Gershwin - Classical Music

Given his seemingly effortless ability at melding such disparate forms as jazz and gospel with his own rare melodic gifts, it's not hard to view George Gershwin as America's first classical crossover artist. But as this glorious, 41-track double-disc introduction to Gershwin's epochal repertoire quickly demonstrates, that assessment woefully shortchanges the sheer grandeur of "Rhapsody in Blue" or the sultry earthiness of "Summertime." Singer and pop musicologist Michael Feinstein produced the set (as well as contributing a new recording of "Home Blues"), and under his guidance it understandably leans toward Gershwin's remarkable body of songcraft, though it also includes more concert-oriented pieces such as the "Rhapsody" and "Prelude No. 2," both in original performances by the composer. But Feinstein's loving sense of American pop song history insures that the performances here are both inspired and enlightening. Indeed, his choices represent not only a who's who of 20th-century pop and saloon singers--spanning a rich pantheon that includes Jolson, Kelly, Astaire, Holliday, Sinatra, Bennett, Waters, Torme, Clooney, Day, Vaughan, and Fitzgerald--but deftly underscore Gershwin's transcendent synthesis of style, era, and distinctly American subject matter. Also includes a written tribute by modern songwriter Diane Warren and an essay by Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Page. -–Jerry McCulley - $9.99
Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue/An American In Paris
Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
Copland: Appalachian Spring/Fanfare For The Common Man/El Salón México/Danzón Cubano
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bald Mountain
Copland: Appalachian Spring; Rodeo; Fanfare for the Common Man
Bernstein Century - Copland: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, etc / Bernstein, New York PO
The Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls, Vol. 2
Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue/An American In Paris
Bernstein Century - Copland: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, etc / Bernstein, New York PO
Copland: Appalachian Spring; Rodeo; Fanfare for the Common Man
Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue/An American In Paris
George And Ira Gershwin In Hollywood: Motion Picture Soundtrack Anthology
Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
Gershwin Plays Rhapsody in Blue
Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue/An American In Paris
Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue/Cuban Overture/Porgy and Bess Suite/An American in Paris

- $9.99