|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
192.254.30.2
In Reply to: Re: You forgot to mention the free stuff! posted by Kal Rubinson on March 30, 2007 at 14:22:11:
nt
My speaker building site
Follow Ups:
Hi-This new SACD and most commercial releases are not the Rhapsody in Blue people first heard. They are the Ferde Grofé orchestration for conventional orchestra.
Michael Tilson Thomas has long championed the original. I think he has three recordings: early and late jazz-band versions (the first one more than 20 years ago) and one that uses a player piano to punch in Gershwin's playing, which didn't wow me.
Going from the big orchestration to the original is just like the buzz people get the first time they hear early-instruments Baroque.
Later,
JM
Ferde Grofe also scored the original "dance band" version heard at Aeolian Hall.But my favorite "original" re-creation is the Maurice Peress MusicMasters 2-CD set which actually re-creates, more or less, the entire February 12 program. RIB soloist is Ivan Davis, who plays an un-cut version here.
MP3's of Paul Whiteman's 1924 acoustical recording of Rhapsody can be heard at the site linked below. This was recorded a few months after the premiere with George Gershwin himself playing piano. The piece was edited slightly to fit it onto one 78's limited playing time. It's an incredible, electrifying performance and as close as we can come to hearing what Rhapsody In Blue sounded like at Aeolian Hall on February 12, 1924. A poor recording of a brilliant performance always beats a state - of - the - art recording of an unimaginative performance.Some information about the 1924 recording and other versions can be found at the Classical Notes website .
Oops. For some reason AA seems to have truncated the long URL into gibberish. Here's a shorter link to both parts of the 1924 Rhapsody that works: http://tinyurl.com/yt8gjr
here...
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
Please post in body of posting as well as in link box.
Thanks. I grew up with the Paul Whiteman 78s and I have the MTTs somewhere in the closet along with many others. While I agree that the bloated orchestration is detracting, fundamentally, I no longer like the music much unless the performer does something new and surprising.
If you want to try something unique and original (it's your call if you like it), try Marcus Roberts' Portraits in Blue on Sony Classical from 1995.
Curious to hear your opinion.
It took me several plays to get to like it.
It sure is a newer take!
Ron
Thanks.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: