Customer Reviews

Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue / An American In Paris

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This review refers to "Great Performances: Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue/An American In Paris"(CD)

Well, how can you go wrong when Leonard Bernstein, with the help of the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, conducts(and performs brilliantly on piano)these two George Gershwin greats.You just can't. Even the quality of the CD is excellent.

Rhapsody will carry you away to some other place for a while. From that very first bluesy note, Bernstein and Orchestra will have you wrapped up in all it's jazzy glory. It's music that defines the word greatness and it's THE song I would pick (if I could only pick one) that exemplifies the masterfulness of American composers.

An American In Paris is wonderful. The feeling of a tourist on the loose in Paris is expertly portrayed through this recording. The highs, the lows and all the delights. I felt a part of it all(and I'm a long way from Paris!)

Now, if you have read any of my other CD reviews, you know that right about here is where I complain ,and sometimes even take a star off of my rating, when a CD is too short(considering how easy it is to get music elsewhere these days). But I have to say, even though the total time on this CD is only about 35 minutes, what a glorious 35 minutes it is.
Rhapsody a wonderful 16:26 and American In Paris a Yummy 18:22.
It's music that never gets old. It stands the test of time, and many repeated playings.

So you may want to keep a copy of this in your car. A great way to start your day. Listen on the way to work, and you'll have that "what? me worry?" attitude. Also fabulous for destressing on the way home from a long days work.It just seems to make everything okay.

As I said the CD has a nice quality. It also has a booklet with some notes on how Gershwin came to compose these songs.

Gershwin performed by Bernstein..it was meant to be!
Enjoy it...Laurie

These are considered to be among the best performances of both pieces. Berstein's vitality serves well here and is a perfect match for Gershwin's music. However, the Bernstein Century recording with these peices is coupled with Grofe's Grand Canyon at roughly the same price, making it a better deal...

This ADD recording has surprisingly good sound quality for an older recording that hasn't been remastered. The performance by Bernstein and both the Columbia Symphonic and the NY Philharmonic on the pieces is simply breathtaking. You'd be hard pressed to find better interpretations of these Gershwin masterpieces. The only problem with this album is that it's very short and although would have been the perfect length on an lp or cassette as it was originally, it seems to be a waste of cd space here. Sony should probably remaster this and add some tracks like perhaps "Porgy and Bess" to make it a better value proposition. I hope they re-release a remastered version on mini-lp sleeve replica packaging too.

I originally found this record in a used record store and purchased it for $1. This was not too long ago. After listening, i could not believe that this record only cost me $1 and that some idiot actually sold this to a used record store without listening first. I have never heard a performace of Rhapsody In Blue that is as powerful and heartfelt as this one. Bernstain melts into the piano, resulting in a performance that outshines so many Gershwin performances that exist. On the other side of the record is An American In Paris, a textbook tone poem, and i mean this as a great compliment. The images of Paris and a partially homesick/partially jubilant American strolling along exude from every note. When i found these great performances on CD, i snatched up a copy as quickly as i could. GET THIS RECORD. It is truly a Great Performance.

To play Gershwin accurately demands from the player, the absolute domain of an invisible taste, unsaid in the score. Few pianists (and Bernstein is among them) were able to convey the listener, this savoir vivre, humor, elegance, that idiomatic atmosphere that plainly justifies your effort.

To my mind, there just have been five pianists who have surmounted this peak: Oscar Levant, Jesus Maria Sanroma, Eugene List, Earl Wild and Leonard Bernstein.

So, under any pretext you should miss this invaluable musical gem.

In my opinion you just can't go wrong with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I have many of their recordings in addition to many recordings of other orchestras; some great, some not so much...but the New York Phil is cosistently great. This recording is a superb example of Gershwin's writing, thoughtfully reproduced by a fine orchestra. Both the brashness of the pieces and the subtleties are interpreted well by Mr. Bernstein and the orchestra. The soloists are nothing other than excellent. The brass section is easily as strong as the Chicago symphony's famous section, and the strings intonation is superb. The pathos and the humor of both pieces are readily projected by this sensitive orchestra and conductor. I couldn't recommend this recording higher!

We all know that Leonard Bernstein was a great conductor, possibly the greatest of the American born conductors of the twentieth century. It was wonderful to learn that Bernstein was always an excellent pianist. On occasion, Bernstein would conduct the orchestra AND play the piano, too. In the early days of stereo LPs, Columbia Records released Bernstein's recording of two masterpieces by George Gershwin: "An American in Paris" and "Rhapsody in Blue." For some reason, the album featured two DIFFERENT orchestra: the New York Philharmonic in "An American in Paris" and the Columbia Symphony in "Rhapsody in Blue."

While it is obvious that the New York Philharmonic was an established orchestra, actually the oldest symphonic orchestra in the country (founded in 1842, the same year that the Vienna Philharmonic was started), many people have wondered what was the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. There is a simple answer. Columbia Records, the oldest recording company in America, sometimes wanted to make recordings with a "house" orchestra and it was apparently cheaper and easier to simply contract New York musicians and put together an ensemble of musicians. They usually recorded in Columbia's 30th Street Studios. This practice went back to at least 1949, when Sir Thomas Beecham visited New York and made a series of high fidelity recordings in Columbia's studios, which were released on both 78-rpm and 33-1/3 rpm discs. Sometimes, however, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra was also drawn from Los Angeles musicians, as was the case with some of the late recordings made for Columbia by Bruno Walter, who lived in Beverly Hills. Igor Stravinsky made a number of recordings with the Columbia Symphony as well; it isn't always clear as to where the recordings were made since Stravinsky also lived in Beverly Hills for many years.

Anyway, Bernstein recorded the "Rhapsody" with the Columbia Symphony's New York musicians, possibly including some members of his own New York Philharmonic, in 1959. The sessions took place in the 30th Street Studios. For some reason, Bernstein made some minor cuts in the music, most likely in the slow solo section. It was still better than Gershwin's own abridged recordings in 1924 (acoustical) and 1927 (electric) for Victor with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. If you compare what we have of Gershwin playing with Bernstein's own performance, the results are quite similar. Bernstein was a very gifted pianist, who had classical training as well as an appreciation and affinity for jazz and blues. Although Bernstein both played and conducted, he was able to keep the orchestra together and they worked extremely well with him. Musicians generally admired Bernstein and enjoyed working with him, as is clearly apparent from this performance. This is, of course, Ferde Grofe's orchestral version since Gershwin did not orchestrate the score. (Gershwin did not begin orchestrating his music until the following year when he wrote his "Concerto in F.") Grofe may have taken suggestions from Gershwin about the instrumentation, especially the famous opening clarinet solo, which is exceptionally well played here. There is an excitement and emotion throughout the performance, making it still one of the best recorded versions.

In "An American in Paris," Bernstein functioned strictly as conductor with the New York Philharmonic. He was able to achieve a performance that captured all of the different moods in this piece, which was inspired by Gershwin's visit to Paris in 1928, where he met Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky, among others. He was able to utilize the French atmosphere of the city and add jazz and blues elements since it was basically an American's impressions of an exciting cultural city. It was the epitome of the appreciation Americans felt for Paris between the two world wars. It was a major achievement and Bernstein's performance has always been cited as one of the best versions of the music because he succeeded in balancing the jazz and symphonic elements of the work. Few conductors had been so successful in doing this. In many ways, Bernstein's recording has set the standard. It benefited, too, from excellent recording technology and was an early example of the virtues of stereophonic sound.

These recordings have been continually available in various versions, first released by Columbia Records and then by Sony, which acquired Columbia some years ago. They are well worth having in any collection, especially for those who love Gershwin and Bernstein.

I first heard Leonard Bernstein's version of Rahpsody in Blue in the early 1960s, on a 7" vinyl record. It has remained my favourite ever since. This digital issue on a CD is excellent. Nothing has been lost in the transition from analogue to digital recording, and it is every bit as enjoyable now as it was when I first heard it forty-five years ago.

Here in Los Angeles I hear Gershwin played on KUSC, the classical station owned by USC, fairly often as part of their mix; it can be a real pleasure when you're stuck in traffic. However, their recordings are generally the James Levine ones, which I feel are rushed and scattered. Bernstein was born to execute this music. He inflames it with such character, tone and swing that I can't help but see dancing in my head when I hear it. I also think the Great Recording series is an excellently-priced way to go for some of the greats, but this particular selection happens to be a personal favorite.

This CD should be in every music lover's collection. I first heard this recording when I was about 8 years old. Although I've heard versions of "Rhapsody In Blue" and "An American In Paris" by many other artists (including a recording of Gerswhin himself playing the piano on "Rhapsody In Blue"), I've never heard another recording that can touch the performances on this album. I'm quite certain Bernstein's interpretation of these pieces surpasses even Gershwin's vision for these pieces, and the musicians interpret Gershwin flawlessly under Bernstein's direction. And, you don't need to listen to an entire piece to hear the difference----just listen to the opening of "Rhapsody In Blue" and the way Bernstein extends the opening clarinet solo until it nearly breaks your heart! Bernstein also plays piano on these pieces, and you'll never hear these beautiful piano scores played better! These recordings are simply stunning. I can't believe they're selling so cheaply!