Series Celebrating Centennial of Composer Vernon Duke Opens 2003-04 Season of Free Public Programs at the Library for the Performing Arts

Richard Rodney Bennett, Barbara Carroll, Grant Johannesen, and Ismail Merchant Among Season’s Participants

New York, NY, July 10, 2003 -- Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke at 100, a nine-program series celebrating the centennial of the birth of the Broadway, film, and classical composer Vernon Duke, ushers in the 2003-2004 season of free public programs at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Other highlights include a piano recital on October 23 by Grant Johannesen of music of Sergei Prokofiev that will be given in conjunction with the Library’s exhibition Prokofiev and His Contemporaries: The Impact of Soviet Culture. In addition to the Prokofiev programs at the Library’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, early Soviet films with scores by Prokofiev and his contemporaries will be shown at the Donnell Media Center.

In November, producer Ismail Merchant of Merchant Ivory Productions will explore the vibrant, flourishing film industry of India over the course of several programs. The season also offers concerts in the on-going series Treasures of the Music Division, showcasing the works of such composers in the Library’s collections as Carlos Chávez, Henry Cowell, and Hugo Kauder, among others.

In the second half of the season, the Library will mark the centennials of both the great choreographer George Balanchine and the renowned actor Sir John Gielgud with programs and companion exhibitions. Constance Valis Hill will conclude the Duke series and open the Balanchine series in January 2004 with a talk on their collaboration on Cabin in the Sky.

All programs are held in the Library’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, 111 Amsterdam Avenue (south of 65th Street). Admission is free and seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For further information, telephone 212.642.0142.
Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke at 100

The Vernon Duke series examines the parallel paths of one of America’s foremost classical and popular composers. Known as Vernon Duke in the popular music field (a name suggested by George Gershwin) and as Vladimir Dukelsky (his birth name) in the classical music field, Duke’s songs include such classics as “Autumn in New York,” “April in Paris,” ”I Can’t Get Started,” and “Taking a Chance on Love.”

Born in Russia on October 10, 1903, he studied music with Reinhold Gliere at the Kiev Conservatory. With the advent of the Russian Revolution, his family left for Constantinople, where Duke discovered American popular music. By 1921, he had moved to New York City and was playing piano in restaurants and conducting and composing for vaudeville and burlesque.

Arthur Rubinstein encouraged him to go to Paris to further his classical music education. There he became associated with Serge Diaghilev and the Ballet Russe, composing and traveling with the company. With Francis Poulenc, George Auric, and Vittorio Rieti, he was one of the four pianists in the London premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s Les Noces. It was in Paris that he met Conductor Serge Koussevitzky, who conducted the composer’s classical music first in Paris and later in Boston, where he continued to champion Duke’s serious music for many years.

Returning to New York in 1929, Duke composed film scores and songs for the musical theater. In 1940, Duke’s musical Cabin in the Sky opened on Broadway with Ethel Waters, Todd, Duncan, Rex Ingram, Dooley Wilson, and Katherine Dunham in the all-black cast. George Balanchine choreographed and directed. Throughout Duke’s life he worked successfully in both classical and popular genres. He died in 1969 in Santa Monica, California.

Attesting to Vernon Duke’s importance, the Library’s series will feature such outstanding artists as performer/ composer Richard Rodney Bennett, pianist/vocalist Barbara Carroll, musical theater performer George S. Irving, cellist Samuel Magill, and Duke’s widow, Kay Duke Ingalls, who as a singer was known as Kay McCracken.

Barbara Carroll

Thursday, September 25, 6:30 p.m.
An Evening with Barbara Carroll. Inaugural program in Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke at 100.

Thursday, October 9, 6:30 p.m.
Richard Rodney Bennett, piano/vocals, and Scott Dunn, piano. With the participation of Kay Duke Ingalls and special guests.

Saturday, October 11, 3 p.m.
Walk a Little Faster: History and Reconstruction of the 1932 Vernon Duke/E.Y. Harburg Musical Revue. With Anna Wheeler Gentry, lecturer/performer, and Vicki Ohl, pianist.

Tuesday, October 14, 3 p.m.
Songs from Cabin in the Sky and other Vernon Duke musicals. Performed by members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus.

Saturday, October 25, 3 p.m.
An Afternoon with Donald Saddler. The choreographer of the 1952 film April in Paris will talk about his work with Doris Day on that film. Excerpts from the musical numbers will be screened.

Monday, October 27, 6 p.m.
You Took Me by Surprise: The Unknown Show Music of Vernon Duke. Max Wilk, narrator, and Michael Lavine, music director. With George S. Irving and other special guests.

Thursday, November 20, 6 p.m.
The Chamber Music of Vernon Duke. Performance by Samuel Magill, Metropolitan Opera cellist, and Scott Dunn, pianist, among others.

Thursday, December 11, 6 p.m.
Art Songs of Vernon Duke and Libby Larsen.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the leadership support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman.

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Contacts: Rima Corben or Herb Scher at 212.704.8600.

 

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