The fourth “goodie” for September is program 18 in the Duke Ellington series broadcasted by the Danish Radio in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.
As usual, it is available in the ”Goodies of the Month” section of the DESS Lobby (DESS-rummet).
The program was broadcasted on March 29, 1985 and the presenter is Erik Wiedeman. It is – like the broadcast on March 22, 1985 – entirely devoted to the music of the ballett “The River”. Together, the two programs includes all the movements of “The River” in different stages of development.
The program starts with the piano version of “The River” from May 25, 1970. It is followed by “The Meander” – also a piano version – from May 11, 1970. It was meant to be played in Program 17 but because of a mix-up “The Lake” was played instead. “The Meander” is the third movement
The orchestral version of “The Lake” (May 25, 1970) comes next. It is the fifth movement of the suite.
Wiedeman then let us hear “The Falls” and “Flute from June 8, 1970. “The Falls is the sixth movement of the suite, while “Flute” was never included in it.
After these two selections, the broadcast continues with two from June 3, 1970. The first one is “Vortex” (aka “The Whirlpool”) and the other one is “The River” (aka) “Ribe”. They are the seventh and eighth movements of the suite.
Then follows two movements (the ninth and the tenth) , which describes two very different villages on each side of the river. First Busk plays two versions of “The Neo-Hip-Hot-Cool-Kiddies-Community” (aka “Stud”) – one piano from May 11, 1970 and one orchestral one from June 3, 1970 and then “The Village Of The Virgins” (aka “Vivi”), which only exists in an orchestral version.
The program ends with “The Mother, Her Majesty, The Sea”, which is the eleventh movement of the suite, followed by “Soft”, which – Wiedeman says – Ellington might have meant to be the twelfth movement. Both only exists in orchestral versions.