Search - George Gershwin, Michael Tilson Thomas, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra :: Michael Tilson Thomas Performs and Conducts Gershwin

Great Jazz Rhadsody in Blue But...

D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 10/04/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I recall this recording when it was issued as an LP several years ago. The jazz band recording of Rhapsody in Blue is quite a novelty since we usually heard the version for full orchestra. Both orchestrations by Ferde Grofe are wonderful but the jazz band version with its smaller forces is refreshing to hear. The short pieces recorded here like Short Story, Sleepless Night and the Promenade (Walking the Dog) are quite great compositions and are seldom recorded.However, I have serious reservations about Mr. Tilson Thomas' performance of the Second Rhapsody. This piece is called a "recreation" from George Gershwin's manuscript. One wonders what this means. The Second Rhapsody was originally a sequence in the film Delicious (under the name Manhattan Rhapsody where it was part of a New York setting) which Gershwin developed into a concert work. Gershwin said there was no program for the Rhapsody. The theme Gershwin started with was one he refereed to as a "rivet theme." I think the title given to the Rhapsody (Rhapsody in Rivets) would not have originated with Gershwin. The Second Rhapsody has not been a popular piece but has been played and recorded before (notably by Oscar Levant with Morton Gould and his Orchestra). Gershwin recorded the work with an orchestra he hired (available on Music masters) before making some corrections to the score for publication. It is an unfortunate fact that Mr. Tilson Thomas performs the Second Rhapsody with his own embellishments. He was asked by Ira Gershwin to stop this practice but, as far as I am aware, Mr. Tilson Thomas never did, so the recording here should list the Second Rhapsody by Gershwin-Tilson Thomas. Sorry but I cannot recommend a disc where too many liberites have been taken."

Fantastic "Rhapsody in Blue" and more

F. R. W. Miles | Oak Hill, VA United States | 09/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tilson Thomas on piano and the LA Phil behind him, it is the other end of the piano roll restoration version. You know MTT is inside the music and he draws you into it too. This album is a rock in my Gershwin collection."

A treat for the ears

dbphoenix | Phoenix, AZ United States | 01/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Given all the recordings available of Gershwin in general, and the Rhapsody in Blue in particular, and given that there are three versions of the Rhapsody, and given that even those who love the Rhapsody most likely came to it through the full symphony version, there is a real treat in store here for those who've never heard the jazz band version, or who have heard it, loved it, but have never been able to find it anywhere.The jazz band version was the first, and is unrelenting fun from beginning to end. There is an almost infectious joy written into the music, which is completely missing from the symphonic version. Listen to this disc and rediscover an old favorite."