Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (2012)

The popularity of George Gershwin's piano music with audiences and performers, large to begin with, has only grown in the years since 1990, and distinctive new recordings have been appearing frequently. Here's one covering all the music for piano and orchestra, which is an effective way to trace the development of Gershwin's music within a single genre. The applicability of improvisation and free modification to Gershwin's music is a topic almost as hotly debated as with Baroque instrumental music, although it's hard to ... Read More

The popularity of George Gershwin's piano music with audiences and performers, large to begin with, has only grown in the years since 1990, and distinctive new recordings have been appearing frequently. Here's one covering all the music for piano and orchestra, which is an effective way to trace the development of Gershwin's music within a single genre. The applicability of improvisation and free modification to Gershwin's music is a topic almost as hotly debated as with Baroque instrumental music, although it's hard to argue fully against it given the multiple states in which the Rhapsody in Blue exists and the importance of improvisation in Gershwin's own musical life. If you're down with a bit of decoration (it is by no means excessive, and much of it is in the orchestra, for example the alteration to the opening percussion in the Piano Concerto in F), this is superior Gershwin from a British pianist, a Norwegian orchestra, and an American conductor. Pianist Freddy Kempf has an excellent feel for... Read Less