Gershwin

Gershwin/Ravel: Piano Concertos / Hélène Grimaud
EAC Rip | ape (img+cue) | no log | cover | no scans
Erato | Nov. 25, 1997
RAR | rs.com | 178 MB

Amazon.com essential recording
This is one class act. Helene Grimaud generally prefers the heavy-duty German repertoire and has fought hard not to be typecast as a dainty "French" female pianist. Nevertheless she has expressed a certain affection for selected French and non-Germanic works, which is a good thing for us because this is the best performance of the Gershwin concerto we are ever likely to hear. It has style, warmth, and bravura to spare. In fact, everyone concerned treats it like it's the greatest piece of music in the world, and the same positives apply to the Ravel.

- David Hurwitz

Don Ralke - But You've Never Heard Gershwin With Bongos / The Savage And The Sensuous Bongos (1960) {Warner Bros. rel 2008}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 417 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 177 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 2008 Collectables Records / Warner Bros. | CDL-CD-7856
Jazz / Latin Jazz / Mood Music / Bongos

This two-fer from Collectables features a pair of out of print LPs by easy listening arranger, composer, and producer Don Ralke, Gershwin with Bongos and The Savage and the Sensuous Bongos, both originally issued in 1960. These 26 tracks are unique in that the arrangements feature bongos as the prominent instrument. Along with several Ralke originals are such Gershwin standards as "How Long Has This Been Going On," "Summertime," and "I Got Rhythm."

It's worth noting that all the music on this CD has been reissued on a budget priced two CD set of music by Gershwin, Porter, and Kern. The recording time on this CD is a little over 40 minutes, rather short measure. Nevertheless, what is here is enchanting. These were some of the earliest recordings of the original orchestrations of these Gershwin pieces. I have LPs of the later orchestrations of some of the overtures with Arthur Fiedler and Erich Kunzel, but McGlinn's CD is far superior in musical content. As for the performances, they are scintillating. The orchestra, filled with brilliant soloists, plays magnificently–with excitement and idiomatically.

During the late '50s, Ella Fitzgerald continued her Song Book records with Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book, releasing a series of albums featuring 59 songs written by George and Ira Gershwin…

Bernstein - Gershwin: An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue | Ives: Symphony No. 2
Classical | DVD | with complete scans (covers and book) | 7,53 Gb (DVD9) | DVD´s FULL No compression
Audio: PCM Stereo | DTS 5.1 | Relesase: November 25, 2008 | Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon

Bernstein recorded Gershwin's "American in Paris" and "Rhapsody in Blue" in the late '50s with the same NY Philharmonic playing here. That LP (later transferred to CD) was superlative in every way. In this DVD, he conducts both works in the Royal Albert Hall in London, with the same orchestra as the LP. The results are the same.

Sun Ra admired George Gershwin and paid musical tribute to the great composer's legacy countless times over his 50-year performing and recording career. This digital-only release, spanning 38 years (1951–1989), compiles some of the best recorded examples of Ra's idiosyncratic takes on the Gershwin catalog. These performances encompass a variety of styles and personnel — full Arkestra, trio with vocalist (Hattie Randolph), duo (Sun Ra and Wilbur Ware), and doo-wop (The Nu Sounds, arranged and accompanied by Sun Ra).

Gershwin s Rhapsody in Blue is one of the most successful fusions of classical music and jazz ever, and is one of the most popular of all American concert works. Gershwin described the piece, which opens with an unforgettable two-and-a-half octave glissando wail on the clarinet, as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot… … our metropolitan madness.

Vibrant young pianist, Isata Kanneh-Mason, presents her sparkling second album, Summertime, as she takes us on a journey through the musical landscape of 20th century America. Isata brings her signature flair to this virtuosic and spiritual music for solo piano, including a world premiere recording of a Samuel Coleridge-Taylor piece, the fiercely challenging Barber sonata, and dazzling arrangements of Gershwin's songs.