Historically, George Gershwin's concert music was more appreciated by foreign-born classical musicians and outsiders to the American experience than by American-born musicians.
Critical Reception
During his lifetime, George Gershwin was often shunned by American classical music critics and influential figures like Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson, who omitted him from their narratives.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Antonin Dvořák, a Czech composer who lived in New York City and Iowa, prophesied that the future music of America must be founded upon "Negro melodies" after being struck by the spirituals of the American South.
Performer Biography
Pianist Kirill Gerstein, born in Russia, was infatuated with jazz from a young age and studied jazz piano at Boston's Berklee College of Music after meeting jazz legend Gary Burton.
Composer Biography
George Gershwin was first inspired to become a composer by hearing Dvořák's G-flat Humoresque wafting from a neighbor's Brooklyn flat.
Interpretation
Kirill Gerstein's approach to Gershwin's Concerto in F includes improvisational interpolations and aims for a delicate balance that is neither "too classical, not too jazzy."
Cultural Impact
For decades, American orchestras, with the exception of the New York Philharmonic, segregated Gershwin's major works like Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F as 'pops' fare.
