George
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was a huge
success following its premiere in 1924. With only three weeks to compose the
work before its first performance at Aeolian Hall with Paul Whiteman’s
Orchestra, Gershwin had to find fast inspiration.
The “jazz
concerto” as advertised in the Herald
Tribune, had distinctive
qualities of Americanism from the beginning, the five main themes based on the
blues scale and the use of blues notes throughout. Gershwin decided to call it
a rhapsody rather than a concerto. Though the work uses a solo piano
alternating with an ensemble like that of a concerto, Rhapsody in Blue also has the features of a rhapsody with its
one-movement, free-form construction.
During the
work’s composition period, Gershwin found inspiration from two different
sources. The first occurred to him while traveling via train to Boston. The
rhythm and sound of the train as it swiftly moved along the tracks inspired
several themes from the beginning of his piece. He later said “I heard it [the
train] as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America—of our vast melting pot, of
our incomparable national pep, our blues, our metropolitan madness.”
Gershwin’s
second moment of inspiration came at a friend’s party while he played around on
the piano. Though not thinking of his Rhapsody
at the time, Gershwin claims that he subconsciously composed the climax to the
work. He didn’t realize at first how perfectly what he improvised on the piano
fit into the piece until his brother, Ira, insisted that he incorporate it into
his composition. Ira, his closest advocate and partner in music, also
contributed the title Rhapsody in Blue.
The famous,
opening clarinet solo of Rhapsody in Blue
was inspired by clarinetist Ross Gorman, who played in Whiteman’s
orchestra. Gershwin had always been impressed by Gorman’s ability to play a
two-octave glissando on his instrument and used the clarinetist’s skill to
begin his new work.
Here is a
performance of Rhapsody in Blue by Michael Tilson Thomas and the Columbia Jazz
Band using a 1925 George Gershwin piano roll. What do you think of this version
using Gershwin as the pianist? It is a bit faster than I am used to hearing in
concert halls but an excellent performance nonetheless!
