Jazz at Carnegie Hall

When it comes to the merging of classical music with jazz what do most people regard?

George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue

When was Rhapsody in Blue released?

1924

What does Gershwin blend?

Jazz elements, blue notes, and a classical orchestra

George Gershwin’s work had what effect?

It legitimized jazz in the view of numerous listeners

Where did Gershwin find himself thrilled by a dance orchestra playing?

An ants wedding

The dance orchestra that was at Gershwin’s aunts wedding was composed by who?

Jerome Kern

What did Gershwin find find work as?

A song-plugger

At what age did Gershwin become a song-plugger?

15

Which publisher did Gershwin become a song-plugger for?

Remick

Who else did Remick employ?

Vincent Youmans

Gershwin’s work as a song plugger allowed for what?

Him to become very familiar with the latest tunes

Where was Gershwin given opportunities to perform at?

Broadway

What opportunities were given at Broadway to Gershwin?

Revues produced by George White, the entrepreneur behind Runnin’ Wild and “The Charelston”

What boosted Gershwin’s reputation greatly?

The recording of his Tin Pan Alley song “Swanee”

Who recorded Gershwin’s song “Swanee”?

Al Jolson

When was Swanee recorded?

1920

Rhapsody in Blue was the brainchild of what bandleader?

Paul Whiteman

What did Paul Whiteman envision for Rhapsody in Blue?

“An experiment in Modern Music, a concert that would demonstrate the evolution of American popular music from the primitive to the sophisticated”

When was Rhapsody in Blue first performed?

February 12th 1924

Where was Rhapsody in Blue first performed?

The Aeolian Hall in New York

What was the most recognizable part of the performance of Rhapsody in Blue?

The dramatic opening clarinet glissando

What does the clarinetist do in the introduction to Rhapsody in Blue?

Bends the pitch through an upward scale

The bending of pitches by the clarinet spans how many octives?

2 and a half

The glissando “bend” heard in the opening to Rhapsody in blue was fairly common in what type of orchestras?

African American orchestras

Who was Whitemans clarinetist?

Ross Gorman

How did the bend come to be added to the composition?

Gorman added the jazzy effect as a joke during a tiring rehearsal and Gershwing loved the addition

What did Gershwin want out of the bend?

For there to be “as much of a ‘wail’ as possible”

What are the upper notes of the glissando nicknamed?

The icebreaker

True or False, the ambition of Whiteman was to add jazz elements to concert music?

False, Whitemans ambition was not to add jazz elements to concert music

What did Whiteman want out of Rhapsody in Blue?

To make art music more accessible to fans of popular music

Whiteman hoped to provide what?

A stepping stone which will make it very simple of the masses to understand and enjoy symphony and opera

What does Deborah Mawer call Rhapsody in Blue an example of?

“Classicizing jazz”

Music critic Deems Taylor felt that Gershwin’s piece provided what?

A ling between the jazz camp and the intellectuals

How many times did Whiteman repeat the program?

twice

When did Rhapsody in Blue get performed at Carnegie Hall?

April 21

What was Gershwins format for Rhapsody in Blue?

A two-piano work

Who was Whitemans orchestrator?

Ferde Grofe

Who did Gershwin give his score to?

Ferde Grofe

What was Ferde Grofes lifespan?

1892-1872

How many players did Grofe arrange the piece for?

23 players

What 23 players would make up the piece?

The core members of Whiteman’s jazz band plus added strings and piano

Who would be playing the piano part for Rhapsody in blue?

Gershwin

Why did Grofe not always bother notating the entire piano part?

Since Gershwin would be playing it

What did Grofe comment after a gap in the notation for the piano part?

“Wait for nod”

Who published the orchestration most often in use today?

Grofe

When did Grofe publish the orchestration most used today?

1942

What questions are asked about the orchestration that Grofe published in 1942?

Was it the same one used in the 1930s? Or is there a lost Gershwin orchestration?

Rhapsody in Blue was transformed into what?

A piano concerto

How was Rhapsody in Blue transformed into a piano concerto?

With the creation of the now-customary version for solo piano parts plus orchestra

What is the conventional highlight in a concerto?

Its cadenza

What is a cadenza?

A part in which the orchestra stops playing and lets the soloist perform inventively without any accompaniment

True or False, the cadenza in Rhapsody in blue is notated in full?

True, it is notated in full by Gershwin

Why do many jazz musicians not regard Rhapsody in Blue as genuine jazz?

Because it does not feature any improvisation at all

What pulls Rhapsody in Blue away fro being purely classical?

The jazzy harmonies and syncopated rhythms

Commentator Orrin Howard writes for who?

The Los Angeles Philharmonic

What does Howard comment about Rhapsody in Blue?

“Rhapsody is irresistible still, with its syncopated rhythmic vibrancy, and its abandoned impudent flair…”