Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "

I Can't Get Started "I Can't Get Started", also known as "I Can't Get Started with You" or "I Can't Get Started (with You)", is a popular song. It was written in 1936 by Vernon Duke (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) and introduced that year in the film ''Ziegfeld Fo ...

," with lyrics by Ira Gershwin (1936), " April in Paris," with lyrics by E. Y. ("Yip") Harburg (1932), and "What Is There To Say," for the '' Ziegfeld Follies'' of 1934, also with Harburg. He wrote the words and music for " Autumn in New York" (1934) for the revue '' Thumbs Up!'' In his book, ''American Popular Song, The Great Innovators 1900-1950'', composer

Alec Wilder Alexander Lafayette Chew Wilder (February 16, 1907 – December 24, 1980) was an American composer. Biography Wilder was born in Rochester, New York, United States, to a prominent family; the Wilder Building downtown (at the "Four Corners") ...

praises this song, writing, “The verse may be the most ambitious I’ve ever seen." Duke also collaborated with lyricists

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's best ...

, and Sammy Cahn.

Early life

Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dukelsky ( Russian: Владимир Александрович Дукельский) was born in 1903 into a Belarusian noble family in the village of Parfyanovka,

Pskov Governorate Pskov Governorate (russian: link=no, Псковская губерния, ''Pskovskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1772 until 1777 and from 1796 until ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. His family was of the small gentry class; the 1954 '' Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' referred to his paternal grandmother, née Princess Tumanishvili, as having been "directly descended from the

kings of Georgia This is a list of kings and queens regnant of the kingdoms of Georgia before Russian annexation in 1801–1810. For more comprehensive lists, and family trees, of Georgian monarchs and rulers see Lists of Georgian monarchs. Kings of Iberia ...

". According to Duke, his mother also had some

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and Spanish ancestry. The '' Jewish Standard'' lists him among

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

musicians, for reasons unknown; Composer Jack Gottlieb denies this claim. The Dukelskys resided in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

, and Vladimir's only visit to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

occurred in the summer of 1915. The impressions of that summer were later echoed in Dukelsky's

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

''The End of St. Petersburg'' (1931–37). The title is a reference to the film

The End of St. Petersburg ''The End of St. Petersburg'' (russian: Конец Санкт-Петербурга, Konets Sankt-Peterburga) is a 1927 silent film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and produced by Mezhrabpom. Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of th ...

, directed by

Vsevolod Pudovkin Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin ( rus, Всеволод Илларионович Пудовкин, p=ˈfsʲevələt ɪlərʲɪˈonəvʲɪtɕ pʊˈdofkʲɪn; 16 February 1893 – 30 June 1953) was a Russian and Soviet film director, screenwrite ...

. At the age of eleven, Dukelsky was admitted to the Kiev Conservatory, where he studied composition with Reinhold Glière and musical theory with Boleslav Yavorsky. In 1919, his family escaped from the turmoil of

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

in Russia and spent a year and a half with other refugees in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. In 1921, they obtained American visas and sailed steerage class on the SS ''King Alexander'' to New York. He underwent his immigration inspection at Ellis Island. On the passenger list, the purser of the ''King Alexander'' recorded his name as ''Vladimir Doukelsky,'' in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

fashion. In 1922 in New York,

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

befriended the young immigrant. Gershwin (born Jacob Gershwine) suggested that Dukelsky truncate and Americanize his surname, taking Vernon as his given name. Dukelsky's first songs published under his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

were conceived that year, but he continued to write classical music and Russian

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

under his birth name until 1955.

Career

In 1924, Dukelsky returned to Europe. In

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, he received a commission from

Serge Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, p ...

to compose a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

. Dukelsky's first theatrical production, ''Zephyr and Flora'', was staged in the 1925 season of

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. ...

, with

choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (russian: Леони́д Фёдорович Мя́син), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the w ...

and scenography by Georges Braque, to great critical acclaim. In a review of musical novelties of the season,

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...

described it as full of "superior melodies, very well designed, harmonically beautiful and not too 'modernist'." Prokofiev was as impressed with the young talent as Diaghilev was, and soon the composers became close friends. They frequently saw each other until Prokofiev returned to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in 1938; they continued to correspond until 1946. Dukelsky's First Symphony was premiered by

Serge Koussevitzky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevi ...

and his orchestra in 1928 in Paris on the same bill as excerpts from Prokofiev's '' The Fiery Angel''. Some of Dukelsky's and Prokofiev's compositions of the 1930s bear evidence of their musical dialogue. In the late 1920s, Dukelsky divided his time between Paris, where his more classical works were performed, and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he composed numbers for musical comedies under his pen name Vernon Duke. In 1929, he returned to the United States with the intention of settling in the country permanently. He composed and published much serious music, but devoted greater efforts to establishing himself on Broadway. Duke's songs " April in Paris" (1932), " Autumn in New York" (1934), "I Like the Likes of You" (1934), "Water Under the Bridge" (1934), and "

" (1936) were 1930s hits. The support and devotion of Serge Koussevitzky, who published Dukelsky's

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...

and conducted his orchestral scores, helped him develop his classical works. Dukelsky's

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typ ...

for

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, orchestra, and

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

obbligato, titled ''Dédicaces'' (1935–1937), was premièred by Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in January 1939 in New York. His oratorio, ''The End of St. Petersburg'', was premiered a year earlier by Schola Cantorum and the New York Philharmonic under Hugh Ross. In 1937, the composer was asked to complete Gershwin's last score, a

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

to a Technicolor extravaganza '' The Goldwyn Follies'', to which he contributed two

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

ballets choreographed by George Balanchine, and the song "Spring Again". In 1939, Dukelsky became an American citizen and took Vernon Duke as his legal name. Duke's greatest success came a year later, with the Broadway musical ''Cabin in the Sky'' (1940), choreographed by George Balanchine and performed by an all-black cast at the Martin Beck Theater in New York.

Military service

Between 1942 and 1944, he served in the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

. While in service, he discovered

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

, a

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

player in the Coast Guard Band, and wrote a touring show for the Coast Guard called '' Tars & Spars''. He also conceived some of his finest music in the classical tradition, including a Cello Concerto (commissioned by Gregor Piatigorsky) and a Violin Concerto.

Third Symphony

His Third Symphony (1946) was dedicated to the memory of Koussevitzky's wife, Natalie. Over the years, Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky, Dukelsky's devoted supporters, had become his surrogate family. When Dukelsky's mother died, in 1942, the composer took the conductor's refusal to commission the work with great bitterness. The dedication was revoked and the relationship soured. In 1946, Duke left the United States for France, where he continued his double career of being a classical composer and a songwriter (now setting to music the texts of French lyricists). By 1948, the composer was back in America. He moved from New York to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where he spent his last decades writing songs, film and theater scores, chamber music, poetry in Russian and polemical articles and memoirs in English. On October 30, 1957, he married singer Kay McCracken. His final appearance on Broadway came less than two weeks later with the two songs and incidental music he wrote for the

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

show, Jean Anouilh's ''Time Remembered'' (1940) (French title: '' Léocadia'') which ran for 247 performances. He continued to try to mount Broadway musicals during the last decade of his life, including two shows that closed during tryouts, and one that was never produced.

Later works

As a classical composer, Dukelsky used the same musical language as his modernist contemporaries

, Arthur Lourié, and, to a lesser extent, Igor Stravinsky. His harmonies, however, were highly original. As a songwriter and author of theatrical and film music, his work was close to that of George Gershwin and Harold Arlen, but he developed an idiosyncratic voice of his own.

Death

Duke died in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

on 16 January 1969, during surgery for

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

. His numerous papers—musical and literary manuscripts and correspondence in English, French, and Russian—are stored in the Musical Division of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

Works

As Vladimir Dukelsky

* ''Zéphyr et Flore'' 1925; Ode ''Epitaphe'' 1931 poems by Osip Mandelstam in memorial to Diaghilev. Sung in Russian Ilma Achmadeeva (soprano), Netherlands Theatre Choir, Residentie Orchestra of the Hague. Gennady Rozhdestvensky Chandos. 1999 * ''Cello Concerto'' 1946; Samuel Magill, Cello. ''Piano Concerto'' Orchestrated by Scott Dunn. Scott Dunn, Piano. Dmitri Yablonsky, Conductor. Russian Philharmonic. Naxos. 2007

As Vernon Duke

*1931 – '' Tarnished Lady'' *1932 – ''

Walk A Little Faster ''Walk a Little Faster'' is a musical revue with sketches by S. J. Perelman and Robert MacGunigle, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. Production The Broadway production opened on December 7, 1932 at the St. James Theatre and then ...

'' (lyrics by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg) ** " April in Paris" ** "A Penny for Your Thoughts" ** "Off Again, On Again" ** "Speaking of Love" ** "Where Have We Met Before?" *1934 – '' Ziegfeld Follies of 1934'' (music also by others – Duke lyrics by

E.Y. Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards " Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ...

) ** "I Like the Likes of You" ** "What Is There To Say?" *1934 – '' Thumbs Up!'' (music also by others – Duke lyrics by Vernon Duke) ** " Autumn in New York" ** "Words Without Music" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin) *1936 – '' Ziegfeld Follies of 1936'' (lyrics by Ira Gershwin) ** "

" ** "He Hasn't a Thing Except Me" ** "Words Without Music" ** "Island in the West Indies" *1938 – ''

Spring Again Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

'' (lyrics by Ira Gershwin) *1940 – '' Cabin in the Sky'' (lyrics by John Latouche) ** " Taking a Chance on Love" ** "Cabin in the Sky" ** "Honey in the Honeycomb" ** "Love Me Tomorrow" *1941 – '' Banjo Eyes'' (lyrics by John Latouche and Harold Adamson) ** "We're Having a Baby" ** "Who Started the Rhumba?" ** "A Nickel to My Name" *1942 – ''

The Lady Comes Across ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (lyrics by John Latouche) ** "Summer Is A-Commin' In" ** "You Took Me By Surprise" ** "This Is Where I Came In" ** "Lady" *1944 – ''

Jackpot Jackpot or Jackpot! may refer to: * A prize, such as a progressive jackpot * Gardena jackpots, a poker variant * Jackpot, Nevada, a community on the Nevada–Idaho state border Comics * Jackpot (comics), several comic book characters * ''Jackp ...

'' (lyrics by Howard Dietz) ** "What Happened" ** "Sugarfoot" ** "I've Got a One-Track Mind" ** "I Kissed My Girl Goodbye" *1944 – '' Sadie Thompson'' (lyrics by Howard Dietz) ** "The Love I Long For" ** "Poor as a Church Mouse" ** "When You Live on an Island" *1946 – '' Sweet Bye and Bye'' (lyrics by

; book by S. J. Perelman and Al Hirschfeld) *1949 – "Ogden Nash's Musical Zoo", for voice and piano *1952 – '' Two's Company'' (lyrics by

and Sammy Cahn) ** "It Just Occurred to Me" ** "Roundabout" ** "Out of the Clear Blue Sky" ** "Haunted Hot Spot" ** "Just Like a Man" *1956 – '' The Littlest Revue'' (music also by others – Duke lyrics by

) ** "I Want to Fly Now (and Pay Later)" ** "Summer Is A-Comin' In" ** "Good Little Girls" ** "Love Is Still in Town" ** "You're Far from Wonderful" ** "Madly in Love" *1963 – '' Zenda'' (lyrics by Lenny Adelson, Sid Kuller, and Martin Charnin)

References

External links

* * * *
Duke biography
pbs.org
Vernon Duke profile
Boosey.com
Vernon Duke Collection
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Vernon 1903 births 1969 deaths People from Dokshytsy District People from Vileysky Uyezd White Russian emigrants to the United States American musical theatre composers Ballets Russes composers United States Coast Guard Band musicians 20th-century American composers Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica