RHAPSODY IN BLUE LASERDISC ROBERT ALDA JOAN LESLIE AL JOLSON '45 / LaserDisc CD Video 1991

UPC 027616114969 

!!! CONDITION OF DISC IS USED - VERY GOOD !!!

TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 2 HOURS 21 MINUTES  

PRINTED IN U.S.A.  

NTSC

Laser disc: a disc resembling a larger CD but able to store video, now generally replaced by the DVD.

Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City. Whiteman's band performed the rhapsody with Gershwin playing the piano. Whiteman's arranger Ferde Grofé orchestrated the rhapsody several times including the 1924 original scoring, the 1926 pit orchestra scoring, and the 1942 symphonic scoring.

The rhapsody is one of Gershwin's most recognizable creations and a key composition that defined the Jazz Age. Gershwin's piece inaugurated a new era in America's musical history, established Gershwin's reputation as an eminent composer, and eventually became one of the most popular of all concert works. The American Heritage magazine posits that the famous opening clarinet glissando has become as instantly recognizable to concert audiences as Beethoven's Fifth.