Gershwin - Delicious 1931 - Stereo - Second Rhapsody
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- Опубліковано 9 лис 2019
- George Gershwin wrote much of his “Second Rhapsody” for the 1931 film "Delicious". Unfortunately, sound recording was in its infancy, and much of the score was mixed with loud sound effects that obscured it. Here is how the film might have sounded had the score been better recorded. Janet Gaynor stars with Raul Roulien.
John Mauceri conducts Wayne Marshall and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The solo piano sections at the start are by Jack Gibbons.
From "George Gershwin: His Life and Work" by Howard Pollack:
The "New York Rhapsody" proved a novelty by Hollywood standards: composed months prior to the actual filming, it provided the music around which a cinematic episode would take shape (thereby also giving the composer time to orchestrate the music); and it constituted a work so self-contained that it could be adapted for concert purposes, which Gershwin did under various working titles, including "New York Rhapsody"', "Manhattan Rhapsody", "Rhapsody in Rivets", and finally "Second Rhapsody". However, the filmmakers ultimately cut the piece from about 15 minutes to about seven minutes in length. Moreover, fearful that "the music would be distracting to the action," the studio shrouded the piece by recording the work with the piano at the rear of the orchestra, and by overdubbing prominent sound effects.
Genius and marvelous. Americans should be so grateful to have had the great George Gershwin !
A remarkable undertaking! The studio paid the composer generously, only to plunge his work into obscurity. Thank you for creating this refreshing alternative to the dreary movie!
Thanks - it was a lot of work. I love the "Second Rhapsody"!
Amazing footage. Thanks.
I thought I knew every movie from the "Golden Age of Hollywood", but I never knew this existed! Thank you.
Gershwin remarked this was one of the best things he had written.
He was such a genius…
I want to be in one of those Vogue videos, with this song in the backdrop, recreating this scene :') 💙
wonderfully done - thank you.
Good! Thanks for posting.
I just discovered the existence of this movie today and It seems the only way to see it is to wait for it to come on TCM or stream it from Amazon although I haven't yet tried the link to there as of yet.
A great discovery! Wonderful stuff.
Thanks - I made it, and it was a ton of work!
I can well believe that - many congratulations!
Interesting, to say the least - great work you've done, here. On a troubling note, Gershwin's original orchestration of the work was replaced - 14 years after his death - by his publishers in favour of a "tamer" version by re-orchestrated version by Robert McBride. It wasn't until 1984 that the original, more inventive original version was heard. For that recording, Michael Tilson Thomas went on a hunt for the original manuscript. As of 2020, the non-Gershwin re-orchestration is the only published version available.
In 2008, Jack Gibbons worked from the manuscript to restore the original version. As he is the pianist in this version, I'm assuming this upload uses his version.
Gershwin did a run through of the work with New York musicians - and recorded the session:
ua-cam.com/video/dVtbCFoDc9c/v-deo.html
He conducted from the keyboard, leaving us a very valuable account of what he was like as a performer/composer/conductor.
I heard that version first, and loved it. Always wondered why I didn't like other versions I heard until the restored one came out in 1984! Are you sure no one can play the original version?
Shot like a silent film, with German Expressionism overtones
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