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Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue Banner imageSATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2024
7:30 pm | Port TheatrePRE-CONCERT TALKS: 6:30 PMSOLD OUT CONCERT

American composer Gershwin brought jazz and classical music lovers together. We celebrate Rhapsody in Blue’s 100th Anniversary featuring Kevin Cole , who is considered by critics and colleagues as the best performer of Gershwin after Gershwin.

CONDUCTOR: Cosette Justo Valdés

GUEST ARTIST: Kevin Cole Piano

PROGRAMME

GERSHWIN

Cuban Overture

Catfish Row : Symphonic Suite from "Porgy and Bess"

Girl Crazy (arr. Don Rose)

"I Got Rhythm" Variations

Rhapsody in Blue

Kevin Cole Piano

PERFORMANCE SPONSOR

PERFORMANCE SPONSOR

SOLD OUT

PRE-CONCERT TALK: 6:30 PM
CONCERT: 7:30 PM

Join us for our free pre-concert talks. One hour prior to the concert in the theatre lobby.

What to wear? Be comfortable. Dress in a way that works for you. If you feel like dressing up, do it and you won’t be the only one, we promise. If you prefer to be more casual you will fit right in as well.

Beverages served prior to concert and during intermission. You can pre-order your beverage before the concert.


Mobile phones are allowed to be on but must be set to silent.


We weclome you to clap when you like what you hear.

VIS Orchestra

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PRE-CONCERT TALK: 6:30 PM
CONCERT: 7:30 PM

American composer Gershwin brought jazz and classical music lovers together. We celebrate Rhapsody in Blue’s 100th Anniversary featuring Kevin Cole , who is considered by critics and colleagues as the best performer of Gershwin after Gershwin.

CONDUCTOR: Cosette Justo Valdés

GUEST ARTIST: Kevin Cole Piano

PROGRAMME

GERSHWIN

Girl Crazy

"I Got Rhythm" Variations (arr. Schoenfield)

Cuban Overture

Catfish Row : Symphonic Suite from "Porgy and Bess"

Rhapsody in Blue

Kevin Cole Piano

PERFORMANCE SPONSOR

PERFORMANCE SPONSOR

A Few Fun Details...
What to Wear?

Be comfortable. Dress in a way that works for you. If you feel like dressing up, do it and you won’t be the only one, we promise. If you prefer to be more casual you will fit right in as well.

Beverages?

Beverages served prior to concert and during intermission. You can pre-order your beverage before the concert.

Mobile Phones?


Mobile phones are allowed to be on but must be set to silent.

Applause?


We welcome you to clap when you like what you hear.

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George Gershwin (born Jacob Bruskin Gershowitz, September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned both popular and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs Swanee (1919) and Fascinating Rhythm (1924), the jazz standard I Got Rhythm (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935) which spawned the hit Summertime.

Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark, Henry Cowell, and Joseph Brody. He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris intending to study with Nadia Boulanger, but she refused him; he subsequently composed An American in Paris. He then returned to New York City and wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and DuBose Heyward. It was initially a commercial failure but came to be considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century and an American cultural classic.

Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores until his death in 1937 from a malignant brain tumor. His compositions have been adapted for use in films and television, and several became jazz standards recorded and covered in many variations.

 

Read more on Wikipedia.org…

Kevin Cole
Piano


Pianist Kevin Cole has performed with over 100 orchestras worldwide including sold out performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall, and the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. He is regarded as the foremost interpreter of George Gershwin’s piano compositions and the first pianist to play all four of Gershwin’s works for piano and orchestra in one concert (Albany Symphony).

Cole’s most recent recordings include the first recordings of Gershwin’s Concerto in F (2022), Rhapsody in Blue (2023), and Second Rhapsody (2023) playing the new University of Michigan’s Gershwin Initiative original editions with the National Orchestral Institute + Festival under the baton of David Alan Miller for Naxos. Concerto in F was released in 2023. The two Rhapsodies were released by Naxos in February 2024 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue.

An award-winning musical director, arranger, composer, vocalist, archivist, recording artist, and producer, Cole has garnered the praises of some of America’s greatest songwriters: Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg, Hugh Martin, Burton Lane, Marvin Hamlisch, Stephen Sondheim, and members of the Jerome Kern and Gershwin families. He has collaborated with Marvin Hamlisch, opened for Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band, shared a concert evening with Broadway musical legend Barbara Cook, toured with Grammy-winning soprano Sylvia McNair, performed at the invitation of the prestigious Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, and served as Artistic Director for Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute Musical Theatre Initiative. His collaborations with other creatives led to the 1996 Gramophone Album of the Year with soprano Dawn Upshaw (Oh, Kay! on Elektra/Nonesuch) and the smash hit revival of Babes in Arms with Broadway choreographer Randy Skinner (42nd Street) for Goodspeed Opera House.

Cole is a Steinway Artist and a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy. His many engagements include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, Albany Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Indianapolis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Edmonton Symphony (Canada), Philharmonia Orchestra (UK), BBC Concert Orchestra (UK), Grant Park Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony and more. Among the conductors he has performed with are Stuart Chafetz, Robert Franz, Giancarlo Guerrero, Keitaro Harada, Lawrence Loh, David Alan Miller, Robert Moody, Edwin Outwater, John Morris Russell and Benjamin Zander.

Cole has crafted orchestral and concert programs that showcase the genius of American composers Marvin Hamlisch, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin. BLUE RHAPSODY, a program for symphonies with Cole as soloist for Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F in one performance, and COLE PLAYS GERSHWIN, a solo piano show for concert and festival series that includes Gershwin’s own arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue and Cole’s arrangements from the Gershwin songbook, are booking now in celebration of 100 years of Rhapsody in Blue (1924).

Edward Jablonski, author of the Encyclopedia of American Music and renowned Gershwin scholar said, “Kevin is the best Gershwin pianist since Gershwin himself – no one can touch him.” Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune declared: “…Cole stands as the best Gershwin pianist in America today.”

George Gershwin (born Jacob Bruskin Gershowitz, September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned both popular and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs Swanee (1919) and Fascinating Rhythm (1924), the jazz standard I Got Rhythm (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935) which spawned the hit Summertime.

Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark, Henry Cowell, and Joseph Brody. He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris intending to study with Nadia Boulanger, but she refused him; he subsequently composed An American in Paris. He then returned to New York City and wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and DuBose Heyward. It was initially a commercial failure but came to be considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century and an American cultural classic.

Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores until his death in 1937 from a malignant brain tumor. His compositions have been adapted for use in films and television, and several became jazz standards recorded and covered in many variations.

 

Read more on Wikipedia.org…

Cuban Overture
composed by George Gershwin

Cuban Overture is a symphonic overture or tone poem for orchestra composed by American composer George Gershwin. Originally titled Rumba (named for the Cuban rumba musical genre), it was a result of a two-week holiday which Gershwin took in Havana, Cuba in February 1932. Gershwin composed the piece in July and August 1932.

The overture is dominated by Caribbean rhythms and Cuban native percussion, with a wide spectrum of instrumental color and technique. It is a rich and exciting work with complexity and sophistication, illustrating the influence of Cuban music and dance. Its main theme was influenced by a then current hit by Ignacio Piñeiro, “Échale Salsita”.

Other songs referenced by the piece’s themes and phrases include the traditional folk song La Paloma[citation needed].

The overture is in ternary form.

Read more on Wikipedia.org

Catfish Row: Symphonic Suite from Porgy and Bess
composed by George Gershwin

Catfish Row, originally titled Suite from Porgy and Bess, is an orchestral work by George Gershwin based upon music from his famous opera Porgy and Bess. Gershwin completed the work in 1936 and it premiered at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on January 21 of that year, with Alexander Smallens conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. Gershwin played the piano part, including the piano solo in the opening moments. This piece preserves some of the darkest and most complex music Gershwin ever wrote.

It should not be confused with Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture, scored at the behest of Fritz Reiner by Robert Russell Bennett in 1942, five years after George Gershwin’s death, and premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1943.

Read more on Wikipeida.org

Porgy and Bess
English-language opera composed by George Gershwin

Porgy and Bess (/ˈpɔːrɡi/) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward’s play Porgy, itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward’s 1925 novel Porgy.

Porgy and Bess was first performed in Boston on September 30, 1935, before it moved to Broadway in New York City.[1] It featured a cast of classically trained African-American singers—a daring artistic choice at the time. A 1976 Houston Grand Opera production gained it a renewed popularity, and it is now one of the best known and most frequently performed operas.

The libretto of Porgy and Bess tells the story of Porgy, a disabled black street beggar living in the slums of Charleston. It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and Sportin’ Life, her drug dealer. The opera plot generally follows the stage play.

In the years following Gershwin’s death, Porgy and Bess was adapted for smaller-scale performances. It was adapted as a film in 1959. Some of the songs in the opera, such as “Summertime“, became popular and are frequently recorded. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the trend has been toward productions with greater fidelity to Gershwin’s original intentions, though smaller-scale productions also continue to be mounted. A complete recorded version of the score was released in 1976; since then, it has been recorded several times.

Read more on Wikipedia.org

Girl Crazy
musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Girl Crazy is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Ethel Merman made her stage debut in the first production and co-lead Ginger Rogers became an overnight star. Rich in song, it follows the story of Danny Churchill who has been sent to fictional Custerville, Arizona, to manage his family’s ranch. His father wants him there to focus on matters more serious than alcohol and women but Danny turns the place into a dude ranch, importing showgirls from Broadway and hiring Kate Forthergill (Merman’s role) as entertainer. Visitors come from both coasts and Danny falls in love with the local postmistress, Molly Gray (Rogers’ role).

Three subsequent film adaptations adjusted the plot. The most notable, in 1943, starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, with the latter playing a combined Kate and Molly.

Read more on Wikipedia.org

I Got Rhythm
composed by George Gershwin

“I Got Rhythm” is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the “rhythm changes“, is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes such as Charlie Parker‘s and Dizzy Gillespie‘s bebop standard “Anthropology (Thrivin’ on a Riff)”.

The song came from the musical Girl Crazy, which also includes two other hit songs, “Embraceable You” and “But Not for Me“, and has been sung by many jazz singers since. It was originally written as a slow song for Treasure Girl (1928) and found another, faster setting in Girl Crazy. Ethel Merman sang the song in the original Broadway production and Broadway lore holds that George Gershwin, after seeing her opening reviews, warned her never to take a singing lesson.

The piece was originally penned in the key of D♭ major. The song melody uses four notes of the five-note pentatonic scale, first rising, then falling. A rhythmic interest in the song is that the tune keeps behind the main pulse, with the three “I got…” phrases syncopated, appearing one beat behind in the first bar, while the fourth phase “Who could…” rushes in to the song. The song’s chorus is in a 34-bar AABA form.[1] Its chord progression (although often reduced to a standard 32-bar structure for the sake of improvised solos) is known as the “rhythm changes” and is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes. The song was used as the theme in Gershwin’s last concert piece for piano and orchestra, Variations on “I Got Rhythm”, written in 1934. The song has become symbolic of the Gershwins, of swing and of the 1920s.

Read more on Wikipedia.org

Rhapsody in Blue
composed by George Gershwin

Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition by the American composer George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects.

The composition was commissioned by the bandleader Paul Whiteman. It was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé several times, including the original 1924 scoring, the 1926 “theater orchestra” setting, and the 1942 symphony orchestra scoring, though completed earlier. The piece received its premiere in the concert, An Experiment in Modern Music, which was held on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City, by Whiteman and his band with Gershwin playing the piano.

The editors of the Cambridge Music Handbooks opined that “The Rhapsody in Blue (1924) established Gershwin’s reputation as a serious composer and has since become one of the most popular of all American concert works.”

 

Read more on Wikipedia.org…