Gershwin, Bernstein - Rhapsody In Blue, West Side Story: Sinfonische Tänze / Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein / ETERNA LP Stereo

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Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition by the American composer George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. It was commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, who gave it its premiere in the concert "An Experiment in Modern Music", on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City, performed by him and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano. The work was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé several times, including the original scoring (1924), the "theater orchestra" setting (1926), and the symphony orchestra scoring (1942).

The rhapsody is one of Gershwin's most recognizable creations and a key composition that defined the Jazz Age. The Nation describe Gershwin's piece as inaugurating a new era in America's musical history. The editors of the Cambridge Music Handbooks posit that "the Rhapsody in Blue (1924) established Gershwin's reputation as a serious composer and has since become one of the most popular of all American concert works." The American Heritage magazine notes that the famous opening clarinet glissando has become as instantly recognizable to concert audiences as Beethoven's Fifth.