Rhapsody In Blue
Benjamin Grosvenor's take on the Gershwin classic
I had the pleasure of seeing pianist Benjamin Grosvenor in concert once again on Friday night. This is the 4th time I’ve seen him live. The first time his musicality really struck me. This time around, how he handles the quieter passages and the silences was what really impressed. He’s only 32 and I can’t wait to see how he continues to evolve.
This track is off his second Decca recording, done when he was just 20 years old1. Rhapsody in Blue is George Gershwin’s famous composition for piano and jazz band that took classical concerto structure and added jazz style to it. Over time, it’s moved into a very popular orchestral piece.
It was composed in a very fast 5 weeks on the behest of bandleader Paul Whiteman for a concert in honour of Lincoln’s birthday in 1924. Even though audiences loved it off the bat, it had very mixed reviews until Arthur Fiedler recorded a more traditional orchestral version2 in 1935. Critics praised that version as getting rid of the “jazzy sentimentality” and bringing in more tonal richness. I suspect a bit of snobbishness and maybe racism at play there?
Ferdie Grofé, Whiteman’s pianist and chief arranger, had done the initial arrangement for the concert since Gershwin didn’t have much knowledge in that area at the time, as well as an adaptation for the band (who used it as a theme song). He did his own classical arrangement in 1942 and that’s now considered the orchestral standard beloved of classical fans. Grofé also created arrangements for a theatre orchestra (1926), a film (King of Jazz, 1930) and concert band (1938). Gershwin did adaptations for solo piano, 2 pianos, and a piano roll.
It’s had a long and winding road and if you want to get into the weeds, the wiki entry for it is quite extensive. For Benjamin’s recording, he worked with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by James Judd.
I mainly chose this track so I could introduce people to the utterly delightful video. It’s also half the length of the track above if you don’t want to hear the whole thing.
One of the very first projects led by Gervais Merryweather (who now works for Disney animation), the video features a cartoon version of Benjamin (which made him look much more mature than he actually was at that time) who discovers while going out to eat that he’s supposed to play a concert that night. Mayhem ensues as he races through the New York city streets and the crazy concert hall to get there. It uses a throwback style that feels in line with the era Gershwin wrote in and it’s just a lot of fun.
Enjoy your song of the day!
Ben’s a true prodigy. Won his first competition at age 10 and signed with Decca at 19, the youngest artist ever to sign with that esteemed classical label.
I believe this is the first version of it I heard. My mom was a huge Boston Pops fan and we had a lot of Fiedler’s recordings.