Self-taught, brilliant, comfortable with both jazz and the classics,
Gershwin (1898-1937) is a composer whose music straddles the musical
theater and the concert hall with equal comfort. With his gift for
easy, natural melodies and colorful orchestration, Gershwin is always
entertaining. Here are his essential recordings. |
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Gershwin:
Rhapsody in Blue, American in Paris / Bernstein
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Composer:
George
Gershwin, Ferde
Grofé
Conductor: Leonard
Bernstein
Performer: Leonard
Bernstein
Ensemble: New
York Philharmonic Orchestra
Sony Classics - #42264 / January 1, 1987
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here for more information
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This is a disc for the ages: here is American music, performed
with mid-century flair, a moment never to be recaptured. Bernstein
had an unparalleled feel for Rhapsody in Blue, and
in this recording he brought it all home, doing full justice
to the still-fresh, racy, moody, spontaneous, evocative score.
His performance of the solo has a smoky, sultry jazziness
to it, along with a brash exuberance; there is touching tenderness
in the lullaby, a riveting dynamism in the fast pages. As
constituted...Read
more
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Gershwin:
Porgy and Bess / Rattle, White, Haymon, et al
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Composer:
George
Gershwin
Conductor: Simon
Rattle
Performer: Gregg
Baker, Harolyn
Blackwell, et al.
Ensemble: Glyndebourne
Festival Chorus, London
Philharmonic Orchestra
Emd/Emi Classics - #56220 / September 16, 1997
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here for more information |
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An uncut Porgy & Bess may well be too long in the theater.
On CD, though, you can play one act at a time, letting Gershwin's
wide-eyed, inexhaustibly inventive score run its course at
leisure in the comforts of your rumpus room. Some listeners
might find Sir Simon Rattle's tempos on the draggy side, but
he's got Gershwin's syncopated idiom down cold. Similarly,
the singers fuse Gershwin's prodigious musical demands with
effortless, characterful diction more succesfully than in
other recordings,...Read
more
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Oh,
Lady, Be Good! Best Of The Gershwin Songbook |
George Gershwin (Tribute), Ella Fitzgerald
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here for more information |
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Ella recorded five LPs' worth of Gershwin tunes for her songbook
series, which was frankly a little much, so this single disc
skims the cream. These songs are the ur-texts of American
pre-war pop, straightforward love songs made to flow off a
singer's tongue, and here they're in the hands of a master.
Nelson Riddle's arrangements tend toward the soupy side--the
bombastic string sections are distinctly nonjazz--but Ella,
as always, sings with absolute taste and authority. She doesn't
seem to be...Read
more
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Girl
Crazy (Nonesuch) |
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Performer(s):
Original
Cast
Wea/Atlantic/Nonesuch - #79250 / November 13, 1990
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here for more information
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Widely known for its (very loose) 1943 Hollywood adaptation
with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, this musical is among
the Gershwins' very best. Originally a star vehicle for Bert
Lahr, the original 1930 production also featured Ginger Rogers
and Ethel Merman. This new complete recording includes pros
like Lorna Luft, Judy Blazer, Vicki Lewis, and David Carroll,
and all of them do a bang-up job. The book is a mere pretext:
most of the songs are self-contained and could be used in
just about any...Read
more
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Gershwin,
Ravel: Piano Concertos / Grimaud, Zinman |
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Composer:
George
Gershwin, Maurice
Ravel
Conductor: David
Zinman
Performer: Hélène
Grimaud
Ensemble: Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra
Wea/Atlantic/Erato - #19571 / November 25, 1997
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here for more information
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This is one class act. Helene Grimaud generally prefers the
heavy-duty German repertoire and has fought hard not to be
typecast as a dainty "French" female pianist. Nevertheless
she has expressed a certain affection for selected French
and non-Germanic works, which is a good thing for us because
this is the best performance of the Gershwin concerto we are
ever likely to hear. It has style, warmth, and bravura to
spare. In fact, everyone concerned treats it like it's the
greatest piece...Read
more
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Classical
Net - Basic Repertoire List - Gershwin - Biography, articles
on American in Paris, I Got Rhythm, Porgy and Bess, Rhapsody
in Blue. Select discography.
George
Gershwin - Works List.
GershwinFan.com
- "The George Gershwin Educational Fanpage". Biography,
discography, works, book store, music store, sheet music store,
message boards.
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