Few readers will need a detailed
introduction to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. There are currently
some 220 recordings listed in the Arkiv CD database (several of these will be
repackagings). It is heard in concert halls and on the radio regularly. From
the opening clarinet trill and upward scale, this work for piano and orchestra
is instantly recognisable after only a split second. Its ‘big tune’ is
justifiably regarded as one of the best.
The Rhapsody was first
heard in 12 February 1924, played by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra with Gershwin
at the piano. In the revised, orchestral version made by Ferde Grofé, it
immediately became popular with audiences and composers in the United States
and Europe. It can be argued that it was the one work that led to acceptance of
jazz idioms into the Western classical music tradition. It was an early example
of classical/jazz fusion. Criticism was usually aimed at the work’s structure
rather than its tunefulness, ‘pop’ style or pianistic content.
From the above-mentioned clarinet
solo, via the jaunty ‘second subject’ to the well-known blues song first heard
on the strings, followed by an opulent account for full orchestra, to the final
peroration, this is music that never fails to please and sometimes even inspire
the listener. Maurice Hinson has noted that ‘this music sums up the 1920s as
much as a Johann Strauss waltz does the Vienna [of the late nineteenth
century]’. Cecile Licad brings a strong
sense of rhythm that is required to be flexible and strict at almost the same
time. The only comment I would make is that Licad’s account of this work is
quite leisurely, running to 18:44. This is between two and four minutes longer
than several other versions. I think it could be described a little over
‘classicized’: it seems to have lost a little of the sparkle and bounce. That
said, I enjoyed this performance.
The least’ popular’ work on this
CD is the Second Rhapsody for piano and orchestra composed on 1931. The music
had its origins in Gershwin’s film score for the musical Delicious
starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. The plot involves a young Scottish
girl immigrating into the United States. She has legal difficulties, goes on
the run and finally joins an itinerant group of musicians. George and Ira
prepared six songs and two musical sequences but only two were used: the
so-called non vocal Rhapsody of Rivets and the dream sequence, The
Melting Pot made it into the film. The Rhapsody of Rivets (at least
one minute of it) was used to accompany the heroine as she runs around, lost in
the streets of Manhattan. The ‘rivets’ are those being used in the construction
of the skyscrapers.
George Gershwin used this material
as the basis of his Second Rhapsody, adding a powerfully tailored blues song
and an attractive ‘rumba’ tune. The ‘Rivet’ material is recapitulated at the
end of the Rhapsody.
Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody had
never caught on. A good summing up of the main reason was made by the
musicologist David Ewen who wrote that ‘while it represents a decided advance
in technique, it is mainly contrived, where the first rhapsody [in Blue] was
inspired.’
Several versions of this score
exist, with orchestrations by the composer, Ferde Grofé and that most often heard by Robert McBride. No mention in the liner notes is made of the edition
used here.
If Rhapsody in Blue is
played here a little languorously, the Piano Concerto on F major seems just
about right. This work, commissioned by the New York Symphony Society, was
completed in 1925. The Concerto received its premiere performance on 3 December
of that year, under the baton of Walter Damrosch and with George Gershwin as
soloist. Most commentators will probably agree that it is a highly successful
effort at fusing jazz idioms and riffs with classical notions of concerto form.
In his review
of the Naxos (8.559705) recording of this Concerto with Orion Weiss and the Buffalo
Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta, John Whitmore captures the
right interpretive approach. He suggest that ‘there are two extreme ways of
approaching [this] concerto - either as an orchestrated piece of jazz or as a
romantic piano concerto with jazz influences.’ For my money Cecile Licad and
the South Denmark Philharmonic Orchestra tend towards a classically restrained
account of this work. It is well judged. I was particularly moved by the
beautifully wrought slow movement.
On a personal note, George
Gershwin’s Piano Concerto was the first example of the genre I heard. Long
before getting to know major concertos by Rachmaninov, Mozart or Tchaikovsky, I
loved this work. It was on an LP I picked up in the well-known ‘flea market’ in
Glasgow, The Barras. Nearly 50 years on I cannot recall who the performers were...
I guess my all-time favourite exponent of this Concerto is Oscar Levant, as
seen and heard in Gene Kelly’s film masterpiece, An American in Paris.
The Variations on ‘I got Rhythm’
(1934) are deservedly popular. The original ‘theme’ was extracted from the
musical comedy Girl Crazy (1930) which was to make Ethel Merman a
household name. Four years later, Gershwin went on tour with the [Leo] Reisman
Symphonic Orchestra where he gave performances of his own music. The Variations
were written specially for this tour. They are a splendid composition with
constant changes to the original song’s harmony, form, melody and structure. Here
are musical allusions to the waltz and the Orient where the soloist ‘imitates
Chinese flutes playing out of tune.’
Then follows a variation where ‘the left hand plays the melody upside down
and the right hand plays it straight, on the theory that you shouldn’t let one
hand know what the other is doing!’ There is a ‘jazz variation that uses a
slap-bass sound and a driving finale. Well
played here. This recording does not use the original Gershwin orchestration,
but the 2017 edition prepared by Philip Rothman based on the 1953 arrangement
by William C. Schoenfeld. Complicated!
The liner notes by Jeremy
Nicholas are comprehensive and include a fair bit of Gershwin anecdote and
trivia. This makes for enjoyable reading. The South Denmark Philharmonic
Orchestra with their conductor Gerard Salonga give good accounts all four
works.
I noted the ‘classical’ mood in
much of this recording. That does not imply that Cecile Licad does not handle
the ‘jazzy’ bits with impeccable taste. Simply that she has managed to create
an interpretation which presents ‘classically’ valid structures, as opposed to
series of jazz infused idioms threaded together like ‘a string of pearls’.
Anthology of American Piano Music Volume 4
George GERSHWIN (1898-1937)
Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
Second Rhapsody (1931)
Piano Concerto in F major (1925)
Variations on ‘I got Rhythm’ (1934)
Cecile Licad (piano), South Denmark Philharmonic
Orchestra/Gerard Salonga
Rec. 2, 3, 5, and 6 August 2019, at the Alsion Concert Hall,
Sønderborg, Denmark
DANACORD DACOCD 869
No comments:
Post a Comment