Post by erik on Jul 11, 2015 11:52:48 GMT -5
George Gershwin is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight, with a work for piano and orchestra that is his only straightforward (in the literal sense) concerto.
Gershwin: PIANO CONCERTO IN F MAJOR
George Gershwin, one of the truly great composers of 20th century music in general, and the music of America in particular, was more than just a “Broadway” composer, as could be gauged by his and his brother Ira’s landmark opera “Porgy And Bess”, as well as numerous works for the concert hall that combined jazz and classical in a way that helped define the sound of American music. This was quite well reflected in the various works he composed for piano and orchestra, including, of course, “Rhapsody In Blue” and the Second Rhapsody (sometimes known as “Rhapsody In Rivets”). He only actually composed one actual full-blown piano concerto, the F Major one, but it was one that became one of the great concertos for that instrument in the 20th century, alongside Ravel’s famed G Major, and Rachmaninoff’s. Beginning with a grand gesture in the orchestra (though not as brash as the opening for “Rhapsody In Blue”), the work firmly combines the classicism of the concertos of Mozart and Beethoven (with much larger orchestration) with the jazziness of Gershwin’s other ultra-popular works over an average running time of 30-35 minutes. Composed in 1925, beginning that summer during a visit to London and finishing in November back in New York, the concerto received its world premiere on December 3, 1925, with Gershwin himself at the piano, and Walter Damrosch conducting the New York Philharmonic. Its monumental success further cemented Gershwin’s reputation, and it has been a favorite work of pianists both in America and around the world.
Piano: GARRICK OHLSSON
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS (RCA/BMG Classics)
Included (2-CD Set):
CATFISH ROW SUITE FROM “PORGY AND BESS” (Audra McDonald; Brian Stokes)
SECOND RHAPSODY FOR ORCHESTRA WITH PIANO (Michael Tilson Thomas, piano)
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
Gershwin: PIANO CONCERTO IN F MAJOR
George Gershwin, one of the truly great composers of 20th century music in general, and the music of America in particular, was more than just a “Broadway” composer, as could be gauged by his and his brother Ira’s landmark opera “Porgy And Bess”, as well as numerous works for the concert hall that combined jazz and classical in a way that helped define the sound of American music. This was quite well reflected in the various works he composed for piano and orchestra, including, of course, “Rhapsody In Blue” and the Second Rhapsody (sometimes known as “Rhapsody In Rivets”). He only actually composed one actual full-blown piano concerto, the F Major one, but it was one that became one of the great concertos for that instrument in the 20th century, alongside Ravel’s famed G Major, and Rachmaninoff’s. Beginning with a grand gesture in the orchestra (though not as brash as the opening for “Rhapsody In Blue”), the work firmly combines the classicism of the concertos of Mozart and Beethoven (with much larger orchestration) with the jazziness of Gershwin’s other ultra-popular works over an average running time of 30-35 minutes. Composed in 1925, beginning that summer during a visit to London and finishing in November back in New York, the concerto received its world premiere on December 3, 1925, with Gershwin himself at the piano, and Walter Damrosch conducting the New York Philharmonic. Its monumental success further cemented Gershwin’s reputation, and it has been a favorite work of pianists both in America and around the world.
Piano: GARRICK OHLSSON
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS (RCA/BMG Classics)
Included (2-CD Set):
CATFISH ROW SUITE FROM “PORGY AND BESS” (Audra McDonald; Brian Stokes)
SECOND RHAPSODY FOR ORCHESTRA WITH PIANO (Michael Tilson Thomas, piano)
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
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