Post by erik on Dec 5, 2020 18:45:37 GMT -5
George Gershwin is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight with a work for piano and orchestra that proves that there was more to him and the piano than "Rhapsody In Blue".
Gershwin: RHAPSODY NO. 2 (RHAPSODY IN RIVETS)
Besides being one of America’s top songsmiths of the early 20th century, George Gershwin had an impact on the classical world with his brand of “symphonic jazz”. To that end, he created three significant works for piano and orchestra that most everybody knows: the ultra-popular “Rhapsody In Blue”; the Concerto In F Major; and the Variations On ‘I Got Rhythm’. But a fourth such work was created that, due to its only being performed by the composer two or three times during his lifetime, pretty much escaped most people’s attention; and that was his Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra. This was the result of a trip that George and his brother Ira made to Hollywood in 1930 to provide the music for the film Delicious. One scene in the movie had a character wanders the streets of New York City. The initial title of this sequence was “Manhattan Rhapsody”, then “New York Rhapsody”, and then finally to the title it is known by, “Rhapsody In Rivets”. Gershwin completed the sketch of the score prior to returning to New York in late February 1931, though the film used only seven minutes of the work when it officially came out later that year. After a long but intense month, Gershwin finally completed the whole score in March, and then had it premiered on January 29, 1932 in Boston, with him as the piano soloist, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Serge Koussevitsky. Robert MacBride re-orchestrated the orchestral parts of the work in 1951, fourteen years after the composer had passed away; but in the ensuing decades, many conductors and pianists, including Michael Tilson Thomas, have decided to perform this work with the composer’s own orchestration. As a result, even if “Rhapsody In Blue” continues to obscure its virtues, “Rhapsody In Rivets” has nevertheless attained a greater level of popularity in our time.
Piano: MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS (RCA/BMG)
Included: (Gershwin: 100th Birthday Celebration) (2-CD):
CATFISH ROW SUITE FROM “PORGY AND BESS” (Soprano: AUDRA MACDONALD) (Baritone: BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL)
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
PIANO CONCERTO IN F MAJOR (Piano: GARRICK OHLSSON)
Special YouTube audio video:
Gershwin: RHAPSODY NO. 2 (RHAPSODY IN RIVETS)
Besides being one of America’s top songsmiths of the early 20th century, George Gershwin had an impact on the classical world with his brand of “symphonic jazz”. To that end, he created three significant works for piano and orchestra that most everybody knows: the ultra-popular “Rhapsody In Blue”; the Concerto In F Major; and the Variations On ‘I Got Rhythm’. But a fourth such work was created that, due to its only being performed by the composer two or three times during his lifetime, pretty much escaped most people’s attention; and that was his Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra. This was the result of a trip that George and his brother Ira made to Hollywood in 1930 to provide the music for the film Delicious. One scene in the movie had a character wanders the streets of New York City. The initial title of this sequence was “Manhattan Rhapsody”, then “New York Rhapsody”, and then finally to the title it is known by, “Rhapsody In Rivets”. Gershwin completed the sketch of the score prior to returning to New York in late February 1931, though the film used only seven minutes of the work when it officially came out later that year. After a long but intense month, Gershwin finally completed the whole score in March, and then had it premiered on January 29, 1932 in Boston, with him as the piano soloist, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Serge Koussevitsky. Robert MacBride re-orchestrated the orchestral parts of the work in 1951, fourteen years after the composer had passed away; but in the ensuing decades, many conductors and pianists, including Michael Tilson Thomas, have decided to perform this work with the composer’s own orchestration. As a result, even if “Rhapsody In Blue” continues to obscure its virtues, “Rhapsody In Rivets” has nevertheless attained a greater level of popularity in our time.
Piano: MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS (RCA/BMG)
Included: (Gershwin: 100th Birthday Celebration) (2-CD):
CATFISH ROW SUITE FROM “PORGY AND BESS” (Soprano: AUDRA MACDONALD) (Baritone: BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL)
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
PIANO CONCERTO IN F MAJOR (Piano: GARRICK OHLSSON)
Special YouTube audio video:
. MT-T & SFO have always done a fine job with it (& Gerhwin in general) IMO. I'm not sure it's as popular or important as Rhapsody in Blue, but another nice demonstration of GG's skill at capturing 'modern' urban sounds in music and fine energy that defines one side of 20th Century American music in general. It is a shame Gershwin died so young-- amazing to consider what he might have accomplished given all he DID accomplish.