Ah, Three Suites. I just noticed that Edward Kennedy Ellington was born 125 years ago in Washington, D.C., and died 50 years ago in New York City.
What reminded me was the fact that, earlier in December, Kelly posted a “recomposed, orchestrated” version of the Nutcracker Suite by Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) performed by Ellington c. 1960. I had linked to this myself back in 2013. My favorite movement is the last one, Arabesque Cookie, which also appears on the soundtrack to the 1992 film Malcolm X starring Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett.
It’s part of a compact disc called Three Suites, released in 1990. The second suite is Peer Gynt Suites Nos 1 And 2 by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). Ase’s Death is particularly touching.
The third suite is Suite Thursday by Ellington and longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn.
I have this CD, and I love it. Listen here or here.
The Magical Sound of ‘The Nutcracker’
This article from the New York Times, The Revolutionary Sound at the Heart of a Holiday Classic, is great fun. “Listen to how Tchaikovsky uses the celesta in ‘The Nutcracker,’ unleashing the potential of the instrument to signal playfulness and fantasy.”
Here’s The Nutcracker that Kelly posted in 2023.