StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Wynton Marsalis' "Swing Symphony"

This week, we're taking take a look at, and a listen to, a single extended composition: Wynton Marsalis' "Swing Symphony," written by the trumpeter to be performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra plus a full symphony orchestra. Completed in 2010, the work was premiered by Marsalis, JaLCO and the Berlin Philharmonic in June of that year. That concert was broadcast by PBS here in the USA, and "Swing Symphony" subsequently has been performed a number of other times, most notably in New York, Los Angeles and London.

Now St. Louis listeners will get a chance to hear "Swing Symphony" in person, as Marsalis and JaLCO are headed here to perform it with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra next Saturday, October 20 at Powell Symphony Hall.

In the first clip up above, you can hear Marsalis and the Berlin Philharmonic's conductor Simon Rattle talking about "Swing Symphony" in a conversation with composer and journalist Catherine Milliken, recorded in conjunction with the work's premiere.

Down below, you can see and hear that complete premiere performance of "Swing Symphony" from 2010, featuring Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Rattle. Below that, you can see Marsalis alone, talking directly to the camera about composing "Swing Symphony" in four segments that were recorded shortly after the Los Angeles Philharmonic performance.

For more about Wynton Marsalis' "Swing Symphony," check out this review of American premiere in September 2010 by the New York Philharmonic, and this one of the Los Angeles performance in February 2011.

And if you haven't got your tickets yet for next Saturday's performance, you may be interested to know that the SLSO is offering a 20% discount on the remaining seats. You can get the details on that discount offer here.