Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue; Piano Concerto etc

Featuring

Marin Alsop
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
George Gershwin

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Critical Reception

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet notes that Gershwin was not fully appreciated in the United States during his lifetime, but was always a star in France.

Compositional Technique

Ferde Grofé's orchestrations for Gershwin's works were written for specific musicians, with their names appearing on the parts.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Gershwin worked with a clear creative vision, blending "high" and "low" art with an effortlessness that was unique.

Composition History

George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, his 1924 entry into concert music, was written in a three-week "mad dash."

Interpretation

Conductor Marin Alsop explains that the estate of George Gershwin initially restricted recordings of Ferde Grofé's jazz-band orchestration of the Piano Concerto in F because Gershwin himself was offended by it.

Composer Biography

Gershwin's learning curve was dramatic; he needed Ferde Grofé's help to orchestrate Rhapsody in Blue, but a year later, he orchestrated his Concerto in F himself with "charming simplicity."