Gershwin: Porgy and Bess; Rhapsody in Blue; An American in Paris

On this CD:

1. Rhapsody in Blue for piano & orchestra (orchestral version by F. Grofé)
Composed by George Gershwin

Conducted by Libor Pesek

2. An American in Paris, tone poem for orchestra
Composed by George Gershwin

Conducted by Libor Pesek

3. Summertime, song (from Porgy and Bess, opera)
Composed by George Gershwin
Performed by Vienna Salon Orchestra with Sylvester Stingel
Conducted by Simon Gale

4. Porgy and Bess, opera I Got Plenty Of Nothing
Composed by George Gershwin
Performed by Vienna Salon Orchestra with Sylvester Stingel
Conducted by Simon Gale

5. Porgy and Bess, opera I Love You, Porgy
Composed by George Gershwin
Performed by Vienna Salon Orchestra with Sylvester Stingel
Conducted by Simon Gale

6. Porgy and Bess, opera It Ain't Necessarily So
Composed by George Gershwin
Performed by Vienna Salon Orchestra with Sylvester Stingel
Conducted by Simon Gale

7. Porgy and Bess, opera Bess, You are My Woman Now
Composed by George Gershwin
Performed by Vienna Salon Orchestra with Sylvester Stingel
Conducted by Simon Gale

8. Porgy and Bess, opera There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon For New York
Composed by George Gershwin
Performed by Vienna Salon Orchestra with Sylvester Stingel
Conducted by Simon Gale

9. Summertime, song (from Porgy and Bess, opera)
Composed by George Gershwin
Performed by Vienna Salon Orchestra with Sylvester Stingel
Conducted by Simon Gale

Tracks:

Rhapsody In Blue
Cuban Overture
'Porgy and Bess' Suite
An American In Paris

Customer Reviews:

As good as any Rhapsody.......2006-11-11

I've also got Bernstein and Wild and this Rhapsody is as good as any of them. But the real reason to buy this recording is for the couplings--which are far better than the rest. The Cuban Overture absolutely ROCKS.

Everybody gives you "American in Paris" with the Rhapsody, but, come on, Porgy & Bess AND the Cuban Overture vs. Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite or the Piano Concerto in C? No contest!

Good intro to Gershwin - Great gift.......2006-08-05

Bought this CD for our 7-year-old daughter for her birthday. She loves it. Certainly didn't listen to it once and set it aside. She even takes it in the car.

In short, it's a nice performance of some of Gershwin's best work. Very enjoyable.

Outstanding performance and sound engineering.......2005-10-24

I am not a sound engineer but, clearly something was done outstandingly right in the production of this CD. I have listened to this CD on several different stereo systems with the same result: crystal clear sound that gives the impression that the instruments are right in front of you. I would add that I do not have an SACD version of this CD, nor an SACD player, nor a hi-end expensive stereo system. Nevertheless, the sound quality of this CD was noticeably superior to that of the recordings of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and American in Paris that I have with Bernstein and Ormandy conducting. Part of the superior sound quality of this recording is due to its being digital, whereas Bernstein and Ormandy were recorded in analog. However, I have hundreds of other CDs that were recorded digitally and comparatively few have a sound quality that is as fresh, sharp, and, simply put, as outstanding as the one on this CD.

In addition to the freshness and immediacy of the sound, the playing of both the orchestra and of Levine as the piano soloist in Rhapsody in Blue are the best that I have heard amongst my various recordings of this work. I had never heard James Levine as a pianist before, only as a conductor, and was very pleasantly surprised at the excellence of his performance. There is a real joyful dynamic energy on this CD, together with a quality that is not apparent on the other recordings I own of Rhapsody in Blue - a feeling of playfulness, and even humor. I got the distinct feeling as I listened to this CD (several times, and always with great pleasure) that the orchestra and conductor/pianist were thoroughly enjoying themselves. All of the selections on this CD radiate with outstanding musicianship coupled with tremendous energy and love of life. This is one of my desert island CDs. I give it my highest recommendation.

The Finest Recordings of These Four Selections.......2004-03-13

George Gershwin (1898-1937) first made a name for himself as the composer of one memorable popular song after another--songs that have proven remarkably durable and have entered our collective consciousness to become "great standards" by which others are judged. In 1924 he began to leap the gulf between "popular" and "serious" music, and between 1924 and his untimely death in 1937 he created a number of famous works--but although he is regarded as a genius today, it was not so at the time. For then as now, "serious" composers and critics were an insular group, and many considered his fusion of jazz, strong melodic lines, and symphonic treatments at best pretentious, at worst common.

In the wake of Gershwin's untimely death, many of his works underwent a facelift of sorts, with various composers reworking the material in an effort to give it more snob appeal: the original arrangements were touched up, retoned, and in general fiddled with--and today it is almost impossible to find a recording of a Gershwin piece recorded as originally written. But here Chicago Symphony conductor James Levine accomplishes the impossible, restoring four major Gershwin pieces to either original or near-original condition.

The great reason to purchase this CD is "Rhapsody in Blue," which will come as a revelation to listeners accustomed to hearing the piece awash in strings, for here it is returned to all the sharp edged, strident, and jazzy glory of the original 1924 Ferde Grafe arrangement for the Paul Whiteman orchestra. And it is stunning, clean, a true period jewel that is ultimately the definitive musical statement of the Deco era; hearing it performed in this stripped-down original version is akin to seeing a beautiful gemstone purged of a vulgar setting and restored to true brilliance.

Also notable are "Cuban Overture" and "Catfish Row," both of which are performed essentially as Gershwin created them. "Cuban Overture" has never been one of Gershwin's most popular concert pieces--but listening to it here one is hard pressed to know why; certainly less melodic than other Gershwin constructions for orchestra, it is nonetheless a magical thing that combines a sense of ocean and tropical flavors to tremendous effect. "Catfish Row," of course, is drawn from Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess"--but should not be confused with the various suites typically heard, for it was actually arranged by George Gershwin himself and offers a pleasing (and to my mind far superior) variation on these oft-heard themes.

Unfortunately, not all of the original arrangements survive. (Liner notes indicate that even "Cuban Overture" is slightly effected in this regard.) The arrangements for "An American in Paris" received an overhaul around 1947; the originals have been lost forever, and it is performed here very much as we are accustomed to hearing it. Still, Levine and company give it tremendous style and substance in execution, and without knowing what the original arrangements were like we would be hard pressed to fault them in the performance.

Whatever the case, when it comes to these four selections, and particularly so re the legendary "Rhapsody in Blue," this is the recording to have. Everything here is flawless--and very often unlike anything you've previously heard when approaching these works. Strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Gershewin is the Master of Mixing Jazz and Big Band.......2001-12-26

Gershwin lived a short life but the pieces he made are marvelous. His fusion of jazz of big band creates a unique sound that is very pleasing. Listening to a Rhapsody in Blue, or An American in Paris always gives the feeling of a big bustling American city in its prime, full of rich color and glamour. Uneven, busy syncopated rythyms by the brass and percussion add the sense of the workaholic society of America during its time. It's the old timely sound to it all that makes Gershwin's so songs irresistable to the ear. Cuban Overture sounds equally robust and majestic, complete with native Cuban percussion, and the "Porgy and Bess" Suite, while operatic and huge in proportion, doesn't stray far from its jazz roots. The Chicago Symphony played the music with gusto and vigor, and James Levine thoughtfully interpreted each piece with the utmost care the way Gershwin had intended it. I highly recommend this piece to anyone with a fine taste in the big band, all-American sound. Of all the music I've heard, Gershwin's music sounds the most American of them all.

Average customer rating:

Muffled
Somewhat disappointing.
Gershwin At His Best in Hearts!
The best America has to offer!!

George Gershwin: Greatest Hits

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue - Piano Concerto in F - An American in Paris
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ASIN: B000002A1T
Release Date: 1994-08-09

Tracks:

Strike Up The Band
Rhapsody In Blue
Prelude No. 1
Piano Concerto In F
An American In Paris
Prelude No. 3
Medley From Porgy And Bess
Fascinating Rhythm
Lullaby
Promenade (Walking the Dog)
Cuban Overture

Customer Reviews:

Muffled.......2006-11-03

This is a decent enough recording, but it's not anywhere near the best that I have heard. The Andre Previn/LSO recording is much better mixed; at times it seems like there's a muffle on the mikes, or that you're hearing it from a distance.

If I wanted good, dynamic background music, I'd do this. If I wanted to really listen to the music, I'd pick another version.

Somewhat disappointing........2003-09-10

I bought this for the full-length rendition of Rhapsody in Blue. I found the brass too tinny sounding, and the rhythm off in a few places. I like the snippet of this song on the "Best of the Milleneum" CD much better.

Gershwin At His Best in Hearts!.......2003-03-19

To someone who came along as a teenage boy in the mid-1940's, this CD has the elements of authenticity, even surprise, musical history, highly intense performances, and ways evoking memories of emotional highlights of my Youth. When mediocre orchestra 1st tackled Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" at Smoky Mtn Music Camp we were preparing for Sunday's outdoor Concert. Pianos were played by two friends who've presided Music Dept at Carson-Newman College in East Tennessee. In the Trombone section was a skinny kid with too much hair and too big an ego! When our esteemed conductor began the opening bars the Clarinet Soloist, my close friend Danny Boy slide-up the chromatic scale with fleurish. He later became a NC Doctor! He likely plays clarinet for his own amazement in someone's Dixieland Band!

On this wondrous CD there are historic names like Bernstein, Kostelanez, John Williams and Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductors. Andre Previn, Yo-Yo Ma and Sarah Vaughan as Soloists. I would have a hard time choosing which may be called my favorite! It would depend on the day they are playing in my car... traveling to Columbia Seminary classes or GA Diagnostic Prison for lunch with Chaplain friends! I often sing along with the Rhapsody as I did in 1949 when Oscar Levant soloed with Chattanooga Orch. My very young wife was playing in the first violin section! Still today I am totally wiped out when anyone as intensely romantic as Sarah Vaughan sings "Summertime" or "I Loves You, Porgy!"

Is it not amazingly wondrous that someone could create so much enjoyable music in his short lifetime of 39 years? I never wish to part with this all-time favorite 10-Star Recording!
Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood

The best America has to offer!!.......1999-03-09

This is the best collection of his songs i have ever heard. That's probably because it features conductors like John Williams and Micheal Tilson Thomas. My personal favorite is the allegro agitato from the Concerto in F. I have other recordings of this song, but none of them can even come close to matching the excitement of this one.

Average customer rating:

The best performances at the cheapest price!
Great performances, excellent engineering
Insipid uninspiring performances; miserable engineering
Terrific playing at a bargain price
Siegel is amazing

Gershwin: Works for Piano & Orchestra

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001K1Z
Release Date: 1992-11-04

Tracks:

Allegro
Andante Con Moto
Allegro Agitato
Lullaby For String Orchestra
Cuban Overture
Second Rhapsody
Promenade

Tracks:

Rhapsody In Blue
'I Got Rhythm' Variations
Introduction - Act 1, Scene 1
Porgy Sings
Fugue
Hurricane - Act II, Scene 3
Good Mornin', Brother - Act III, Scene 3
An American In Paris

Customer Reviews:

The best performances at the cheapest price!.......2001-08-16

I own many recordings of Gershwin but this inexpensive colection is my favorite! The performances are moving, the recording is excellent, and the whole package cannot be beat for value. Simply a great value!!!

Great performances, excellent engineering.......2001-03-22

I'm confused by the previous reviewer's comments.

The engineering is fine analog, but it isn't "in your face" kind of engineering (a la some older Sony recordings; Bernstein's are some of the worst offenders, although recent remasterings have tamed them somewhat), it isn't brightly lit (ditto a lot of von Karajan's DG recordings), but it's pretty natural. Nothing is spotlit, and sounds the way one would hear it in the concert hall. I would hazard that sound systems have a way of filtering the music. I've found that some of my terribly-engineered, really ancient monophonic recordings sound much better on lesser equipment, while my best engineered recordings sound mediocre on lesser equipment, but wonderful on the high end stuff. And the speakers, and, well, this isn't about equipment. Just second guessing how the impression can be made that the enginnering is poor on this disc.

Powell Symphony Hall, while not the sonic masterpiece that is, for example, New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall (one of the best I've ever been in), is still a wonderful acoustic space, both for listener and player (it's one of those halls where I was able to hear myself play as well as I was the whole orchestra, and you can almost feel your sound being projected into the auditorium). The hall, btw, is gorgeous, graceful, and characterful; much so than the design of Symphony Hall in Chicago (brilliantly finished, btw), or the cavernous feel of the hall in Boston. While some of Slatkin's RCA recordings in Powell recess the sound too much, such is not the case here.

The performances are electrifying, with the exception of the Concerto in F. Even that piece, an awkward attempt on Gershwin's part, has many rewarding aspects, and the performance reveals many of them. Seigel isn't a "polished" pianist--I'd never be interested hearing him play Mozart based on these performances--but here his style (or the style he has captured) is just right.

These are classics in the Gramophone. Not that the critical consensus (well, as consensual as it ever gets) is always correct, but I agree with them.

Insipid uninspiring performances; miserable engineering.......2000-12-07

If only 0 stars were an option!

I found these interpretations of Gershwin lacking; both in the orchestra and piano. None of the performances reached out and pulled me in, they left me wondering what anyone could possibly hear in Gershwin. Thankfully I own several recordings which do not leave me feeling that way! Specificaly in the Rapsody in Blue: Mr. Siegel does not demonstrate a command of the piece; more than once I wondered if he was practicing the piece instead of performing it, as his approach was tenative at best. Mr. Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony rendered the piece with a lush/loose orchestral feel that just does not feel right.

The sound engineering is wanting in all of these performances; the balance between orchestra and piano is poorly maintained throughout. I found the piano lost in sections where a balance between forces is called for. Exchanges between piano and various instruments routinely found one or the other anoyingly out of balance. Nothing in the notes describes the recording process, but from the instances of voice dropout I would hazard to guess that two micropones were placed in the worst seats available in Powell Symphony Hall with the subsequent recordings transfered directly to disc with no review or attempt at editing. What an engineering travesty!

Overall I was glad when the CD's were done. I pulled out other recordings and played numerous tracks back to back to see if I had missed something. I had not! All around the performances are insipid and uninspiring, and I can usually find something redeeming in just about everything to which I give a listen.

If you want an inspired performance of Rhapsody in Blue that will reach out and grab you from the opening wail of the clarinet to the closing orchestral chord, get the recording made by Michael Tilson Thomas and the LA Philharmonic. Unfortunately, he did not record all the orchestral pieces you find in this recording.

Terrific playing at a bargain price.......2000-05-29

This is a terrific collection of Gershwin's orchestral music, including all of his works for piano and orchestra, all at a bargain price. Jeffrey Siegel's piano playing is great, as is Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. For the bargain hunter in search of Gershwin, this is the set to buy.

Siegel is amazing.......2000-04-17

I have been privileged to listen to Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations in Fairfax, VA for many years. I heard him play some Gershwin during one performance, and I had to buy this CD. If you like Gershwin, if you like great piano, if you like music, this is a CD that belongs in your collection

Average customer rating:

Great sampler of Gershwin's music
Gershwin stands the test of time

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ASIN: B000003QX6
Release Date: 1997-07-22

Tracks:

Rhapsody In Blue
Overture To 'Strike Up The Band' (Soldiers' March - I Mean To Say - How About A Boy Like Me - Dream Music - Soon - etc.)
Overture To 'Girl Crazy' (Mexican Hotel - Could You Use Me - Embraceable You - I Got Rhythm - But Not For Me - etc.)
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Concerto In F: (Adagio: Andante con moto)
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Tracks:

An American In Paris
'Porgy And Bess' Suite (Clara - A Woman Is A Sometime Thing - Summertime - I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' - Bess, You Is My Woman - etc.)
A Gershwin Medley (Swanee - The Man I Love - Strike Up The Band)
Overture To 'Lady, Be Good' (Lady, Be Good - Fascinating Rhythm)
Tell Me More: Kicking The Clouds Away
La, La, Lucille: Tee-Oodle-Um-Bum-Bo
George White's Scandals Of 1921: Drifting Along With The Tide
Tip - Toes: That Certain Feeling
Tip - Toes: Sweet And Low Down
Three Preludes: No. 1
Three Preludes: No. 2
Three Preludes: No. 3
Lullaby (Original Piano Version)

Customer Reviews:

Great sampler of Gershwin's music.......2007-04-14

Classical music came from Europe. Jazz arose in the American deep south as a combination of multiple music genres, most noticeably black folk music and French influences. How ironic that it would take two descendants of Russian Jews to fuse the two together into a distinctly American style of music. The two composers are George and Ira Gershwin. George is the more famous of the two, but both by himself and with his sibling they composed multiple great scores of musics. Many of these have stood the test of time and are now commonly heard in the mass media; Rhapsody in Blue is the ultimate example, and it leads of this two-disc set. Other pieces were composed for operas (Porgy and Bess), Broadway shows (Funny Face), and movies. All of this and other works are found on this set. The recording is great, the sound quality is flawless and the compositions well chosen to provide 2+ hours of music. All told, a great buy for the price.

Gershwin stands the test of time.......2007-03-25

Absolutely the best, still after all these years. I'm very happy with the album.

Average customer rating:

Excellent performer
A unique project
Gershwin historical, manic, perfect, archival
Definative

Authentic George Gershwin, Vol. 1-4

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ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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George Gershwin: His Life and Work

ASIN: B0001Z2RSC
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Tracks:

Swanee
Come To the Moon
I Was So Young (You Were So Beautiful)
Tee-Oodle-Um-bum-Bo
Nobody But You
Limehouse Nights
Drifting Along With The Tide
Rhapsody In Blue
Oh Lady Be Good!
Fascinating Rhythm
Hang On To Me
I'd Rather Charleston
The Man I Love
The Half Of It, Dearie, Blues
So Am I
Kickin' The Clouds Away
Concerto In F

Tracks:

Sweet And Low-Down (I)
That Certain Feeling (I)
Looking For A Boy
When Do We Dance?
Sweet And Low-Down (II)
That Certain Feeling (II)
Irish Waltz
Do, Do, Do
Someone To Watch Over Me
Clap Yo' Hands
Maybe
Three Preludes: I. No.1: Allegro Ben Ritmato E Deciso / II. No.2: Andante Con Moto / III No.3: Allegro Ben Ritmato E Deciso
Meadow Serenade
My One And Only
'S Wonderful/Funny Face
He Loves And She Loves
An American In Paris
Liza
Strike Up The Band
Embraceable You
I Got Rhythm (I)
I Got Rhythm (II)

Tracks:

Of Thee I Sing
Jilted
Second Rhapsody
For You, For Me, For Evermore
Cuban Overture
Isn't It A Pity?
Variations On 'I Got Rhythm'
I. Catfish Row: Introduction - Jazzbo Brown - First Chorus, 'Summertime'
II. Porgy Sings: 'I got Plenty O' Nuthin' - 'Bess, You Is My Woman Now'
III. Fugue: Murder Of Crown, Act III Scene 1
IV. Hurricane: Introduction, Act II Scene 3 - Hurricane, Act II Scene 3
V. Good Morning, Brother: Occupational Humoresque, Act III Scene 3 - 'Good Morning, Brother' - Children's Song 'Sure To Go To Heaven' - 'I'm On My Way' (Finale)
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
Our Love Is Here To Stay

Tracks:

Girl Crazy Overture
French Ballet Class
Dance Of The Waves
Slap That Bass
Walking The Dog
I've Got Beginner's Luck
They All Laughed
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Shall We Dance
By Strauss
I Can't Be Bothered Now
The Jolly Tar And The Milkmaid (1st Version)
Put Me To The Test
The Jolly Tar And The Milkmaid (2nd Version)
Stiff Upper Lip
A Foggy day (In London Town)
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Things Are Looking Up
I Was Doing All Right
Love Walked In

Customer Reviews:

Excellent performer.......2007-03-09

This plates are wonderful. I was charmed, and when I close my eyes now, I see scenes with American in Paris or Porgy and Bess but my favorite piece of music is Rhapsody in Blue. It's more than excellent is fantastic. Jack Gibbons perfectly feels the unique tone Gershwin's music, the mixture rythms of jazz with influences of impressionists and clear and beauty melodies.
I'm fascinating.

A unique project.......2006-11-23

Gibbons' undertaking is unique: to reconstruct and then execute and record the note-for-note playing of Gershwin as documented on the composers' piano rolls, sound recordings and certain published arrangements. I agree with the reviewer who points out that the result is like a library and not a recital you sit back and listen to (or get up and dance to). In fact Gibbons does some editing of his "library" now and then, and clearly documents it in his liner notes: in some reconstructions he augments accompaniment effects and even the melodic line itself. I don't mind that at all, especially as Gibbons scrupulously accounts for such tampering in his liner notes; but it seems to me that it is in this area of "tampering" that Gibbons the artist is asserting himself...which of course undermines the "library", the "historical archive": you have to search and read a bit to find out when you're hearing only Gershwin and when you're hearing some added Gibbons. I don't mind; Gibbons is a remarkable artist in his own right, not merely an impeccable documentarian. For sheer generosity of production Gibbons' Gershwin must also be unique: 4 cd's, scholar-level liner notes (yes, you need a magnifying glass to read them), and rock-bottom bargain price.

Gershwin historical, manic, perfect, archival.......2006-06-12

First: this is 4 high-end produced cd's (in low-end jewel cases) for the price of 2. The liner notes of all 4 cd's are condensed in a booklet of microscopic print, so you may need to spend the savings on a magnifying glass. MONEY WELL SPENT.
Second: Jack Gibbons plays (and has recorded) the Alkan op 39 etudes (he probably plays a lot more Alkan than that). For those of you not in the know, this is to say he has world-class chops, indeed history-class (Liszt, who never played his friend Alkan, at least in public). But it's also to say that Gibbons knows how to interpret and personalize fantastically difficult piano music. For me, his Alkan op 39 is personal and passionate and real (contrast the facile and over-pedalled Hamelin and the just-the-notes-ma'me Ringeissen). An appreciation of Gibbons' Alkan is important here because while his Alkan is uniquely personal (as such music must be, no matter how hard it is to play) his Gershwin is deliberately impersonal...which is to say: no pianist, no singer would want to reproduce what Gibbons has given us in these 4 cd's, and in fact few listeners will be able to listen for long to these 4 cd's without a respite, a break , some silence, some minimal styling from somebody (anybody) else...which brings me to
Third: This is an archive, not a recital. This is a library, not a program. There is no track-by-track contrast of moods here, no track-by-track concession to easy listening, varied delight, any more than a library shelf of novels is alphabetized by authors' last names as a concession to mood or fancy or taste of the searching patron. This is the documented Gershwin in his recording mode: manic, notey, clever, "on", and never, as generations of stylists found in him, ravishing, tender, longing, sweet, glad, hopeful...person-to-person, in a word. I can listen to these cd's about half an hour at a time, max. This is Gerwhsin, not Gibbons. And this is just one side of Gershwin. He died at 38, in the summer. Brain tumor. A lot of pain.
Finally, Jack Gibbons has given the world a uniquely valuable and easily available resource. Gibbons could now do us a service by playing us some Gershwin as he feels it, as it hits him and makes him sing (as Gershwin, our American Schubert, does to all of us, and as I think Alkan has done to Gibbons). I would love to see a Gershwin stylings by Gibbons now that Gibbons himself has made sure Gershwin in his authenticity is safe and sound.

Definative.......2005-07-23

Here's the whole Gershwin catalog at a great price... Five plus hours of bliss. Definately five stars!

Gibbons, according to a family friend and biographer Edward jablonski "recreates Gershwin's style." I'll never know. I can say this is a lively recording and has the perfect balance. It's neither stuffy and plodding or cute.

Average customer rating:

Gershwin Greatest Hits

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Debussy: Greatest Hits

ASIN: B0001AP1A8
Release Date: 2004-02-10

Tracks:

Strike Up The Band - John Williams
Rhapsody In Blue - Andre Previn
Selections From Girl Crazy - John Williams
A Symphonic Picture Of Porgy And Bess - Charles Dutoit
Allegro Ben Ritmato E Deciso - Werner Haas
Andante Con Moto E Poco Rubato - Werner Haas
Allegro Ben Ritmato E Deciso - Werner Haas
Lullaby For String Orchestra - Riccardo Chailly
An American In Paris - Zubin Mehta

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An Absolute Must For Lovers of Music and History
A real collector's item, especially for old-time radio buffs

George Gershwin Memorial Concert

Manufacturer: North American Class
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000006PDF
Release Date: 1998-04-28

Tracks:

Opening Comments
Prelude #2
Commentary
An American In Paris
Commentary
Eulogy
Swanee
The Man I Love
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Station Identification : Commentary
1st Movement : Allegro
2nd Movement : Andate con moto
Concerto In F: 3rd Movement : Allegro con brio

Tracks:

Intermission : Mrs. Leiland Atherton Irish; Oscar Hammerstein Tribute; Edward G. Robinson Tribute; Commentary
Introduction To The Second Half
Anthology : The Man I Love, Liza, Lady Be Good, Somebody Loves Me, Do It Again, I Got Rhythm, Wintergreen For President, Strike Up The Band
Commentary
Porgy And Bess: Introduction And Summertime
Commentary
Porgy And Bess: My Man's Gone Now
Porgy And Bess: The Buzzard Song
Porgy And Bess: The Train Song
Porgy And Bess: I've Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
Porgy And Bess: Bess, You Is My Woman Now
Porgy And Bess: I'm On My Way
Commentary
Rhapsody In Blue

Customer Reviews:

An Absolute Must For Lovers of Music and History.......2001-01-20

This album contains the best works of George Gershwin, played by the very best artists of the period. The quality of the recording is excellent, actually amazing considering that this recording was made in 1937. The music of the master, George Gershwin, and the authenticity of the playing is more than enough reason to buy the CD set. But there is more: The album consists of the complete two and one half hour historic radio program, broadcast as the announcer says "by short wave to the four corners of the earth." It is so moving that you can feel like you are experiencing it live. The 16 pages of liner notes that come with CD set have been carefully researched for historical accuracy and competent critical evaluation of the music. One could have wished the producers would have found room on the cover of the CD set to list Charles Previn, who conducted Concerto in F, which accounted for approximately thirty minutes of the playing time and for Nathaniel Shilkret and Nathaniel Finston who, as conductors, were the featured artists for another approximate half hour of playing time. One could only wish that there were only such minor complaints with all musical recordings. The producers deserve thanks for making this wonderful piece of history available to the public.

A real collector's item, especially for old-time radio buffs.......2000-09-24

This recording preserves,for all posterity and in quite listenable sound for its time, one of the most important and moving cultural events of the early twentieth century--the full-length memorial tribute to George Gershwin, the USA's greatest composer ever,IMHO.

This was broadcast on CBS Radio in September,1937, barely two months after the composer's shocking and untimely death from a brain tumor at the age of thirty-eight. All of his most famous pieces for concert hall are heard here,and the advantage of hearing them in a live performance is that they are not edited, as they often would have been in recordings made during that era. (Gershwin's own recording of the "Rhapsody in Blue",made in the 1920's in a recording studio,is rather severely cut.)

Many of the performers, such as Fred Astaire and Oscar Levant, give memorable performances,but there are a few clinkers. The great German conductor Otto Klemperer may be brilliant in Beethoven and Bach, but he was not the man to conduct Gershwin's Second Prelude, heard here in an orchestral arrangement. He has no feel for jazz idioms whatsoever, and he makes this slow, blues-like piece sound like a dirge out of Mahler or Bruckner. It is,sad to say, the worst performance of the Prelude I have ever heard. And whatever possessed the producers of this concert to get Lily Pons,with her pronounced French accent,to sing "Summertime", rather than an American soprano,which they could have gotten easily? It throws the whole "Porgy and Bess" segment out of whack.

That "Porgy" segment, however, is one of the most valuable historical documents ever recorded. It presents members of the original 1935 cast of the opera performing unedited versions of several arias,duets and ensemble pieces from the opera, conducted by Alexander Smallens, the original conductor. And it presents perhaps the only surviving recording of Ruby Elzy,the original Serena, singing "My Man's Gone Now". (Miss Elzy was NOT featured on the so-called Broadway cast album; Anne Brown,the original Bess,sang Serena's music on that one,as well as singing Bess and Clara's arias.) And we finally get to hear Todd Duncan perform "The Buzzard Song", which was cut from the opera for a very long time.

Fred Astaire's spoken tribute to Gershwin is very moving, and at one point, his voice is heard cracking with emotion. The announcer and narrator, however, speaks in that overenunciated, dramatic, actorish style which was apparently the norm for radio announcers of that period. He sounds as if he were getting ready to either impersonate Orson Welles, or audition for "Hamlet", and his style of speaking is almost quaint nowadays.

But this album is still irreplaceable.

An update to this review - This edition of the memorial concert is apparently out of print, and the concert itself has been reissued as part of the ongoing CD series "The Radio Years". DO NOT BUY THAT VERSION. It is vastly inferior to this one. This version has spectacular sound for its time, and the new reissue sounds as if had been recorded through a tin can. And not only is the sound bad on the reissue, but there is tons of surface noise and the program itself seems to be abridged.

We can only hope that the edition listed on this page will be re-issued some day. This historic concert deserves no less.

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Essential Gershwin

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000088E4C
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Tracks:

Rhapsody In Blue - Andre Previn
Symphonic Portrait Of Porgy & Bess - Robert Russell Bennett
Cuban Overture - Howard Hanson
An American In Paris - Lorin Maazel

Tracks:

3 Preludes For Piano Solo - Werner Haas
3 Preludes For Piano Solo - Werner Haas
3 Preludes For Piano Solo - Werner Haas
Lullaby - Riccardo Chailly
Variations On I Got Rhythm - Bernard Herrmann
The Man I Love - Barbara Hendricks
Oh Kay! - Overture - Arthur Fiedler
Walking The Dog From Shall We Dance - John Mauceri
They All Laughed From Shall We Dance - John Mauceri
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off From Shall We Dance - John Mauceri
They Can't Take That Away From Me From Shall We Dance - Barbara Hendricks
A Foggy Day From A Damsel In Distress - John Mauceri
Nice Work If You Can Get It From A Damsel In Distress - Barbara Hendricks
Love Walked In From The Goldwyn Follies - John Mauceri
Love Is Here To Stay From The Goldwyn Follies - Barbara Hendricks

Average customer rating:

My Figure Skating Album

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Erich Kunzel - Andrew Lloyd Webber (Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, Starlight Express, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) / Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

ASIN: B000174LCK
Release Date: 2004-02-10

Tracks:

Intermezzo Sinfonica - Wolfgang Meyer
Bolero (Excerpt) - Seiji Ozawa
The Flight Of The Bumblebee - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Summertime A Woman Is A Sometime Thing - Gil Shaham
Introduction - Variations I-VI - Tamas Vasary
Variation XVIII - Tamas Vasary
Danse Infernale Du Roi Kachtcher - Myung-Whun Chung
Final - Myung-Whun Chung
'Moonlight': 1. Adagio Sostenuto - Emil Gilels
Prelude To Act I - Placido Domingo
No. 4 Havanaise: 'L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle' - Placido Domingo
Act III, Entr'acte - Placido Domingo
Act III, no. 26 Duo Final (Excerpt) 'Ainsi, Le Salut De Mon Ame' - Placido Domingo
The Journey - Elliot Goldenthal & Band
Libertango - Luis Bacalov
Tango Espagnol - Nicanor Zabaleta
2. Adagio - Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Tracks:

Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O Fortuna - Arnold Schoenberg Chor
Uf Dem Anger: Tanz - Andre Previn
If I Were A Rich Man - Roby Lakatos And His Ensemble
7. Aqarium - Martha Argerich
13. Le Cygne - Mischa Maisky
'Un Bel Di Vedremo Levarsi Un Fil Di Fumo' - Mirella Freni
The Typewriter - Frederick Fennell
Rhapsody In Blue (Excerpt) - James Levine
An American In Paris (Excerpt) - James Levine
Salut D'amour - Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
'Mon Coeur S'ouvre A Ta Voix' - Grace Bumbry
3. Presto - Pinchas Zukerman
Marcia Trionfale - Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala
1. Moderato - Tamas Vasary
Etude In A Flat Major, Op. 25 No. 1 - Tamas Vasary
'La Donna E Mobile' - Nicolai Ghiaurov
Venus, The Bringer Of Peace - William Steinberg
Danse Macabre, Op. 40 - Luben Yordanoff

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; An American In Paris; Porgy and Bess (symphonic picture)

Average customer rating:

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; An American In Paris; Porgy and Bess (symphonic picture)

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD