Search - George Gershwin, Michael Tilson Thomas, New York Philharmonic :: George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; An American in Paris; Broadway Overtures

Nothing Comes Close to Gershwin's Performance

D. Barrett | Hollywood, CA | 05/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are literally hundreds of performances of Rhapsody in Blue available on CD. This one uses the 1925 piano roll made by Gershwin himself. Check out the running time. 13:43 compared to Bernstein's apathetic 16:20. George knew how he wanted Rhapsody to be played and he did it. Thank goodness for piano rolls or we'd be stuck with a very tinkly audio. Tilson Thomas drives his orchestra to keep up with his soloist. This isn't the Rhapsody you've heard all these years, this is the version that was meant to be heard. The truth is there aren't many contemporary pianists that can keep up with Gershwin's pall mall pacing; they're just not from the 20's Jazz Era (most are simply wonderful concert pianists). There is a story that Gershwin was traveling by train with his very close friend and great pianist himself, Oscar Levant. Oscar had the top berth, George had the lower (considered more desirable by train travelers). Gershwin commented, "You know Oscar, upper birth-lower birth, it the difference between greatness and genius." You don't need to be a musicologist to know who the genius was."