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MauritiusToday.com - Shopping Mall - Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue - Piano Concerto in F - An American in Paris
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List Price: $16.98
Our Price: $16.98
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Philips
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0028941261120
Label: Philips
Manufacturer: Philips
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Philips
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Studio: Philips
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: It's Gershwin
Comment: My original cassette which was already old finally "died" so I had to replace it. Decided on a CD. It's Gershwin so what else can I say!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Andre Previn does a good job with Gershwin
Comment: Andre Previn conducts the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and plays piano, in a performance of three of George Gershwin's works--""Rhapsody in Blue," "An American in Paris," and "Piano Concerto in F Major."
"Rhapsody in Blue" is, obviously, well known. But this is a nicely performed version. The wailing instrumental introduction by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO hereafter) gets this off to a good start. Previn conducts and plays piano. The tempo is good and the orchestra plays well. Previn is not Artur Rubinstein, but he is a good pianist. He plays this piece most capably. This is an infectious piece, real musical Americana, and Previn captures the spirit well.
Then, there is "An American in Paris." This is one of the best American musicals ever conceived. Its incarnation as a movie, featuring the talents of Gene Kelly, rates as one of the best American movies ever. Maurice Ravel, if the liner notes are accurate, noted that he could not teach Gershwin anything when the latter journeyed to Paris in 1928 to get more training in composition. The liner notes say: ". . .despite the energetic bustle, much of this symphonic poem is lonely music. . . ." Previn and the PSO do this exquisite piece great justice. A well performed version of this chef d'oeuvre.
The "Piano Concerto in F Major" is also performed capably, but I have written enough already. While this piece does not capture my fancy as the other two do, it is performed well by Previn and the PSO.
All in all, then, a good version of Gershwin's music. Those who listen to this will probably find this worth attending to.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well Done!
Comment: I enjoyed this CD immensely. Andre Previn does a fine job as soloist and conductor. The piano concerto in F is seldomly recorded, so it's an excellent and rare addition to my collection.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great American music from a great American orchestra!
Comment: One of the most captivating aspects of a Gershwin piece is its built in "urban" sound. One can see traffic and people scurrying about, bright lights and flickering marquis shining up and down the avenues, and even a sense of lonliness or self contemplation from a lone boarder in a lost tenament; if you have grown up near to or lived a city life, this music seems to romanticize this and this recording best exemplifies it.
Previn's readings, while a different caliber than Bernstein's or even the Wild/Fiedler couplings, has always been the more laid back interpreter which works quite well with jazzy Gershwin pieces. A real treasure of this album is how the old Heinz Hall acoustic (gone forever now since Maazel butchered it) captured Previn and the Pittsburgh orchestra in such an American sounding reading, not even symphony hall in Boston compares. I once listened to a Slovak orchestra attempt Gershwin and it sounded too European to even bother with. True, the cymbal and bass drum on this disc jump out of your speakers but that's because the symphony's percussion have historically offered nothing less than lax readings, always out of balance with the ensmeble.
I do think Stanley Leonard's opening tympani performance in the Piano Concerto is as in tune and balanced as I've ever heard.
This album was recorded at the time Previn stepped down from his post with the Pittsburgh. The Gershwin pieces were his last offerings to the public as the symphony's music director that year and there really is a lot of beautiful music making here. This is a great disc for the interpretations and for the spectacular acoustics captured by the Philips engineers. Although a 23 old recording, the works are as fresh and alive as the day Previn and the Pittsburgh recorded them.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Rhapsody in Blue
Comment: I absolutely love Gershwin. He was one of the best performers around. No one has come close to him and maybe never will. I began listening to him about two years ago and haven't stopped. I am happy to have come across his music. It absolutely changed my life. When I have a worrysome day or it's one of those rainy, snowy, sleety, don't really need to be out in it weather days, I put on Gerhwin and the day lifts in ways that could not ever be conveyed by words. Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris has proven to be my favorites. However Cuban Overture and other works has influenced me in many ways also. I would love for anyone who has not had the pleasures of Gershwin to sit down on any day and listen to these magnificent works. I'm sure you will be thrilled. I am only twenty three and I have found Gershwin replacing a lot of my other music in my collection. When you have a bad day it's easy to pick up something that identify's with your bad mood. The difference with Gerhswin is that he takes you out of yourself and allows you to picture yourself in Paris or intertwine you in the musical bliss so much so that your bad day or event becomes nonexistant for at least a little bit. Sometimes it's nice to listen to something like that rather than the misery loves company music. I hope people like Michael Finstein and others continue to praise his music because with a lot of the garbage on the radios and videos, it's nice to come back to one of the first creator's of music and soul.
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