Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue: A Jazz Classic for Piano
In 1924, pianist and composer George Gershwin produced what has proven to be one of the most enduringly popular works of the piano repertoire: The Rhapsody in Blue.
It is somehow fitting that Gershwin, this child of immigrants, rising from humble beginnings, should have written what he himself described as a “musical kaleidoscope of America.”
The work is boisterous, exuberant – it defies classification. Is it jazz? Is it classical? It’s a concerto, it’s a melting pot mishmash of folk tunes and jazz elements – and it’s absolutely brilliant. What could exemplify the best of America better than this composer, and this work?
Later critics, including no less a luminary than Leonard Bernstein, would criticize Rhapsody in Blue for what they saw as the chunkiness and clunkiness of the work. “It has no overarching theme,” they said; “It’s just a slapdash collection of various individual themes jostling up against one another.”
But that was Gershwin’s whole point. That’s what this nation of immigrants is like. In the space of five minutes in a large city, you could bump up against Jewish culture, Chinese culture, Irish culture, African-American culture – and somehow it all worked together to create a harmonious, even beautiful whole. The same is true today. Even those who don’t live in a big city bump into all those pieces of the whole in movies, radio, TV, and the internet.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Gershwin wrote this amazing piece in only 5 weeks, at the request of his friend, the band leader Paul Whiteman. Whiteman was organizing a concert of jazz and jazz-influenced music which he intended to call An Experiment in Modern Music. He asked Gershwin to compose a concerto-like jazz piano work for the event.
At first, Gershwin thought that he couldn’t produce such a major work in the short amount of time left before the concert. But then, in a newspaper article about the upcoming concert of “experimental” music, Whiteman was quoted as saying, “George Gershwin is at work on a jazz concerto.” Seeing this, Gershwin felt he had to deliver.
Fortunately, during a train journey to Boston, Gershwin found inspiration in the rhythmic sounds of the train. By the time he arrived in Boston, Gershwin had most of the piece composed in his head. Working feverishly, he managed to finish it in time.
The concert was held on February 12, 1924. Rhapsody in Blue was second-to-last on the lengthy program, and the audience was quite restless by then. But Gershwin’s work held them spellbound.
Much else that was premiered that day has long since been forgotten. But generations of pianists – and concertgoers – have enjoyed the Rhapsody in Blue right up to the present day.
From the opening glissando of the clarinet to the glorious finale, the piece contains 5 distinct themes and a sixth “tag.” All of the themes are written in some form of the “blues scale,” with its lowered sevenths and prevalent use of thirds, both major and minor. Each theme is presented in various styles and with the frequent use of rubato, and is handled by both the solo piano and the orchestra at different times.
Gershwin’s respect for jazz and other popular music of his day is evident from his use of “blue notes,” his use of syncopation, and the inclusion of “vernacular” instruments such as banjo and saxophone. He also presented various popular piano styles of the day, including stride piano, novelty piano, and comic or vaudeville piano, as well as the style of the song-plugger, which is where he got his professional start.
Any pianist who can perform the Rhapsody in Blue demonstrates mastery of the instrument, in both classical and jazz styles.
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