George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue

Running head: GEORGE GERSHWIN - RHAPSODY IN BLUE
George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
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1GEORGE GERSHWIN - RHAPSODY IN BLUE
Introduction:
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition that was made by the American composer
George Greshwin in 1924 to be played on solo piano and jazz bands and incorporates both
classical as well as jazz elements.
Discussion:
-What were George Gershwin and Paul Whitemen setting out to achieve?
Paul Whiteman, who was the bandleader commissioned George Gershwin to compose
a musical piece that can be used for an ‘all jazz’ concert that he planned to perform in the
Aeolian Hall in New York City in 19241. The idea was to create an ‘American Music’ that
would involve elements from Classical as well as Jazz to create something unique and new
for the 1924 concert (An Experiment in Modern Music) which can reflect upon the
contemporary form of ‘modern music’ in the era2.
-Were they successful?
The composition was hugely successful and it successfully incorporated the elements
of Classical music and Jazz elements to create a ‘modern’ form of music and it established
the reputation of George Greshwin as a serious composer and the composition have become
one of the most iconic masterpiece of all American compositions. The rhapsody became so
popular that in the first 3 years, it was already played 84 times by the band and it sold a
million record copies making it a huge success3.
1 Borle, S. (2017). The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue
by S. Slade. The Deakin Review of Children's Literature, 7(1).
2 Block, G. (2017). Arranging Gershwin:“Rhapsody in Blue” and the Creation of an
American Icon. By Ryan Raul Bañagale. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Journal
of the Society for American Music, 11(2), 246-249.
3 Orchestra, U. W., & Rohrer, T. P. (2016). In Concert Rhapsody in Blue.