Customer Reviews

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; An American in Paris(Bernstein)

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When I first bought George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" conducted and played by Leonard Bernstein on cassette in 1989, I was simply blown away by its excellence and power musically. This was the original Great Performances release with the 'newspaper' style artwork which had "An American in Paris" on its B-side and I had been wanting it on CD ever since.
I'm very happy to have waited because the recent Great Performances reissue with the original front cover artwork and liner notes presents both "Rhapsody In Blue" and "An American In Paris" in their greatest quality yet both soundwise and musicwise. Bernstein's piano work as well as his conducting in the "Rhapsody" prove without a shadow of a doubt why this rendition should be considered the definitive one. "An American In Paris" is represented in such a way that it becomes almost a Bernstein piece as much as it is Gershwin's.
As a special bonus, Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F is included. Unlike the previous two pieces, Leonard Bernstein is not the conductor nor the pianist here. The orchestra is conducted by Andre Kostelanetz while the piano part is played by the great Andre Previn. This performance of the Gershwin Concerto is also definitive with stellar delivery from both Previn and Kostelanetz. The fusion of tradition classical music with modern jazz rhythms is stunning and compelling. While other composers such as Copland, Ravel, Stravinsky and Shostakovich also experimented in combining Classical style with Jazz, Gershwin was entirely in a league of his own with this Concerto as the two styles compliment each other effortlessly without one overshadowing the other.
With this said, this CD of these three Gershwin classics is definitely a must. The music as well as the performances themselves are flawless and are the best that one can possibly get.
If you're looking for indespensible and definitive versions of Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue", "An American in Paris" and "Concerto in F", look no further than this CD. It's truly amazing.

As a 13-year old I sat spellbound watching Rhapsody in Blue, the 1945 semi-factual film biography of George Gershwin, starring Robert Alda, late one night on television. A few weeks later I took the week's proceeds from my newspaper delivery route to Rose Records in downtown Chicago, in search of a recording of Rhapsody in Blue. Out of several records with that selection, I chose the Leonard Berstein version, likely on the basis of its impressive cover art.

Over 48 years later, and having listened to a half-dozen other recordings of Rhapsody in Blue, my favorite remains the Bernstein edition. This version is a bit more symphonic (as opposed to bluesy) than the others. Bernstein appears to play some of the solo portions with a bit more delicacy than the other versions I have heard. He seems to approach the piece with respect that the is more like reverence.

The sound quality for this 1959 recording is surprisingly good. The CD includes an American in Paris, which was the flip side of the record, with the addition of the Concerto in F. The album's original liner notes are included, as well as an interesting note by Andre Kostelanetz.

It may be subjective for me to say this is the definitive Rhapsody in Blue. After all, this is the LP I grew up listening to it on. This is the LP I made a cassette from and used to listen to in the car or on my Walkman in college. But I've heard a LOT of Rhapsodies since then, and none of them quite measures up. The phrasing, the cadence, the sustain and pauses on the piano notes -- they are all spot on here. This is simply the one best recording I've found. Even other Bernstein performances don't capture the piece quite as well as it is found here. I'm really, really glad this is finally on CD now.

I recently purchased the Blu-ray of "An American In Paris" and really appreciated all of the great Gershwin music in it. The disc is a great compilation of the classic pieces used in the movie. The sound recording quality is excellent and is an excellent disc to listen to either in a home audio system or in your car. In fact, it is one of my favorite commute pieces as it seems to make the traffic more tolerable. The "Concerto in F" constantly makes me think of Oscar Levant's fantastic piano playing in the movie.

The playing in the CD is no less quality and of particular note are the contributions by André Previn and Uan Rasey. Mr. Rasey was the lead trumpet player in the MGM Orchestra. He performed the solo when Leslie Caron and Gene Kelly were dancing around the fountain in the blues section of the ballet sequence. There is a nice interview of him in the Blu-ray edition of the movie. These two people are key components in the classic MGM musicals and their talents are demonstrated here.

Leonard Bernstein never gave a bad performance and this CD certainly proves it. To anyone who enjoy the works of George and Ira Gershwin and the great MGM movie, this is a must own recording.

Highly recommended for all great music lovers looking for a great performce of American standards in music.

I bought this disk because I had always wanted a good version of Rhapsody in Blue and I have alway considered Bernstein as one of the best conductors in the field.
I was not wrong. Perhaps there have been better renditions of these works, but I haven't heard them, and I am not expert enough to tell the difference.
But I do know what Gershwin should sound like and this is it. I enjoyed every minute.

I don't know. Maybe I'm losing my senses. I bought the original album when an album was a 33 1/3 vinyl disc. I played it to death and I still have the scratched version stored in the attic. I am a great admirer of Bernstein and Gershwin and always will be. However, this CD disturbs me no end. The Gershwin notes are all there and that authoritative Bernstein piano is there. It's just that it all seems to be so - fast and frantic. The nuances and subtleties of the composer and the performer have been lost. It's almost like the studio engineers had to get X amount of material onto the finite space of a CD and mechanically squeezed all of the goodness right out of the whole thing. Don't buy this if you have any memory of how the music really sounded on vinyl. Do buy it if you have no memory and want to have a record of two great artists.