Films and music take classics back to black

Carrying out a successful Gay Icons project of events and concerts 1 year ago, the newest University of Sheffield autumn concert season, which gets under way on October 11, analyzes Black Icons to coincide with Black History Month.

Obvious black icons are Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela but many iconic black people have been ‘groundbreakers’: Obama, the very first black American President; Jackie Robinson, the 1st black baseball player; or contralto Marian Anderson, the initial black singer show up in the Ny Metropolitan Opera.

From your cultural, specifically musical aspect, black culture gave us essentially the most influential music way of the twentieth century - jazz.

Several influential, iconic musicians include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk one of them.

Western classical music has not been a questionaire that lends itself easily to black culture and society, so there's really no such thing as being a classical musician that can truly be called an influential black icon.

There has been a few internationally-celebrated black opera singers since Marian Anderson, who had been essentially a concert singer much like the more politically-driven Paul Robeson and a legendary figure as well.

There has also been the full number of highly successful black composers, their fame largely limited to the countries we were holding active in, including Americans Scott Joplin and William Grant Still, a Brit, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, along with a remarkable French contemporary of Mozart, Joseph de Bologne, otherwise referred to as Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges who enjoyed iconic status in France in his day.

The Black Icons project can be a collaboration with all the Showroom Cinema. In October it's staging a lot of the events - films featuring the history with the civil rights movement in the united states, freedom songs and Michael Jackson among other subjects.

Concerts in project are confined to two, albeit an attractive pair, on October 11 and November 22 in the University concert season, which is promoted through the Department of Music.

The October concert features one of the country’s leading bandleaders, double bassist Gary Crosby, and his Nu Civilisation Jazz Orchestra, with a programme that includes a remodelled version of Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto, in addition to music inspired by Sibelius and original works.

The November concert, provided by the Dante Quartet and pianist Alissa Firsova, ingests two operates by the undervalued Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, composer of the once hugely popular Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, Piano Quintet Op 1 and Deep River Op 59 No 10.

Better-known works are Dvorák’s ‘American’ Quartet, its famous second movement clearly suggesting a spiritual, and Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata, that has been written to the black violinist George Bridgetower.

Franz Liszt’s 200th birthday year is celebrated on October 18 in the event the outstanding pianist Lucy Parham returns with actors Martin Jarvis and Joanna David to get a words and music concert, Odyssey of Love, in association with Out of the box.

And on November 15, internationally in demand soprano Elizabeth Watts returns to her former university stomping ground to sing arias from operas by Alessandro Scarlatti and Handel with leading harpsichord player Laurence Cummings.

World music in the season offers Tuvan Throat Singing on October 25 from a leading exponent from the art, Soriah, while a trio of versatile Greek musicians offer a taste of Mediterranean sunshine on December 6 with Music in the Isle of Crete.

In-house concerts through the University Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Wind Orchestra, Songs Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra complete the principle season at Firth Hall with concert admission priced at £8.50, £6 for over-60s, £3 under-26s.

The venue, in Firth Court on Western Bank, just beneath Weston Park, is also housing the weekly compilation of free admission lunchtime concerts (formerly in the University Drama Studio), however , not every one of the concerts, which begin on October 13, are on Thursdays - two are stored on Monday.

Another group of five Monday Rush-Hour Concerts (£2.50 admission), beginning on October 31, take place at Firth Hall having a 5.30pm start. Commencing on October 14, you will find there's further group of five Friday Gallery Concerts (free) which occur fortnightly at 1pm, alternating between the Graves and Millennium galleries