Today we bring to you the 2nd piece of the Touch series this year! Continue to stay tuned to our website for even more exciting sharings coming your way.
A Rhapsody in Blue
When the genre “jazz” is mentioned, what do you think of? Classy bars with alcohol and bands with electric guitars and drum sets? Ragtime, polyrhythms, comping, heavy syncopation, blue scales and improvisation? Perhaps some of us immediately think of The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag – classic piano rags by Scott Joplin – or Golliwog’s Cakewalk, a rag-inspired piece by Debussy.
Jazz music originated from African American communities in the late 19th and early 20th century. Since its birth it has undergone much modification and its ever-changing nature has made it hard to define. Over the years, many composers have adopted this genre in their works, one of whom is the American composer and pianist George Gershwin (1898 – 1937).
Gershwin studied composition with Rubin Goldmark and Henry Cowell, beginning his career as a song plugger and eventually moving to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, a French composer, conductor and teacher. (Some of her other outstanding students are famous names such as Aaron Copland, Philip Glass and Daniel Barenboim.) Some of Gershwin’s notable works include songs such as “I Got Rhythm” and “The Man I Love”, as well as orchestral works like “Rhapsody in Blue”, “An American in Paris” and opera “Porgy and Bess” which all have jazz influences.
Rhapsody in Blue was Gershwin’s first major classical work, composed in 1924 for solo piano and jazz band. It was premiered that year in New York in the concert An Experiment in Modern Music, by Paul Whiteman and his band, and Gershwin playing the piano. It was in fact Whiteman himself who requested that Gershwin compose an all-jazz piece for his concert in the Aeolian Hall! With a limited time to complete the work, Gershwin derived inspiration from a train ride to Boston – something unimaginable to many, if not all of us. To quote the man himself: “It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang, that is so often so stimulating to a composer – I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise.... And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper – the complete construction of the Rhapsody, from beginning to end.” By the end of 1927, Whiteman’s band had played the piece 84 times and its recording sold a million copies.
Although the piece has received mixed reviews with some saying it “shows extraordinary talent” and others calling it “trite, feeble and conventional”, Rhapsody in Blue, with its famous opening clarinet trill and captivating glissando, intense rhythms and rich harmonies remains, today, a popular piece amongst the masses.
Interested in listening to some jazz? Enjoy these short tracks that are catchy and easy on the ears:
Have a listen too to Summertime, the song composed by Gershwin for his opera “Porgy and Bess”
For our concert, we will be performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, transcribed for two pianos. Come down to experience it for yourselves! :)