Giorgos Kontrafouris, a leading jazz musician of international acclaim, and his Trio present a special concert where jazz meets symphonic music. The occasion is a double anniversary tribute to the iconic American composers Duke Ellington and George Gershwin. In the first part of the concert, the Trio performs solo, interpreting Ellington’s masterful compositions. Then, together with the ERT Symphony Orchestra and conductor Michael Economou, they present the first national performance of New World A-Comin’ for jazz piano trio and symphony orchestra. Expanding the horizons of traditional jazz, the legendary Ellington tells of the daily toil of African Americans in 1920s Harlem and their hope for a better tomorrow. Fifty years after his death, his music continues to thrill with its pulse and melodic imagination. At the heart of the second half of the concert is the Blue Rhapsody in a fresh and exciting reading by George Kontrafouris and his Trio. Gershwin wrote the work in the space of three weeks. It was premiered with him at the piano on 12 February 1924 in New York to rave reviews. Later, Ferd Groffe transcribed the rhapsody for symphony orchestra, and this is the version we know today, with the clarinet’s opening glissandi as recognizable as the four notes from the motif of destiny in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

 

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