The use of cameras or recording equipment during the 

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones,

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off.

Please note that late entry or reentry ofthe 

East Building after 6:30 pm is not permitted.

For the convenience of concertgoers, 

the Garden Cafe remains open for light refreshments

until 6:00 pm on Sundays.

Music Department

National Gallery of Art

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, DC

www.nga.gov

Concerts are made possible in part through the generosity of donors

to the National Gallery ofArt through The Circle. Reserved seating is

available in recognition oftheir support. Please contact the development 

office at (202) 842-6450 or circle@nga.gov for more information.

COVER: William James Bennett after George Cooke, City of Washington: From beyond

the Navy Yards, published 1834, hand-colored aquatint with touches of engraving

on wove paper, National Gallery ofArt, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

The Seventy-second Season of

The William Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin

Concerts

National Gallery ofArt

2,970th Concert

United States Navy Band Commodores

December 8, 2013

Sunday, 6:30 pm

East Building Auditorium

Admissionfree
Program

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Selections from The Nutcracker Suite, op. 71a (1892)

Adapted (i960) by Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and

Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967)

The performers will announce their selections from the stage.

The Ellington/Strayhorn adaptation includes the following movements:

Overture

Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance ofthe Reed-Pipes)

Peanut Brittle Brigade (March)

Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance ofthe Sugar-Plum Fairy)

Entr’acte

Volga Vouty (Russian Dance)

Chinoiserie (Chinese Dance)

Dance ofthe Floreadores (Waltz ofthe Flowers)

Arabesque Cookie (Arabian Dance)

The Performers

Serving as the United States Navy’s premiere jazz ensemble for more than

forty years, the United States Navy Band Commodores continue the American

jazz big band legacy with public concerts, national concert tours, ceremonial

support in honoring veterans, jazz education classes and clinics, and protocol 

performances for high-level military and civilian government officials. Led by

Senior Chief Musician Philip Burlin, the Commodores write and arrange

much oftheir own music, creating concerts that are an eclectic mix oftraditional big band music, jazz vocal arrangements, and new instrumental music.

Truly a “Who’s Who” ofjazz and popular music, the list of guest artists

who have appeared with the Commodores includes Jerry Bergonzi, Ray

Charles, Eddie Daniels, Branford Marsalis, James Moody, Chris Potter, Clark

Terry, and Grover Washington Jr. The band has appeared on television

shows, played nearly all major jazz festivals, and toured across the United

States and abroad. In conjunction with the United States Air Force Airmen

of Note and the United States Army Blues, the Commodores host the

annual Joint Service Jazz Festival in Washington, DC. The Commodores’

most recent recording, Directions, was released in 2009 to critical acclaim.

With tonight’s concert, the Commodores continue a long tradition of

participation by Navy ensembles in the National Gallery ofArt's concert life.

The first full season of concerts at the Gallery (1942-1943), began with a

concert by the United States Navy School of Music Chorus on December 6,

1942. During the remainder ofWorld War 11, ensembles from the Armed

Services frequently provided music for Gallery concerts, which were seen as

an extension ofthe efforts of United Service Organizations, Inc. (the uso) to

boost the morale oftroops and civilians united in the war effort. Among the

Navy ensembles that have responded to invitations from the Gallery concert

series are the Sea Chanters, who joined forces with the National Gallery of

Art Orchestra on December 6,1992, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of

the above-mentioned concert; and the United States Naval Academy Men’s

Glee Club, which performed in 2002.

3
Program Notes

Born in Washington, DC, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974)

enjoyed a six-decade-long career, during which he exerted tremendous

influence on the world’s musical landscape as a composer, pianist, and

bandleader. Though considered a seminal figure in jazz, Ellington defined

his music more expansively as “American music,” subtly deflecting the

tendency to classify his music exclusively as “jazz.” In the mid-i920S,

Ellington’s orchestra developed a national profile through its performances

at the Cotton Club in New York.

Stocked with an arsenal ofindividual virtuoso players, Ellington’s

orchestra quickly developed a unique sound. Though he collaborated briefly

between 1924 and 1929, trumpeter James “Bubber” Miley (1903-1932)

perfected a growling tone aided by a plunger mute, which came to define

the group’s early sound and strongly influenced his replacements, Cootie 

Williams (1911-1985) and Ray Nance (1913-1976). Double bassist Jimmy

Blanton (1918-1942) was one ofthe first to transform the bass from a

rhythm instrument to a solo instrument. Tenor saxophonist Ben Webster

(1909-1978) and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges (1906-1970) developed

a rivalry to determine which voice would lead the sax section.

Ellington rarely wielded a baton, conducting from the piano with a calm,

charming demeanor. The individual parts to each song would display the

players’ names on the top corner rather than their instruments—a testament to Ellington’s personal and intimate style ofleadership. After Ellington

hired pianist and arranger Billy Strayhorn as a lyricist, Strayhorn’s duties

expanded far beyond his original role. With extensive training in classical

music, he was able to edit and polish Ellington’s works as well as fill in for 

Duke as conductor and pianist.

Ellington’s orchestra remained intact through the Great Depression,

which saw the recording industry drop over ninety percent ofits contracted

artists between 1929 and 1933. On the contrary, the Ellington ensemble

maintained wide popularity as swing bands rose to prominence in the 1930s.

Though well-versed in swing, Ellington stressed mood, nuance, and compo4

sitional depth in a way that allowed his orchestra to stand out throughout

the swing craze. After World War 11, solo vocalists such as Frank Sinatra

gained popularity at the expense ofthe big band scene. Count Basie’s

orchestra had shrunk to an octet by 1950, but Ellington’s orchestra maintained a recording contract with Capitol Records until 1955. An inspired,

impromptu performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956 earned “the

Duke” a spot on the cover of Time magazine and yielded the best-selling

record ofhis career. From that point until the end of his life, Ellington

continued to compose, record, and collaborate with other greats and young

talents in the jazz scene, and he enjoyed widespread praise for his overall 

body ofwork. A laureate ofthe first Grammy Award ceremony in 1959,

Ellington won twelve such awards, including three posthumous ones.

An early star ofthe recording era, Ellington penned countless miniatures

for the three-minute 78-rpm record format, which helped to bring his sound

into homes all across the United States as early as 1924. His contribution to

the 1925 all-African-American review, Chocolate Kiddies, introduced AfricanAmerican performers and musical styles to European audiences. Ellington 

resumed tours of Europe with his orchestra in the 1950s, and expanded the

tours to include Africa, Asia, and South America in later years. The creator of

thousands ofsongs, he is considered one ofthe most prolific and influential

composers ofthe twentieth century.

Program notes by Michael Jacko, music program specialist,

National Gallery ofArt

5
Upcoming Concerts at the National Gallery ofArt

New York Opera Society

Double bill of operas by Gisle Kverndokk

Max and Moritz and the world premiere of Supersize Girl

Sponsored in part by the Royal Norwegian Embassy

December 15, 2013

Sunday, 6:30 pm

East Building Auditorium

Ensemble Galilei

Music by medieval and Renaissance composers 

for Christmas and the Winter Solstice

December 22, 2013

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

National Gallery ofArt Vocal Ensemble

Viennese New Year Concert

Music by Lehar, Strauss, and other composers

December 29, 2013

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

6

National Gallery ofArt Orchestra

Vladimir Lande, guest conductor

Xiayin Wang, pianist

Russian-American New Year Concert

Music by Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky

January 5, 2014

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

National Gallery ofArt Orchestra

Andrew Simpson, guest conductor

Cine-concert

Silent films by Keaton and other directors with music by Simpson

January 12, 2014

Sunday, 6:30 pm

East Building Auditorium

David Geringas, cellist

Music by J. S. Bach and other composers

January 19, 2014

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court