Gershwin

This two-disc Porgy and Bess records not an entirely new version of the Gershwin opera, but a claimed improvement on the "complete" version that surfaced in the 1970s and changed the opera from a series of set pieces to a living work of drama.

George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), as well as the opera Porgy and Bess (1935).

Commemorating the 1924 premiere of Rhapsody in Blue, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet collaborates with Michael Feinstein, the ‘one-man encyclopaedia of the Great American Songbook’ to celebrate the magic of Gershwin. Gershwin Rhapsody sees best-loved Gershwin melodies sit alongside world-premiere recordings of four rediscovered Gershwin songs: ‘Graceful and Elegant’, ‘Dance of the Waves’, ‘Sutton Place’ and ‘Under the Cinnamon Tree’. The album also includes a medley based on Rhapsody in Blue comprising a selection of piano duos, solos and Feinstein vocals featuring the music of George and Ira Gershwin. The two also perform a Gershwin-esque setting of Vincent Youman’s classic tune, ‘Tea for Two’ and the programme rounds off with ‘Jasbo Brown Blues’ from Porgy and Bess. Michael Feinstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet extensively toured this programme around the US under the title ‘Who Could Ask For Anything More?’ including a date at Carnegie Hall.

Though Michael Feinstein remained in the public eye throughout the latter half of the 2010s, performing live and appearing intermittently as a presenter on the Turner Classic Movies network, the onetime Ira Gershwin archivist went nearly a decade without releasing any albums. It was his first gap of more than two years since his 1987 studio debut, Pure Gershwin. He comes back to key influences George and Ira Gershwin, for more than the first time, on his return, 2022's Gershwin Country. A set of 11 duets, each with different guests, it navigates timeless romantic ballads and what prove to be playfully old-fashioned, vaudeville-esque takes with giants of country music (and one with album executive producer Liza Minnelli).