Tag: gershwin

  • Gershwin in Concert: When Orchestras Prefer Jazz Pianists

    Gershwin in Concert: When Orchestras Prefer Jazz Pianists

    —

    by

    Brian Wise
    in

    During the 1990s and early 2000s, several improvised, jazz-based versions of George Gershwin’s 1924 Rhapsody in Blue arrived in concert halls. Jazz pianists, including Marcus Roberts, Herbie Hancock and Michel Camilo, unveiled deconstructed, semi-improvisatory versions of the score. There were few protests from purists – the piece is a rhapsody, after all, and it can withstand or even be enhanced by…