The Composer
George Gershwin (b. 1898 Brooklyn, NY – d. 1937 Hollywood, CA) was one of the greatest American composers in history. The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia, he was born Jacob Gershwine (pronounced ‘Gersh-vin’). He soon started to be called George. Gershwin dropped out of school at the age of 15 to work on Tin Pan Alley in New York, and began to immerse himself in listening to popular music. By the time he died far too young in 1937, Gershwin had become the preeminent American composer of his time.
Gershwin excelled especially in crossing the gap between popular and classical music. He was a master at assimilating American folk music, jazz and African-American influences, as well as classical ideas and theory of the early twentieth-century from composers such as Ravel, Debussy, and Berg. Gershwin’s blending of musical ideas and genres has led many to question his status as a “classical” composer, since many of his works don’t fit traditional classical form and structure. In the end, it hardly matters. Gershwin was so gifted at his craft that he was and continues to be widely enjoyed and adored by music lovers worldwide.
Gershwin’s first breakthrough was with the song “Swanee” recorded by the legendary Al Jolson. In the realm of popular theater, which was beginning to boom at the time, George and his brother Ira became one of the great creative duos of all-time. George would compose the music to Ira’s lyrics. They collaborated in the 1920s on musical shows such as Lady, Be Good!, Oh, Kay!, Strike Up the Band, Girl Crazy, Of Thee I Sing, and An American in Paris and cemented their place in American musical history. Later in 1935 they would work together on the most famous American opera ever composed, Porgy and Bess.
In addition to his famous popular songs (think of “Fascinating Rhythm”, “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”, “I Got Rhythm”, “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”, “The Man I Love”, and “S’Wonderful” among others), and his compositions for musical stage and film, Gershwin also composed orchestral works. The most well known is Rhapsody in Blue composed for piano and orchestra in 1924.
Gershwin spent time in Europe to become trained in composition, and to be taught by some of the well-known composers of the time. In Paris he was not accepted as a pupil by Nadia Boulanger or Maurice Ravel because his music was pretty well-known already, and Boulanger and Ravel believed he already possessed all he needed, plus had his own original style they did not want to change or ruin. Gershwin’s 1928 visit to Ravel produced the famous quote from Ravel, “Why be a second-rate Ravel, when you are a first-rate Gershwin?” Nevertheless his time in Europe influenced him significantly, and Gershwin became fascinated by the works of Berg, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Schoenberg among others. Some of Gershwin’s works contain similar elements that can be heard in Ravel and Debussy, and interestingly Ravel’s piano concertos contain more than a hint of Gershwin’s jazz-influenced style.
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue came about when bandleader Paul Whiteman asked Gershwin if he would write a jazz concerto for orchestra. Gershwin apparently agreed, but did not begin work on it right away. Unbeknown to Gershwin, Whiteman put an announcement in the New York Evening Herald on January 4, 1924 that this new jazz concerto was to be premiered at a program at New York’s Aeolian Hall on February 12, only a little more than a month away! It took Gershwin less than a month to actually compose Rhapsody, and orchestral arranger Ferde Grofe (himself a famous composer) had the orchestra parts ready in time for rehearsal. George also used some help from his brother Ira during composition, and the famous clarinet glissando at the beginning of the work actually came from the band’s clarinettist Ross Gorman improvising during a rehearsal break. Gershwin heard it, loved it, and decided to keep it.
The premiere of Rhapsody in Blue was a huge success in the concert hall and commercially. It quickly became Gershwin’s most famous piece, and even today it is one of the few “crossover” works to become thoroughly fixed in the classical repertory worldwide. Of course the second slower theme is extremely recognizable thanks to its use in United Airlines commercials for many years. The score leaves room for improvisation (as you might hear in jazz), and some more adventurous performers have taken advantage of this, and have made it their own.
The Recording
We now arrive at the present recording made in 1959 by Leonard Bernstein and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Bernstein, himself an accomplished jazz pianist, certainly had many similarities with Gershwin. Of course he also composed for the theater, and had such hits as West Side Story and On the Town. Bernstein’s own music fused elements of jazz, Jewish music, and theatre music. He was also a classically trained pianist, made famous recordings of Ravel’s piano concertos, and championed other pioneering composers of the era such as Copland, Stravinsky, and Milhaud. According to music critic Donal Henahan, Bernstein was “one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history”. Over his career, Bernstein won seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and sixteen Grammy Awards.
Bernstein would have been very familiar with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He recorded it several times commercially, but it is this first recording from 1959 that wins the day and indeed is often cited as a landmark recording. Bernstein was not really improvisatory at the keyboard, but he finds expressive freedom while at the same time maintaining faithfulness to Gershwin’s score. Later in his career, Bernstein would become more ponderous and self-conscious and his playing lost some of its flexibility (having said that his 1982 recording of Rhapsody with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon is also among the best). Bernstein is consistently eloquent here, reflective where needed and fiery where appropriate. He performs the work as a whole, mindful of the structure and themes of the different sections. You get the feeling he “knows” this work intimately, and you are in good hands.
On the recording, Bernstein conducts from the piano, something he did quite often during his career. The sound quality is what you might expect from 1959, there is some background noise but it is not at all intrusive. The piano is not placed too far forward, and so you get the sense of the piano blended well with the orchestra. Although in 1959 Bernstein had already taken the helm of the New York Philharmonic, for this recording he is with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra (an orchestra formed by Columbia Records for the sole purpose of recording and often included freelance members from the New York Philharmonic and other orchestras), and the recording was made in the 30th Street Studios in New York. The orchestra is a bit scrappy in parts, but it is a truly enjoyable performance and one that has stood the test of time.
If you are interested, there are many other excellent recordings of Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself made two partial recordings with orchestra on Victor, and some versions on piano roll. They are worth hearing. The first complete recording was made by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops with piano played by Jesus Maria Sanroma on RCA Victor. Fiedler recorded it later in 1959 with Earl Wild at the piano. As mentioned earlier, I am fond of Bernstein’s later recording with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Other favorite recordings of mine include Michael Tilson Thomas with both the New World Symphony and LA Philharmonic, Andre Previn (another classical and jazz pianist and conductor) with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and also with the London Symphony Orchestra, Freddy Kempff with Bergen Philharmonic led by Andrew Litton, Benjamin Grosvenor with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and James Judd, Jon Nakamatsu with the Rochester Philharmonic and Jeff Tyzik, and finally a very interesting version from Wayne Marshall on piano and leading the Aaolberg Symphony and then again with the WDR Funkhausorchester. They are all worth hearing, but I always come back to the first Bernstein account.
This album also contains outstanding performances of Gershwin’s An American in Paris and Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite. Both of these are also very enjoyable and add to a tremendous album.
Happy Listening!
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