@@siglerproductions He went way beyond New York. You can't incorporate black, Jewish, Russian, and classical influences and be thought of as expressing purely a New York sensibility.
@@obamna666 They may exist in N.Y. but they do not reflect a solely N.Y. sound. The black influence came originally from New Orleans. The Russian and Jewish influence is the result of Gershwin's familial tradition, and the classical influence comes from Europe. Listen to the score of "Porgy and Bess" and tell me that it gives you a metropolitan New York feel.
I just had the thought that maybe the "jazziest" aspect of Rhapsody In Blue might just be it's resilience to rearrangement and re-editing that Bernstein noted as a flaw in it. It feels like it says something about the piece as a unified but modular whole that you could do as he said and just cut or re-arrange pieces and it's still Rhapsody in Blue. There's the improvisation or at least extemporaneous aspect of Jazz brought into the score-worship Classical aspect. Or something like that.
I think it also hammers home the New York aspect too. New York is New York, distinct and true above most cities. For you can take bits and pieces out, look at New York every decade, and its still New York.
I don't think bernstein is right. Maybe if you forced all of the themes into 1 key but then a lot of sections wouldn't fit in. I would imagine he most likely tried to do it, since he is a great man. But I think he would have changed some things to make them fit together.
Call it what you want, Rhapsody In Blue remains one of my favorite pieces of music. I've been listening to it for many decades, and it still moves me like it always has.
I’m 70....I remember vividly how, in a 7th grade “Music Appreciation” class, the opening clarinet part grabbed me by the throat, and laser-focused my attention on the rest of the piece....Few musical performances transport me the way “Rhapsody in Blue” does....Thank you, David, for taking me along on this examination....Rhapsody in Blue is, and will alway be, a place I can go to be motivated, calmed and thrilled, as I listen....
@@charlescoleman5509, that's true but many times there are pieces that you want to perform but cannot because it is not free. Now that won't happen with this song
The Rhapsody is one of those pieces that is so wonderful you never get tired of listening to it. I have been enjoying it for 78 years and every time feels fresh, engaging, and alive. Gershwin was an amazing genius...much misunderstood and under appreciated except by those without prejudice. Hey, Schoenberg loved his music and Arnold knew a thing or two about composition. This video hints at the underlying glue that holds the whole thing together. We must remember this is not a concerto but a rhapsody and as such succeeds masterfully. Gershwin had an excellent ear and amazing hands and this is the result of that potent synergy.
@@donaldsaigh8785 Everyone knows one Jablonsky. It is a name that is just rare enough for people to inquire if I am related to the Jablonsky they know...and in every case the answer is negative. In the world of music there are two Steve Jablonskys who are both composers. One writes music for TV and movies and the other is a professor of music theory and composition at the City College of New York. If you are curious you can check out my RU-vid channel. I have lots of good stuff posted there.
Good analysis, but I'm not sure that Gerswhin completely "broke the mold." Perhaps more accurate to say that he took existing forms - primarily rondo and theme and variations - stretched them to their limits and combining them in new ways in the form of a concertino. More like what Beethoven did with 18th-Century Classical music, I think...but I suppose the only thing two music theorists ever agree on is how a third one got it wrong XD
Gershwin actually did record a 15-16 minute version of Rhapsody In Blue. It was done on the (IIRC) Duo-Art Piano Roll. The Duo-Art not only recorded the notes, but also the intensity with which the performer played them. That recording is on the 2LP collection Gershwin by Gershwin. Probably one of the best recordings of the Rhapsody, IMO.
Yes I noticed that mistake in the video also. The piano roll was the only medium, other than maybe movie film, on which he could record a full version. In recent years Michael Tilson Thomas used the Gershwin piano roll as a basis for a jazz band recording of the Rhapsody In Blue. So finally Gershwin's playing is heard in modern stereo. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5nQNqGgiZSM.html
What Rhapsody in Blue does is take you on a driving tour of New York City. All these amazing stories but you’re only catching snippets of each. Just enough that you know something is happening but not fully what it is and you’re whisked off to another story. And it does it again and again. In the end, you’ve never heard a single, full story yet you’ve gained a true picture of the city and her people. There’s very little else that truly compares to it. A work of pure genius that other musical geniuses can’t fully replicate.
Al Jolson, not Jonson. I'm not a huge fan of Bernstein's version. I love the Oscar Levant version recorded in the early 1950s. He also had the advantage of knowing Gershwin. Any chance we could get an analysis of American in Paris?
When I was a small boy my parents had Oscar Levant's version on an album of 78s. I remember listening to it and wondering why I liked it so much. I sensed that its sophistication was beyond my years and was puzzled over my attraction to it.
ok so: great high-quality video embeds of bands and orchestras old and new, as usual, great comments and insights, as usual, OMG I love the toy hand playing color-dot keys!!, erm.. great extracts of commentary by other composers, as usual, OMG he's making cutout-animations of Gershwin, erm.. a truly well-composed pre-recorded videophonic communication... as usual : )
If you are new to Gershwin, remember to also check out his other compositions written in the same manner. Rhapsody in Blue is the most well known but you might like the others equally.
I always loved Rhapsody in Blue. It always felt like the perfect bridge between classical and jazz. And the modular nature of the song just makes it that much cooler.
Beaming up the coast on the clear channel at night to Seattle, my Mom would listen to the Ira Blue talk show on KGO 810 AM from San Francisco. This would have been the late 1960's. Ira used Rhapsody in Blue as his theme music for my introduction. Between Ira's voice and off beat topics, the spooky mystery of the long distance radio, and especially the Love Theme from Rhapsody in Blue, the combination was mesmerizing.
Thanks for the mention of klezmer. When I listen to the earliest recordings, I hear something of this influence in the piece. The European Jewish influence in American popular music was huge in the first half of the twentieth century, but it declined after the Second World War. I would love to hear a recording of the Rhapsody that highlighted this element more clearly.
Not being a musician, I have never been privy to an extensive analysis of the piece. But certainly, as an American whose life has spanned 2/3 the life of the piece, I am very familiar with it. It never occurred to me that there could be many who could be critical of it, so I have to say that I am pleased to have heard my first serious analysis here.
Ah, Rhapsody in Blue, or "Hey man, Rhapsody in Blue isn't the ONLY clarinet piece you can warm up with." I've always wanted to dig into this piece, it just seems like it always has something new, despite being nearly 100 years old!
Honestly, I'm a fan of the OG clarinet from the 1924 recording. Bernstein called it "a cat in heat" and I disagree, it's always seemed like it's laughing it's ass off, and not just the beginning, but throughout the piece. Just my two cents, lol!
"Joys contradictions disappointments ..." and the rest of the commentary. Wow. Double WOW! David Bruce: if this is the attention you pay to an occasional piece in the repertoire then you are the successor to ... I dunno ... DF Tovey at least. You do a great service to humanity in that you present and you show the joy and you engender the humanity and you present the happiness of art to the Y'tube community. Appreciated! !!
Boy this is great! Fun fact-the library of congress a few years ago had a Gershwin exhibit with many of his personal affects including his piano which against all rules, I reached over the railing and touched!! This immediately set of alarms and a loud (prerecorded?) voice announcing "DO NOT TOUCH!" But hey, I did it!!
My all time favorite piece............in fact i left a message in my Will to have the Love Theme played as people leave the chapel. IT'S MY MUSIC......IT IS LIKE A SMALL CAPSULE OF WHAT I AM ALL ABOUT.
One of my favorite pieces of music. A work of musical, intellectual, and virtuosic sophistication and genius. Every version I've heard of it sounds authentic, and that speaks to the greatness that is Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. 😎
So, hear me out. To me, those aren't just loosley connected themes. What I hear is all a big "joke". This song always teases you. It teases you with the big moment you had in the beginning, and when you feel like it's coming, it pulls the rug from under your feet and goes to a tangent. And each time the joke becomes more and more proposterous. That's where I personally find the genius of this piece. The edging. The anticipation. The humour in it. It's a trully complete piece.
Wow, pretty weak point by Bernstein to be honest. By that logic, variations over a theme aren't a composition either. You could cut out variations and it would not necessarily negatively affect the music. Rondos also wouldn't be compositions, as they can also be abbreviated without problems. If Bernstein also held these issues with Beethoven, Mozart, Paganini and so many more, than that's a fair position to hold, but I doubt he would critizise the old greats as such.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OuYY1gV8jhU.html Bernstein actually critisized Beethoven by calling him a bad melodist and orchestrator here, but maybe it shouldn't be taken literally, because he said it like a metaphor to emphasize Beethovens form skills.
@@Marcel_Audubon I don't. Nothing in my statement should have led you to believe that. I simply disagree with an argument he used. That has nothing to do with either depth or breadth of knowledge, only with the applicability of an argument to a given point Bernstein was trying to make. Also, I explicitely stated that if Bernstein critizises all music where this form of reduction is possible in the way he did with Gershwin, then I would have no problem with it at all. The only thing I did was point to a possible flaw in his argument because of hypocrisy. I even stated, that my criticism of the argument is based on the assumption, that Bernstein would not speak in such a way of the old classical masters. I have no proof of that, and I did not do extensive research to see, if some could be found, because this is not an academic setting. Because this is RU-vid and I felt there was a good chance my criticism would be valid, I shared it. P.S.: I am a man, but please don't worry about it. My name is a bit uncommon, so it happens often.
I don't think this music was ever played in Tom and Jerry, only some tones were similar to the musics that were played in some episodes of TOJ, but if you've ever flown United Airlines, you probably have heard this music in their safety video or some of their advertisements. Here's the safety video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oFZeCWaihNg.html
I will echo praise you'll read below for Oscar Levant's playing. His performance had a feverish barely-in-control feeling that slayed me when I was a kid ... back in the late 50's.
Basically, every part of Rhapsody in Blue sounds like an intro to the next section, which, in turn, sounds like an intro to the following section etc. till the end. He keeps playing with the listener's expectations, never fulfilling them, but all of the material is so tuneful, that the listener doesn't seem to mind. A composer of Classical or Romantic era would use the straight up aaba form (also known as rounded binary) as a part of a larger form; the way classical forms work that such song forms are interspersed and connected by less stable structures.
I'm surprised that you didn't mention the 1976 Columbia recording, in which Gershwin's piano roll version was recorded with a Whiteman-sized jazz band playing the original jazz orchestra version. Michael TIlson Thomas conducted. Still one of my favorite recordings of this work.
Claiming Duke Ellington was overshadowed by Gershwin is laughable. Ellington was massively successful. He is a major part of American music. There is no need to bring race politics into this. It lowers the worth of this analysis, to somehow imply Gershwin was using his position as a white male to obscure the success of a fellow professional. It's also disingenuous. It muddies the water.
How is it race politics to assert an opinion about someone's professional or artistic value? I think it's an art discussion, not a racial one. I think Gershwin and Ellington better in some respects than the other, but in general I look at Ellington and Gershwin as trying to do different things, and therefore a comparison between the two is pointless, just as comparing Gershwin and Schoenberg would be.
@@charlesreidy2765 Not at all. It's not my video. I inserted nothing. He clearly implies that a white composer's success shadowed a black composer's success. I did not imply that. He did. And I think it is unnecessary. I will give you an example. I am gay, and I was talking to a friend about Schubert. She brought up the fact that she agrees with Maynard Solomon who claims he was gay. There is actually no evidence that he was gay. Even as a man who wants gay people to have every advantage as a straight person, I know that histories built on lies are not a solid foundation, no matter how tempting it may be. It's so easy to drop an statement like racist, homophobic, or sexist, or in this case imply "white privilege", and that it was holding back the genius of one of America's great composers, one I would like to point out, who has had more influence on American arts than Gershwin. But it is wrong, and robs people in minorities, and disenfranchised groups the rich reward of having made a place for themselves in the world, and the ability to say with 100% certainty, I made this, I am strong, I am life. So, no. I reject "white privilege" as a valid argument. It's toxic political thought. You can believe what you want, but I don't have to apologize to anyone, and neither do you. I tell everyone to be strong for yourself, and don't apologize when you know you haven't caused harm. It's almost as bad as pitying someone. There it is.
@@lancegoerner1719 Everyone is playing possum these days. It's mostly white people, however, who are completely brainwashed and in love with being the white savior. I live in a very diverse neighborhood in Chicago. I am gay, and have two Korean families, and elderly Mexican man (a dear sweet man) who's wife is black, all living on my floor, of a high rise. We all live our lives quietly and don't ever need help because we respect each other. It's great. It's enough. We don't need all this full time shame and blame pity gaming. It only makes people paranoid and weak. It makes people stupid. I do believe racism exists, however. I am not deluded. Naturally hate and bigotry thrives in a world where people push this kind of revisionism, and where people are taught fear. That's the thing. It's manipulation. As a life long Democrat, I have watched people in my party move over left, and who now scream about "problematic" this, and "toxic" that. People are not innately problematic, nor are they born toxic. It's the politics that are toxic and problematic.
This is a wonderful video. Thank you! I have been longing for a merger of jazz and classical music, along the lines of what Gershwin (and Grofe) did, for most of my life, ever since I first heard one of those orchestrated versions of Rhapsody in Blue on about six 78 sides, played on a gramophone (wind up, no electricity involved). The Dave Brubeck/Leonard Bernstein album "Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein" attempted some of that combination in the 1960s, with mixed success. The tune "Maria" from West Side Story, jazzified, is a favorite of mine from that collaboration. By the way, that singer near the beginning is Al Jolson, not Johnson.
Ralph Dratman I can't believe I haven't heard of that album! I also love Maria as a jazz piece; however the version I know is from a bossa nova album. It's really sublime!
My first time hearing this song was in Fantasia 2000 and it became my most favorite song from the movie. Pines of Rome and Firebird Suite are my other favorite pieces in that film
I'll bet Roy Disney, and his uncle Walt, would be happy to know that. The idea of Fantasia was bring this music to people for them to enjoy. I'd hoped Fantasia 2000 would be followed by another instalment, but sadly, just like the original 1940 edition, it became more of a curio in the Disney archives. I was really happy that they included Rhapsody In Blue in Fantasia 2000.
Our symphony has performed Rhapsody in Blue and Firebird Suite together 3 separate times since 1986. I listened to the first performance on the radio, but was in attendance for the performance in the 1990s and in 2016. Having the extreme pleasure of hearing both pieces performed live was fantastic. I’ve attended many popular rock concerts by bands that have composed decent songs. In small theaters and in stadiums where thousands of fans cheer crazily for the performers, yet, not a single one comes close to the emotional thrills of these two pieces performed by a great symphony live.
Same here! Fantasia 2000 may be a forgotten piece, but it made me fall in love with music as a kid. Rhapsody in Blue was one of my favourites too, it's a superb piece of storytelling that I've only come to appreciate more the older I've grown and the more I've learned about the piece and the composer. I hope Disney make another Fantasia someday.
If you inspect pictures of the metamorphosis of Rachmaninoff his main forms are(in chronological order): 1: Adam Neely but it’s actually Putin 2: Leonard Cohen but It’s still Putin 3: JK Simmons but it’s Béla Lugosi
This video randomly popped up in my feed - and what a blessing that was! David Bruce is a good teacher who shared details about this piece that were new to me. It is for videos like this that RU-vid was created! Thank you for sharing your insight with all of us!
@N1gerTV Nothing soecific to Polish, in fact haven't seen this frequently enough to even remember one case now. I do remember seeing it with other "minority languages" tho, like mine (Hungarian). We notice more that we are sensitive more to.
As music lover who hasn't got a traditional musical education, I find your videos insanely digestable and I actually understand what you're putting down. So helpful. Just an AWESOME video!
Why do you have Adam Mickiewicz's book "pan tadeusz" on the book shelf? 😄 For me as a Pole this book was hard to understand becouse of the hard old language, but its nice to see that this masterpiece isn't only a lecture in polish homes 😇
It's a universal paradox: all older books are easier to read for foreigners than for natives because they are translated into modern foreign languages but remain sounding old-fashioned for natives.
@@grahamrich9956 Do you really think that modern Greeks read the Gospel in Koine? As for Hebraic, modern Hebrew is a successfully revived language that was *based* on religious texts written in Biblical Hebraic and Medieval Hebrew, that's why it's not such a great problem for them to read the Tanakh or the Mishnah. As for Aramaeans, they could easily read Daniel and Ezra in their language... But they can't. anymore.
I was a french horn player in High School and we did all of Gershwin's works , Porgy and Bess , American in Paris and finally in my Sr year Rapsody in Blue. Took first place at the Rio Honda college Wind Ensemble contest that year . R. I. P Mr Bruce Giford . You touched many young lives and I think you saved me . I absolutely loved playing Gershwin. He was a genius .
fine video! as for the Rhapsody's formal weakness- it does not exist, it's a myth, and there is no other work like it... Cuts have been made in Stravinsky, Bernstein and a host of others but no one uses that as a reason to say the forms are flawed. Gershwin is a treasure and one the USA's best composers.
This video actually explains everything about Gershwin's amazing masterpiece very well! Since the piece itself is public domain, I ended up making my own 2024 orchestra arrangement of it that contains mostly 1924 influences + other favorite interpretations/performances that were inspired.
I love classical music, but I hate jazz.... In my head, I just don't like its unpredictability. Everytime, I hear a jazz music, in my head, it feels like they're all going to different directions, there is no order or harmony. It felt so... tiring. But Rhapsody in Blue.... is just chef's kiss. Just the ight amount of everything....in my book. The jazz flare makes it more playful, more unique.
I think it can be best said that Gershwin was a man of his times. He defined the sound of an era, and this is his crowning achievement. Don't try and pigeonhole it - just enjoy it.
Great video! You reminded me of Argentinian composer Gerardo Gandini, who said that academic and popular music are completely different, separate things and that there is no possible mixture of them. After speaking about this in an interview, he mentions Gershwin as a possible exception to the rule.
Anyone who calls Gershwin’s work flawed or incomplete is simply jealous. Rhapsody In Blue is a musical Treasure. It’s played on airplanes and in commercials in or on many other places. It’s Classical and Jazz to me. The best of both worlds. Now today we know jazz is the most blendable style of music there is. Gershwin was probably the first to see this! Since then people fused jazz with rock, and soul, rap and even country. Gershwin has never left my mind and I’m always glad to revisit it and learn more about it everytime I hear it. Thanks for the video!
How pleasing a change it is to see a musical academic who is able to point out the weaknesses of Gershwin's Rhapsody while *refraining* from adding a snort of derision to that analysis. When I was 10 years old I began playing trombone in my school's brass band. Noticing that I was becoming bored with the sound of the band, my music teacher advised me to try some orchestral music (this was inner city Manchester in 1967 - a *very* working class area, where listening to classical music could quite easily lead to being labelled as 'queer'). Anyway: "Go to the market on Saturday, find Alf's record stall, and tell him that Colin Fisher sent you" was the advice given me. So, after much thought, several days later I took myself and my pocket money to the market and followed my instructions. "You can have any two LPs for a shilling" Alf said [a shilling is around 7 cents (5 pence) in today's money - yes, I'm really ancient now 🤪 So, I cast an eye around and saw a multitude of foreign names, like Tchaikovsky; Bartok; Rachmaninoff; Mozart et al and was instantly put off. Then, my luck was in as I spotted *'Rhapsody in Blue'* played by some now long forgotten (by me) Polish pianist. I bought it and doubled it up with an American in Paris/Concerto in F album. I listened to the Rhapsody time after time after time - completely entranced. If this was classical music, I loved it. It wasn't of course and I soon came to know and love many other composers. But Rhapsody in Blue and Gershwin's melodies and chord progressions would stay with me. The opening of the second movement of the Piano Concerto still ranks, for me, as one of the top, most haunting and beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. I'd love it if you'd do an analysis of the full concerto. Anyhow, thanks for this .... and you have a new subscriber 👍🙂
I'm in that middle ground - I play very well 'by ear' and 'passably well' by reading. I take the parts that I like from Rhapsody and play my own version. It has a little of each of the six themes. People like it when I play it in a lounge or at a party. Unlike a 'classical' piece, I can safely place different themes, styles, and rhythms into whatever I'm feeling at the time. My analysis is that, Gershwin took the 'blues' notes of the black musicians (flat third and flat seventh plus some tritone) and smeared them with a white brush, where the flat thirds become major thirds and the flat seventh become a major seventh. This merging of the white European and black South genres makes the piece so great. It appeals to all people. And that's the ideal, if not the realization of the American idea of a melting pot. It's a little like what Elvis did for black blues music. He added his white roots to his love of black music in the South. I hope this doesn't offend anyone. It's just how I analyze it. In fact, most of Gershwin's work combines 'jazz' (flat notes) with 'classical' (major notes). Man, you can listen to that blend for hours and not get tired of it! Bravo, George... and Ira. What a shame George died so young. ps - If you like lyrics, you will love reading ira gershwin's book about how he wrote lyrics called LYRICS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. Whether you write song lyrics or poetry, I consider it 'must reading'. One line from the book stands out to me: Once You've it... PROVE it! That means that once you settle on the idea of the lyric, every other idea, thought, and rhyme should tie in to that one central thought! Don't go off on tangents. Good advice for musicians too!
The ability to just shift bars around or start/stop at seemingly random points in each one explains why I remembered so many videogames themes from the 8 and 16bits era while listening to it. It is amazing the power of a piece like this and to think it echos so far forward without a clear connection to newer audiences Before today I've only know Gershwin through a Benny Goodman performance of "Gershwin Medley" =)
Thank you for creating and posting this video. Raised on Gershwin, I first heard the Rhapsody at a tender age via my parents' WWII era 78 records. (Rhapsody arranger Ferde Grofe and my father were acquainted.) Your deconstruction of the work is intelligent and cogent. You've given me a much better understanding of why I love the work.
13:00 I like how you go in and show how some parts are connected to others or "hinted at" (I like to say.) This reminds me of many modern progressive rock concept albums...They mostly all do this and it's one of the reasons I have so much appreciation for them. (Especially Neal Morse and Dream Theater concept albums). Great video!
Regarding how the clarinet makes the glissando, the text you added at 14:55 is misleading. Yes, the clarinetist does slowly release fingers from the keys, and this is important (and why glissandi are much more limited on bass clarinets, saxophones, and other wind instruments which primarily use keys rather than direct holes), but it’s really a secondary aspect. The primary way it is done is via pitch bending with the lip, through an exaggeratedly relaxed embouchure.
So... it’s kind of something between jazz and classical. Although it don’t have enough elements from both sides, there are still some interesting things in it. I just wonder how Gershwin’s Concerto in F does the mixture refer to Rhapsody in Blue.
So interesting, how I can rewatch some your videos without boredom. There is so much details and interesting arrangements. Rhapsody in Blue actually opened the window to „classical“ music for me on an emotional (listening for pure enjoyment) level
1:56 *_AL JOLSON!!!_* Not "Al Johnson". I can't believe there is a musicologist with any knowledge of the 1920s who doesn't know about Al Jolson! What is even more dismaying to me is that it isn't appearing in the comments either. In the internet age, culture is being steadily, even doggedly erased. I hate Al Jolson, but his (horrible) film The Jazz Singer has been called "the first sound film" (it wasn`t, but he got the credit, and also the blame for singlehandedly destroying silent film). He did most of his stuff in blackface. He sang, "Mammy. I`m comin`, Mammy!` You know the one, don`t you - oh hell - *_AL JOLSON._* I honestly thought anyone who knew anything about popular music history and even FILM history would know it`s - well, man, *not* Al Johnson. This may not make any sense to you, but this *hurts* me and just fills me with dismay for the future of musical appreciation. Sorry, I just cannot watch the rest of this.
Larry Adler told this story at the Village Vanguard. ''George Gershwin's father was speeding through Manhattan and a cop pulled him over The senior Gershwin said in New York/Yiddish jargon to the the cop, 'Donchu know my son is Jauj Goishvin?!" The policeman said "Sorry sir I didn't know your son was a judge. you're free to go''
Rhapsody in blue is the meeting point of classical and jazz...and sits alone in its genre. If only there were more to the genre, maybe it wouldn't get played so much.
