Prelude, Fugue and Riffs

During his teens, Leonard Bernstein became fluent in a multitude of musical styles, absorbing the classical repertoire, memorising works by Gilbert and Sullivan and earning pocket money as a jazz pianist. His passion for music of all kinds led him to reject the ideologies and “isms” of contemporary art and create compositions that blurred the boundaries of convention. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, conceived in 1949 as a piece for Woody Herman’s big band, pours the spirit of jazz improvisation into a three-movement concert work for jazz ensemble and solo clarinet. It was shelved after the breakup of Herman’s group, but Bernstein added a revised version to his musical Wonderful Town, removing it after the show’s pre-Broadway trial run. He conducted its premiere in 1955 during his “What Is Jazz?” television show, with Benny Goodman as soloist. Bernstein’s pulsating “Prelude” for trumpets, trombones and percussion combines classical fanfare and laidback jazz overture, setting the scene for a lively “Fugue for the Saxes” (with a lyrical fugue subject at its heart), and the seemingly unstoppable “Riffs” for solo clarinet, piano and full band.