The Gershwin-Ravel Connection
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New York 1928: Oskar Fried, Éva Gauthier, Ravel at piano, Manoah Leide-Tedesco, George Gershwin.
When George Gershwin met Maurice Ravel in New York in 1928, he asked about studying with the French composer.
Ravel reportedly replied, 'Why would you want to be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?'
The story may be apocryphal, but after Ravel's American tour and Gershwin’s visit to Paris, the two did form a mutual admiration society. Gershwin was drawn to French music, just as Ravel was drawn to American jazz—and Gershwin’s mid-1920s works, Rhapsody in Blue and the Piano Concerto in F.
In this hour, the fascinating links between these two composers and their music.
FEATURED RECORDINGS
| Title |
Group/Artist |
Catalog # |
UPC |
| Gershwin & Ravel Piano Concertos [for Ravel Concerto] |
Helene Grimaud, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman |
Erato 0630 19571-2 |
706301957127 |
| Rhapsody in Blue, etc. [For Piano Concerto in F] |
Earl Wild, Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler |
RCA Victor 09026-68792-2 |
090266879229 |
| Gershwin [for Rhapsody in Blue] |
Michael Tilson Thomas, Los Angeles Philharmonic |
Sony MK 39699 |
074643969925 |
