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Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, Piano Concerto. Gershwin may have doffed his hat to Rachmaninov, Puccini and Ravel at various junctures in the score but this, as Chailly and jazz pianist Stefano Bollani are intent on reminding us, is an American Jazz Age concerto. Inhibitions are left backstage and, while all parties are alive to the smallest.
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E-mail Message: I thought you might be interested in this item atRhapsody in blue; Piano concerto in F; Catfish Row; Rialto ripplesAuthor: George Gershwin; Stefano Bollani; Thomas Ziesch; Frank-Michael Erben; Jürnjakob Timm; Gundel Jannemann; Josef Christof; Riccardo Chailly; William Ryden; Gewandhausorchester Leipzig,Publisher: London, England: New York, NY: Decca; Manufactured and marketed by Deutsche Grammophon & Decca Classics, US: Distributed by Universal Music Distribution, 2011, ℗2010.ISBN/ISSN: 288: CD: CDOCLC:703214330. Find more information about:ISBN:288: CD: CDOCLC Number:703214330Notes:The 2nd work from the opera Porgy and Bess; the 4th work is a rag, originally for piano, arr. For piano and orchestra.Compact disc.Interview with Bollani and Chailly by Gian Mario Benzing (7 p.) inserted in container.Credits:Recording producer, Andrew Cornwall.Performer(s):Stefano Bollani, piano (1st, 3rd-4th works) Thomas Ziesch (solo clarinet, 1st-2nd works); Frank-Michael Erben (solo violin, 2nd work); Jurnjakob Timm (solo cello, 2nd work); Gundel Jannemann-Fischer (solo horn in E, 2nd work); Josef Christof (orchestral piano, 2nd work); Thomas Hipper (solo oboe, 2nd work); Gewandhausorchester; Riccardo Chailly, conductor.Event notes:Live concert recordings, Jan.
28-30, 2010, Gewandhaus zu Leipzig.Description:1 audio disc (73 min., 37 sec.): digital, stereo; 4 3/4 in.Contents:Rhapsody in blue: jazz band version / orchestration by Ferde Grofé (16:12) -Catfish Row: symphonic suite / edited by Steven D. Bowen (24:00) -Concerto in F for piano and orchestra / edited by F. Campbell-Watson (30:00) -Rialto ripples / written in collaboration with Walter Donaldson; arranged by William Ryden (4:35).Medium of Performance:orchestraorchestraOther Titles:Catfish Row.Rialto ripples.Instrumental music.Responsibility:Gershwin.
Among the hundreds or thousands of recordings of favorites on the market, it's difficult to stand out. But this big-budget European release manages to do it.
Even if it's not uniformly successful, there's a feeling of appreciation for 's music here that has merit on its own. Instead of trying to blend the classical and jazz elements in, conductor takes the novel approach of pushing each of them to extremes and, in various ways, keeping them separate. He generally - most noticeably in the Piano Concerto in F - scales back the freedom of tempo that's usual in. Working with not just an established European orchestra but the granddaddy of them all, the, seems to generate rapport with the musicians, perhaps because they're not forced to move too far out of their rhythmic comfort zone.
Yet these aren't carefully controlled, non-jazzy readings of the sort one sometimes hears from Europe, and, for that matter, the U.S. For all 's jazz roots, the Rhapsody in Blue has not commonly been recorded by jazz pianists in its original form (although they've certainly used the work as a stimulus to further creative activity). The presence of Italian jazz pianist, joining Gewandhaus members in the 1924 'jazz band' scoring of the work by, results in an excellent, sparse reading of the score that reveals its small details and is intelligently enhanced by a modest amount of improvisation (justifiable in that didn't write the piano part down, as he played it, until after the first performance). The Piano Concerto in F also receives a crisp, astringent but crystal-clear interpretation, and has improvisatory fun with the early / rag Rialto Ripples. On the symphonic suite Catfish Row, drawn on Porgy and Bess, does not play the orchestral piano part; the reading is all 's, and it lurches oddly between fixed tempos and a bit of swing added to the rhythms; the naturalness of 's melodies goes missing.
On balance, fans will want this recording for the fresh Rhapsody in Blue alone.
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