The original Rhapsody in Blue

March 23, 2007

So, we talked about Gershwin's work in inspiring the Rhythm Changes, but his signature work is, of course, Rhapsody in Blue. One of my favorite recent finds is the original recording of Rhapsody in Blue, as preserved by the Internet Archive.

From the IA description:

This is the original recording of Gershwin's masterpiece, what may surprise many people is that it is an acoustic recording not electric one. This record was released soon after the piece was first performed and was soon replaced by a much more common electrically recorded record.

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2 comments by: John Dowdell • Helen Willcox

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John Dowdell

Posted March 23, 2007 19:15

I remember seeing a video once of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra playing this, but don’t remember when it was recorded, or if Gershwin was at the piano.

Donald Clarke has a good account of the opening night: http://www.musicweb-international.com/RiseandFall/6.htm

Ross Gorman (clarinet) and Louis Armstrong provide examples of how far back world-fusion music goes: http://test.woodwind.org/Databases/Klarinet/1997/03/000987.txt http://www.google.com/search?q=%22louis+armstrong%22+nigun

Glad you like it. :)

jd

Helen Willcox

Posted December 4, 2007 12:24

I heard an orchestra and pianist Dec 4 on CBC-R2 playing Rhapsody in Blue, Who was that?

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