Sun, Mar 24
|Musical Instrument Museum
Dead Elvis and Other Gems
MusicaNova principal bassoon Kristilyn Woods dons the sequined costume for Michael Daugherty's classical tour de force inspired by the King of Rock and Roll. Plus, a rare concerto for two clarinets
Time & Location
Mar 24, 2024, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85050, USA
About the event
Michael Daugherty: Dead Elvis
Peggy-Glanville Hicks: 3 Gymnopedies
Franz Krommer: Concerto for Two Clarinets and Orchestra
Joseph Haydn: Symphony no. 98
Read the full program notes here.
Dead Elvis is scored for the same instrumentation as Stravinsky's Histoire du Soldat (1918), in which a soldier sells his violin, and his soul, to the devil for a magic book. Michael Daugherty explains why: "I offer a new spin on this Faustian scenario: a rock star sells out to Hollywood, Colonel Parker, and Las Vegas for wealth and fame. I use Dies irae -- a medieval Latin chant for the Day of Judgment -- as the principal musical theme in my composition to pose the question, is Elvis dead or alive beyond the grave of Graceland?"
The piece contrasts 1950s rock and roll ostinato in the double bass, violin, and bongos against the bassoonist's variations of Dies irae. "Elvis is part of American culture, history, and mythology for better or for worse," Daughery writes. "If you want to understand America and all its riddles, sooner or later you will have to deal with (Dead) Elvis."