The Firebird (trans. Patterson) (1910)
Firebird Excerpts (arr. Bocook) (1910/1995)
The Firebird Suite (tr. Earles, ed. Fennell) (1910/1998)
Fireworks, Op 4 (trans. Rogers) (1908)
Funeral Song (1908)
L'Histoire du Soldat (1918)
Mass for Mixed Chorus and Double Wind Quintet (1948)
Octuor (1923)
Pastorale (1907/1933)
The Rite of Spring (tr. Patterson) (1913/1947)
The Rite of Spring (arr. Sánchez) (1913)
The Rite of Spring (arr. Vosbein) (1913/2011)
Scherzo à la russe (arr. Marciniak) (1944/1977)
Song of the Volga Boatmen (ed. Simpson) (1917/1989)
Suite from "The Firebird" (trans. Nefs) (1919/2013)
Suite from "The Firebird" (trans. Knox) (1919)
Suite No 2 for Wind Ensemble or Small Concert Band (tr. McAlister and Binney) (1921/1988)
Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920, rev. 1947)
Symphony of Psalms (1930/1948)

Resources

Ebony Concerto (Stravinsky), Wikipedia Accessed 30 August 2018
Stravinsky, I. [ca. 1990]. Ebony Concerto [score]. Morris & Co.: New York.
Walsh, Stephen. (1988). The Music of Stravinsky. Oxford: Clarendon Press.