Gershwin

[cub3pp]

who here enjoys listening to George Gershwin?
i really like rasphody in blue and how it goes through many movements throughout the piece

[pete]

did Gershwin write "Porgy and Bess" because we studied that one in music as a popular opera (being done in the style of the day namely Jass).

[cub3pp]

well, you really should hear "Rasphody in Blue", great one-probably the best

[pete]

Love Gershwin. One of my favorites.
Rhapsody in Blue (check your spelling cub ) is a brilliant piece of creativity. It's a story of a vulnerable human being. It makes me cry whenever I listen to it unencumbered. It's truly beautiful.

[cub3pp]

i think that i could make the music be the story of a person traveling.

gets up early(glissando)
drives to airport
goes throug busy terminal and stuff
then the plane is delayed
he waits for a while
then gets on the plane where it is peaceful and tranquil(if you havent followed me so far, this is the united airlines theme part)
then arrives to meet a loved one

now that i think about it, i think this should be a commercial for united.  i could make millions
oh wait, united doesnt have millions to give me

[Wing Nut]

Great guys...  Now all day I'm going to be singing to my self:

I love New York in June
How about you?

I love a Gershwin tune
How about you?

and so on...  ::)

[cub3pp]

never been to NY, i like june(b-day,d-day,lots of storms)

[microlight]

The gliss is played on a clarinet, but clarinettists usually double on sax, so it's pretty close!

The piano concerto is great fun - the last movement sounds like the sort of music you'd hear in Tom and Jerry!

[Hagar]

George Gershwin & his lyricist brother Ira were responsible for some of the most beautiful popular songs ever written in the 20th century. IMHO
They scored many successful musicals performed on Broadway & made into Hollywood blockbusters. The top recording artists of the day were queueing up to record one of their songs as they knew they would have a sure-fire hit. "Ella Fitzgerald sings the Gershwin Songbook" is one of my all-time favourite albums.

George was a frustrated classical musician & always thought himself capable of better things than writing pop music. His Rhapsody in Blue was written to prove a point. This was well-received but although he did try again I think it was his only successful venture into the classical world. Porgy & Bess was his "American Opera". It only became popular after his death.

[microlight]

Hey Doug,
I agree about the songs - but Gershwin's 'only successful' venture into classical music was originally written for piano and jazz band, and orchestrated by Ferde Grofe for the 'traditional' symphony orchestra. What about the later piano concerto mentioned above, Second Rhapsody, Cuban Overture, An American In Paris? Not much of a 'classical' portfolio I agree, but the concerto and American In Paris are pretty much core repertoire these days.

Then there's his masterpiece; the opera 'Porgy and Bess' which has influenced whole generations of American composers up t modern times, like Andre Previn's 'Streetcar Named Desire' of a few years ago.

Er, apparently.

[Hagar]

I don't pretend to be an expert on Gershwin or classical music. I read somewhere that his Second Rhapsody & Cuban Overture were not well-received when they were first performed & actually flopped badly. If they're now considered part of the classical repertoire it's quite possible that opinions have changed over the years.

I agree about Porgy & Bess but that was not successful until after George's untimely death from a brain tumour. I'm not sure if Ira is still around but he encouraged modern musicians like Michael Feinstein to continue where his brother left off.

PS. I've always looked on works like Porgy & Bess as musicals. I've never thought about this before but I wonder when a traditional Broadway-style musical becomes an opera & who makes the distinction. For example: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers has all the elements. Is that considered to be an opera?

[microlight]

Y'know, I don't disagree with you about musicals and operas - after all, is 'Die Fledermaus' an opera or a musical? Because it was written by Johann Strauss II, it's an opera but because Hammerstein was writing for the Broadway stage, 'Carousel' is a musical. Hmm.

It's a matter of perpective, I suppose. A composer called Krenek wrote a German theatre-piece called 'Jonny spielt auf' ('Johnny plays') in the mid-20th century which was conscioulsy not opera, but not musical either. Kurt Weill's theatre pieces also aren't operas, but why are they so different to Wagner?

Don't get me started!

Yeh, Gershwin's 'unknown' pieces were attempts in the 'classical' style, but then, much of Anton Bruckner's early symphonies are little known, but are still what would be called 'classical'.

The derivation of the word 'classical' is a whole different subject! Ultimately, we each like what we like - doesn't matter what it's called. I enjoy film music (the 20th century's big contribution to serious music) but it doesn't have to be classified as anything for it to be enjoyable.

[Hagar]

I couldn't agree more. Music has always been music to me. I know what I like without bothering about how somebody likes to classify it. As with everything in the art world I often think "classical" has a certain touch of snobbishness to it. I think this is a mistake & this attitude is bound to deter the large percentage of people who seem to find these things important from trying things for themselves & possibly enjoying them. That's what I think.