Lawrence Gilman, a music critic from the New York Tribune, was clearly unimpressed by Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
‘How trite, feeble and conventional the tunes are,’ read his pointed review that appeared on the morning of 13 February; ‘how sentimental and vapid the harmonic treatment, under its disguise of fussy and futile counterpoint. Weep over the lifelessness of the melody and harmony, so derivative, so stale, so inexpressive.’ The work, he concluded, suffered from ‘melodic and harmonic anemia of the most pernicious kind.’
'Irresistible vitality'
Ouch. But while Gilman may not have overly enjoyed hearing the 25-year-old composer and pianist George Gershwin give the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman’s Palais Royal Orchestra, the audience most certainly did.
‘There was tumultuous applause for Mr Gershwin’s composition,’ reported the altogether more even-handed Olin Downes in the New York Times. ‘There was realisation of the irresistible vitality and genuineness of much of the music heard on this occasion, as opposed to the pitiful sterility of the average production of the “serious” American composer.’
- Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue…What to listen to next
- Six of the best versions of Gershwin's Summertime
Exactly what genre is Rhapsody in Blue, anyway?
That ‘occasion’ was ‘An Experiment in Modern Music’, an ambitious concert devised by Whiteman that would showcase the development of jazz and assess its standing as a serious artform – and, of course, show off his own band – over a lengthy programme that would culminate in Gershwin’s specially commissioned new work.
The 1,300-seat Aeolian Hall was chosen to host the big event and, ever the publicist, Whiteman even promised in a newspaper article that a committee including violinist Jascha Heifetz, soprano Alma Gluck and Rachmaninov, no less, would be there to help give an answer to the question ‘What is American music?’.
'Most of the audience were starting to make their way out when Gershwin sheepishly appeared at the piano'
That such a seemingly randomly chosen committee was probably not the best qualified to talk about jazz appears not to have unduly worried Whiteman nor, more controversially, that he was conducting an all-white band to demonstrate music whose roots lay in the very heart of black America. But as a publicity stunt, the concert seemed to work a treat.
- 28 best ever jazz pianists
- 15 best jazz trumpet players ever
- 25 greatest jazz saxophonists of all time
It so nearly didn’t, however. Bored by a programme that was proving too long and lacking in variety, many of the audience were starting to make their way out of the hall and into the New York snow when Gershwin – ‘sheepishly’, as Downes put it – made his way onto the piano stool.
It was only on hearing the clarinet’s famous opening glissando that, intrigued, they decided to turn back and stay a little longer. The rest, as they say, is history, as Rhapsody in Blue has gone on to enjoy a place as one of the most popular works in the repertoire.
'The iconic clarinet glissando was not as Gershwin planned'
Chances are, however, that the piece modern audiences know and love is significantly different to that enjoyed by the Aeolian Hall audience that February afternoon. For a start, while he had written out most of the piano score, Gershwin still left himself a little room for improvisation on the occasion itself. And, given that no recording was made, we will never know how the exact performance sounded. Then, in the years to follow, it took the handiwork of Gershwin’s fellow composer Ferde Grofé to convert the Rhapsody from its big-band original to the orchestral guise that it is usually presented in today.
Interestingly, too, even that clarinet glissando itself was not as Gershwin originally planned it. Though a 17-note chromatic run was written in the score, clarinettist Ross Gorman had other ideas in rehearsal and started to play around with it – his japes met with general approval, and the upward swoop stayed. Gershwin even invited him to add as much of a ‘wail’ to it as he could. On such chance moments is the history of music shaped.
Rhapsody in Blue at the 2024 BBC Proms
You can hear a performance of this marvellous work at the 2024 BBC Proms. On Sunday 4 August, for Prom 20, pianist Steven Osborne performs Rhapsody in Blue with accompaniment from the brilliant Sinfonia of London and their visionary conductor John Wilson.
Rhapsody in Blue: the very best recordings
This most joyous and genre-blending of works has been given a number of different interpretations down the years, from the full orchestral workouts to the solo piano versions. Here's a set of five great Rhapsody in Blue recordings, each one beautifully filling a slightly different musical niche.
The best full symphony orchestra version
London Symphony Orchestra/André Previn
Recordings of the symphony orchestra versions of Rhapsody in Blue and the Concerto in F are not exactly few and far between. So who to choose? André Previn started out as a jazz artist in the 1950s and so is very much on home ground in this repertoire, as can be heard in his 1971 recording of both works in which he directs the LSO from the piano.
The finest original jazz version
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop
The French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet recorded Rhapsody in Blue in Paul Whiteman’s jazz ensemble version in 2010. In Thibaudet’s own words: ‘Gershwin basically has very few strings – only violins and double basses, no violas, cellos and so on. Then there are trumpets, saxophones, banjos, a whole different kind of percussion. It makes it sound quite different and you don’t hear it in that version very often.’
This is a rip-roaring performance. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop lend sterling support.
For sheer jazz exhuberance
Marcus Roberts, piano
Marcus Roberts is one of surprisingly few jazz pianists to have recorded Rhapsody in Blue. Here, recorded in 1996 on his Portraits in Blue album for Sony Classical, he strays a little away from the original – tempos are pushed and pulled and, in the best jazz tradition, large sections are improvised. No matter, however, as this is a hugely engaging listen.
For something a little different…
Larry Adler, mouth organ
Rhapsody in Blue for mouth organ? Yep. Larry Adler performed the work in this form with Gershwin himself in 1934, provoking the latter to comment, ‘The Goddam thing sounds as if I wrote it for you!’ Sixty-five years later the two joined up for a recording, with the real-life Adler being accompanied by the long-dead composer in the form of a piano roll.
And finally: a jazz reinvention
Tommy Smith (saxophone); Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
Taking even more liberties than Marcus Roberts, Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith’s lengthy jazz set stretches Rhapsody in Blue to just under an hour long. The main themes from Gershwin’s original are all recognisably there in this live performance by Smith and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, but so is much else – Cuban dance, drum solos and kitchen sink included. Great fun.
Read our reviews of the latest Gershwin recordings here
Lawrence Gilman, a music critic from the New York Tribune, was clearly unimpressed by Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
‘How trite, feeble and conventional the tunes are,’ read his pointed review that appeared on the morning of 13 February; ‘how sentimental and vapid the harmonic treatment, under its disguise of fussy and futile counterpoint. Weep over the lifelessness of the melody and harmony, so derivative, so stale, so inexpressive.’ The work, he concluded, suffered from ‘melodic and harmonic anemia of the most pernicious kind.’
'Irresistible vitality'
Ouch. But while Gilman may not have overly enjoyed hearing the 25-year-old composer and pianist George Gershwin give the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman’s Palais Royal Orchestra, the audience most certainly did.
‘There was tumultuous applause for Mr Gershwin’s composition,’ reported the altogether more even-handed Olin Downes in the New York Times. ‘There was realisation of the irresistible vitality and genuineness of much of the music heard on this occasion, as opposed to the pitiful sterility of the average production of the “serious” American composer.’
- Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue…What to listen to next
- Six of the best versions of Gershwin's Summertime
Exactly what genre is Rhapsody in Blue, anyway?
That ‘occasion’ was ‘An Experiment in Modern Music’, an ambitious concert devised by Whiteman that would showcase the development of jazz and assess its standing as a serious artform – and, of course, show off his own band – over a lengthy programme that would culminate in Gershwin’s specially commissioned new work.
The 1,300-seat Aeolian Hall was chosen to host the big event and, ever the publicist, Whiteman even promised in a newspaper article that a committee including violinist Jascha Heifetz, soprano Alma Gluck and Rachmaninov, no less, would be there to help give an answer to the question ‘What is American music?’.
'Most of the audience were starting to make their way out when Gershwin sheepishly appeared at the piano'
That such a seemingly randomly chosen committee was probably not the best qualified to talk about jazz appears not to have unduly worried Whiteman nor, more controversially, that he was conducting an all-white band to demonstrate music whose roots lay in the very heart of black America. But as a publicity stunt, the concert seemed to work a treat.
- 28 best ever jazz pianists
- 15 best jazz trumpet players ever
- 25 greatest jazz saxophonists of all time
It so nearly didn’t, however. Bored by a programme that was proving too long and lacking in variety, many of the audience were starting to make their way out of the hall and into the New York snow when Gershwin – ‘sheepishly’, as Downes put it – made his way onto the piano stool.
It was only on hearing the clarinet’s famous opening glissando that, intrigued, they decided to turn back and stay a little longer. The rest, as they say, is history, as Rhapsody in Blue has gone on to enjoy a place as one of the most popular works in the repertoire.
'The iconic clarinet glissando was not as Gershwin planned'
Chances are, however, that the piece modern audiences know and love is significantly different to that enjoyed by the Aeolian Hall audience that February afternoon. For a start, while he had written out most of the piano score, Gershwin still left himself a little room for improvisation on the occasion itself. And, given that no recording was made, we will never know how the exact performance sounded. Then, in the years to follow, it took the handiwork of Gershwin’s fellow composer Ferde Grofé to convert the Rhapsody from its big-band original to the orchestral guise that it is usually presented in today.
Interestingly, too, even that clarinet glissando itself was not as Gershwin originally planned it. Though a 17-note chromatic run was written in the score, clarinettist Ross Gorman had other ideas in rehearsal and started to play around with it – his japes met with general approval, and the upward swoop stayed. Gershwin even invited him to add as much of a ‘wail’ to it as he could. On such chance moments is the history of music shaped.
Rhapsody in Blue: the very best recordings
This most joyous and genre-blending of works has been given a number of different interpretations down the years, from the full orchestral workouts to the solo piano versions. Here's a set of five great Rhapsody in Blue recordings, each one beautifully filling a slightly different musical niche.
The best full symphony orchestra version
London Symphony Orchestra/André Previn
Recordings of the symphony orchestra versions of Rhapsody in Blue and the Concerto in F are not exactly few and far between. So who to choose? André Previn started out as a jazz artist in the 1950s and so is very much on home ground in this repertoire, as can be heard in his 1971 recording of both works in which he directs the LSO from the piano.
The finest original jazz version
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop
The French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet recorded Rhapsody in Blue in Paul Whiteman’s jazz ensemble version in 2010. In Thibaudet’s own words: ‘Gershwin basically has very few strings – only violins and double basses, no violas, cellos and so on. Then there are trumpets, saxophones, banjos, a whole different kind of percussion. It makes it sound quite different and you don’t hear it in that version very often.’
This is a rip-roaring performance. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop lend sterling support.
For sheer jazz exhuberance
Marcus Roberts, piano
Marcus Roberts is one of surprisingly few jazz pianists to have recorded Rhapsody in Blue. Here, recorded in 1996 on his Portraits in Blue album for Sony Classical, he strays a little away from the original – tempos are pushed and pulled and, in the best jazz tradition, large sections are improvised. No matter, however, as this is a hugely engaging listen.
For something a little different…
Larry Adler, mouth organ
Rhapsody in Blue for mouth organ? Yep. Larry Adler performed the work in this form with Gershwin himself in 1934, provoking the latter to comment, ‘The Goddam thing sounds as if I wrote it for you!’ Sixty-five years later the two joined up for a recording, with the real-life Adler being accompanied by the long-dead composer in the form of a piano roll.
And finally: a jazz reinvention
Tommy Smith (saxophone); Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
Taking even more liberties than Marcus Roberts, Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith’s lengthy jazz set stretches Rhapsody in Blue to just under an hour long. The main themes from Gershwin’s original are all recognisably there in this live performance by Smith and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, but so is much else – Cuban dance, drum solos and kitchen sink included. Great fun.
Read our reviews of the latest Gershwin recordings here
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue: what to listen to next
Love George Gershwin's exuberant, boundary-defining Rhapsody in Blue and want more in the same vein? Here are six more great works that capture something of the Rhapsody's jazz-inflected 1920s cool.
George Gershwin: Second Rhapsody
Six years after he’d premiered Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin found himself writing a ‘Manhattan Rhapsody’ for inclusion in a film called Delicious. The movie itself has largely disappeared from view, but the music still gets the occasional hearing thanks to Gershwin’s decision to extend it into his 12-minute Second Rhapsody.
Scored, like Rhapsody in Blue, for piano and orchestra/big band, it has a similarly ebullient opening, its pounding rhythm likened by the composer to the sound of construction workers hammering rivets into a girder. There follows a more lyrical ‘Brahms Theme’ (also Gershwin’s description) before we are returned to the streets of the Big Apple for a rumbustious close.
Essential recording: Freddy Kempf (piano); Bergen Philharmonic/Andrew Litton (BIS BISSACD 1940)
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Early in 1928, Maurice Ravel toured the US, hearing jazz in both Harlem and New Orleans and meeting Gershwin in New York. He was sufficiently impressed by Gershwin’s talent to suggest he should study with the legendary Nadia Boulanger. Gershwin never did, though Ravel clearly took a ‘lesson’ or two from Gershwin’s music.
In Ravel’s jazz-inspired Piano Concerto in G major, a Gershwin-style theme appears unmistakably in the first movement – a rising song-like idea first presented by the soloist and given luscious scoring at its re-appearance. Yet that theme also includes something of Ravel’s own wistful vein, plus a hint of the following slow movement’s glorious Mozart-style theme.
One of the best-loved showpieces in the piano repertoire - in fact, one of the greatest piano concertos of all time - the Ravel Concerto is a favourite of many famous pianists including Martha Argerich and, as below, Yuja Wang.
Essential recording: Krystian Zimerman (piano); Cleveland Orchestra/Pierre Boulez (DG 449 2132)
Ferde Grofé: Piano Concerto
Ferde Grofé doesn’t get enough credit today for his work on Rhapsody in Blue. As Gershwin acknowledged, it was thanks to Grofé’s superbly inventive orchestrations that the Rhapsody became such an instant hit.
As a composer in his own right, Grofé is best known for his similarly colourful Mississippi Suite (1925) and Grand Canyon Suite (1931), but try also his rarely heard Piano Concerto of 1960. Consisting of just one 15-minute movement, Grofé combines a grand Romantic vision with lighter touches that give a hint of his theatre band past. It doesn’t always convince but, for curiosity’s sake alone, is certainly worth a listen.
Essential recording: Jesús Maria Sanromá (piano); Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra/Ferde Grofé (Everest Records)
Aaron Copland: Piano Concerto
Completed in 1926, Copland’s Piano Concerto was the work of a composer very familiar with the idiom and techniques of jazz. According to Copland, jazz had two basic moods – ‘the slow blues and the snappy number’ – and those moods are reflected in the two movements of his Concerto.
Alas, when he played it at its premiere with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitzky, the reception was decidedly chilly. The passing years, however, have treated it more favourably, and rightly so – that ‘snappy’, rowdy second movement swings with infectious zeal.
Essential recording: Benjamin Pasternack (piano); Elgin Symphony Orchestra/Robert Hanson (Naxos 8.559297)
André Mathieu: Rhapsodie Romantique
OK, so his nickname of the ‘Canadian Mozart’ might be overstating it, but André Mathieu’s death at just 39 did raise questions as to just what might have been. On seeing the 12-year-old Mathieu play in 1941, no less a musical titan than Rachmaninov had described him as ‘a genius, more so than I am’. And Rachmaninov was up there among the greatest pianists in history, so, y'know...
In turn, the long, arching melodies of Mathieu’s 1958 Rhapsodie Romantique for piano and orchestra would appear to pay homage to the great Russian. But amid this Romantic wallow, a melody of Gershwin-like jauntiness pops its head up here and there, and the brassy, triumphant finale has Rhapsody in Blue stamped all over it.
Essential recording: Alain Lefèvre (piano); Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal/Matthias Bamert (Analekta AN 2 9277)
Féderico Jusid: Tango Rhapsody
Now, this is a lot of fun. Premiered at the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano in 2010, Federico Jusid’s 20-minute romp for two pianos and orchestra depicts the daily ups and downs of your average young couple – the high jinks and dark moods, the furious fallings out and smoochy reconciliations that follow. The ‘Tango’ of the title pretty much sums up the core of the 40-year-old Argentinian’s ingenious piece, but there is much besides, including all sorts of shenanigans in the percussion, wah-wahing trumpets, and some madcap keyboard antics from the two soloists that culminate in a fast and furious finale.
Essential recording: Duo Lechner Tiempo (pianos); Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana/Jacek Kaspszyk (Avanti AVANTI 10332)
Top image by Getty Images