And not just songs.Im convinced that had Gershwin lived a long full life he would have been America's leading composer of Songs, Symphonies,Operas, Concertos and Chamber Music.No question about that.
@@ianaspinall3234 Absolutely. There really is NO TELLING how much we could have gotten from GG had he lived....even just 10 more years. Another Opera......more Broadway...or movies....AT some point....a Symphony would have HAD to happen.
@@maestroclassico5801 I'm sure it would have done.I did read in a book that not long before Gershwin became ill in Hollywood he was talking about returning to New York to work on a possible Opera of The Great Gatsby.Now that would have been something had he lived to write it.
He rocks the piano like no one else in classical or pop music. Genius composer and musician. This has jazz elements from 20’s , which was wild and furious. Amazing.
I just love the shot from 01:32. You just KNOW that the awesome hat on the piano was Mr. G’s. Just imagine strolling along 5th avenue on the 5th August 1931 and seeing Gershwin in that suit and hat...
Thank God sound motion picture technology had advanced sufficiently by 1931 to permit a credible record of this amazing musician and composer. His pianistic gifts are staggering, matched only by the richness of harmonic tapestry that he could create in so many songs and, of course, within his opera, Porgy and Bess. As others have commented, the tragedy of his early death denied us of what additional musical marvels may have come from his fertile musical mind. As an amateur musician, I find endless delight in playing his music, as I am sure so many others do, as well.
They are the "thumbs down to everything club". Members compete with each other to diss as many videos in 24 hours as possible. They get everywhere - like cockroaches. Of course, this means they never have time to actually listen to anything, but that's not the point. Best to ignore them.
@@cliffhughes6010 or maybe they just hate ragtime or the way that he got up in the end? Idk I personally liked it but tryna think about anything ppl might not like
The crazy thing is, this is a jazz classic, but the composer himself (Gershwin) played the most astonishing remix of his own piece that we've seen to date!
This is an exemplary view of masterful talent! I am thrilled to have such a privilege to see the Great George Gershwin striking those keys in "fascinating rhythm"! My thanks for posting this treasured piece of music history!😉😁😚
Different venue. The names of various Broadway houses get changed over the years. What was called the Manhattan Theatre back in 1931 is known today as the Ed Sullivan Theatre.
What a privilege to hear and see this. Had the notated sheet music of this for over 50 years and at last know what the maestro intended. Thanks so much! Wish you well.
0/zero dislikes! Thank Goodness for sensibility! This guy is probably the best composer of all time. Him and his brother were beyond their time. You can just tell by their beautifully written compositions. I listen to Loose Ends, T-Rex, Chicago House and all sorts of music and I know they trace their roots back here...
This is so cool!! I have never seen footage of Gershwin performing. I have audio, but this is relevatory since it’s clearly meant to be an encore. He really goes for it! I would love to see footage of Gershwin and Oscar Levant. They worked out hours of music and arrangements together. It would be something to hear and a little of them together.
Talent and skill are different things. Everyone has talent, the skill is to develop it through practice. If you don't practice, then you waste your talent. 'God' is the excuse given by those who're too lazy, dishonest and ill-disciplined to practice.
I fell in love with Gershwin when a friend played me his Prelude #2 on the piano. We were in ninth or tenth grade at the time, so that was around 1970. I immediately set out to collect everything he had ever written. I have tons of albums and a bunch of sheet music as a result. I would even record stuff off the TV. I remember sitting with my little cassette tape recorder, holding the microphone up to the TV while the first of the segments shown in this video was played. On the tape you can hear me shouting, "It's him! It's really him!" I still have that tape, although I'm not sure it's still playable after over 50 years.
Can you just imagine how he felt when the doctor told him the brain prognosis? Imagine what that would have looked like. A man at the very prime of his genius and life. Unbelievable.
In fact Gershwin was never told he had a brain tumor. He’d already refused the invasive spinal tap procedure that was offered to either detect or rule out a potential tumor. His brain tumor was only discovered during the emergency operation begun on the evening of July 10 1937 (Gershwin had been in a deep coma since July 9). He never regained consciousness after the operation, dying on the morning of July 11 1937.
I mean it’s his piece haha. He can do whatever he wants with it. Also, piano rolls probably had very limited space, so it might have needed to be recorded quicker just to make sure everything gets on it.
@@jonathanm.9801 Hey...Agreed! He can leave out notes however he wants but yes the digitally remastered piano roll recordings....which can be found here on YT, are quite a listen!
@@jonathanm.9801 You are actually right about at least one of the two Duo-Art rolls (it was in two parts) of the "Rhapsody". There was so much music required to be crammed on that roll, that editor/arranger Frank Milne had quite a task, working from Gershwin's original performance. Several roll collectors / enthusiasts have actually complained that the level of rhythmic detail in one of those two rolls is lacking, due to this kind of "cramming" requiring a slower roll tempo / paper speed. IMO Aeolian should have instead made this a three-roll or four-roll set, instead of two rolls. But the piece was brand-new at the time and no one was yet sure if it would be a success, when the first roll was released. After a few years it was apparent that it was indeed a success, so they brought out the second roll (I think that was the 'crammed' one). If you want to hear Gershwin's real tempo and touch, check out the two recordings of the 'Rhapsody' (the 1924 acoustic recording, and I think the 1927 electric recording) with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, featuring Gershwin himself at the piano. IMO those are the best document of this piece. The rolls are very nice however.
One good thing about the "Rhapsody" being on the Duo-Art reproducing piano system is that it's more or less a binary-type expression system that works very quickly with (to my knowledge) no "crescendo" effect in the system. So it is fairly faithful with a wider range of chosen tempos for the roll playback. This is to contrast with the Welte system, which is all crescendos and decrescendos, and the Ampico system which has a mix of both elements. In the systems with crescendo functions in the expression, the roll has to be set at JUST the right speed (and the piano in good shape / timing checked by a technician before a serious recording is made), since when the roll tells the piano to get louder or softer (slowly or quickly), it has to do so at a predictable speed. If the tempo of the roll is set too fast or slow for a Welte or Ampico (or certain other systems), the expression (whose timing happens at a couple of fixed speeds), will "land" on the correct dynamic at the WRONG time, so that the WRONG notes will be too loud or too soft due to the roll timing (notes) being off from the expression timing. With Duo-Art, within reason, the roll can be sped up or slowed down and as long as everything is in good working order and working rapidly, the expression can still keep up with the timing of the notes so that the correct notes get the correct dynamics. This is actually why the early Red Welte system has NO tempo lever... all rolls play at a fixed factory-determined paper speed to ensure that the timing of the expression doesn't get away from the timing of the notes. So, different tempos chosen by the artist show up MORE as different note lengths / spacings in the Welte rolls than in many later systems where they will ask the user to set a particular roll tempo (paper speed) and then have the timing of the expression adjusted by the person arranging the expression tracks (on the master roll at the factory), to match that paper speed. By contrast, the Duo-Art system has the most extensive hand-controls for hand expression of any major reproducing system, so you can turn off the Duo-Art expression and also put your own interpretation into the roll, like a regular 88-note piano.
I mean... I'm 37. Gershwin DIED at 37... :( This recording in particular is an absolutely astonishing record of how ahead of his time he was. This music is so damn fresh in 2023 as it was in 1931. My grandmother just died and she was born the same year this was recorded!!!
Very good musician I'm looking in to play rhapsody in blue in the next 3 years Is definitely one of my favorites theme's...very beautiful music from this guy.
![Summertime [George Gershwin] - Eugene Sokolinsky [sketch with the backing track]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-Gnh_vPpbWM/mqdefault.jpg)
When he was young he said, "I have so many tunes in my head it will take a hundred years to write them down."
He died at 37 yrs.
Such a loss. I just finished a short book called, "George Gershwin: An intimate portrait", that is fascinating. He was a remarkable talent.
So sad.
Sad.
Almost 39 YO, 1898-1937
I thought he died at 39
We can only imagine the marvelous songs we never heard because he passed on too young. RIP.
Exactly. I rencently worked up his Prelude 1 for piano and it was definitely one of the hardest pieces Ive ever played.
We wuz ROBBED! 🎵 😭
And not just songs.Im convinced that had Gershwin lived a long full life he would have been America's leading composer of Songs, Symphonies,Operas, Concertos and Chamber Music.No question about that.
@@ianaspinall3234 Absolutely. There really is NO TELLING how much we could have gotten from GG had he lived....even just 10 more years. Another Opera......more Broadway...or movies....AT some point....a Symphony would have HAD to happen.
@@maestroclassico5801 I'm sure it would have done.I did read in a book that not long before Gershwin became ill in Hollywood he was talking about returning to New York to work on a possible Opera of The Great Gatsby.Now that would have been something had he lived to write it.
A man of rare talent who died tragically young. Through his music he will never be forgotten.
life isn't fair...he died of a malignant brain tumor. So goes to show....even young people die
Yeah, his untimely death was/is so sad
Note the percussive attack. Classical pianists usually don't have that when they play GG's music - it needs it.
Agreeeeeeddddd
In one of Bartok's Mikrokosmos pieces his notes say play one of them "like Gershwin" - so he knew this also.
You are absolutely RIGHT!
so funny to hear how many pianists play in BLUE note perfect; all they had to do was thump the notes out
@@interglossa which one?
He rocks the piano like no one else in classical or pop music. Genius composer and musician. This has jazz elements from 20’s , which was wild and furious. Amazing.
Plays everything just a tad faster than anyone else.
You should listen to early Ben Folds! He smashed the piano like he had a vendetta against it.
He plays much more percussively and in a ‘honkey-tonk ’ style than we have become used to in his music.
I think a tin-pan alley sound
That's Stride, man!
They take the soul out of everything these days.
Yes now only if the piano was just slightly out of tune we would get the real bar room effect.
@@jpaul251 With technique like that, it would be epic. Gershwin and Roosevelt Sykes
I just love the shot from 01:32. You just KNOW that the awesome hat on the piano was Mr. G’s.
Just imagine strolling along 5th avenue on the 5th August 1931 and seeing Gershwin in that suit and hat...
Not necessarily.
I have loved Gershwin and his fabulous music my
whole life and now I find I was born on the day of this recording August 5th 1931
I loved Gershwin music for my whole life, and my son was born on his birthday!
My mother was born in 1931. One of my all time favorite songs in Rhapsody in Blue. My two year old grandson knows it now.
I agree but don't call it a "song" please :)
Rhapsody In Blue is not a song.
His left hand is fantastiq.
That was an era where if you wanted to be considered a great pianist, you needed a strong left hand for the popular stride style back then.
Thank God sound motion picture technology had advanced sufficiently by 1931 to permit a credible record of this amazing musician and composer. His pianistic gifts are staggering, matched only by the richness of harmonic tapestry that he could create in so many songs and, of course, within his opera, Porgy and Bess. As others have commented, the tragedy of his early death denied us of what additional musical marvels may have come from his fertile musical mind. As an amateur musician, I find endless delight in playing his music, as I am sure so many others do, as well.
50 people who disliked this don't have rhythm.
They are the "thumbs down to everything club". Members compete with each other to diss as many videos in 24 hours as possible. They get everywhere - like cockroaches. Of course, this means they never have time to actually listen to anything, but that's not the point. Best to ignore them.
@@cliffhughes6010 yeah
@@cliffhughes6010 or maybe they just hate ragtime or the way that he got up in the end? Idk I personally liked it but tryna think about anything ppl might not like
60
or any understanding of artistry
I truly wonder how much he improvised...what an angelic soul...
The most wonderful thing is the musician close to him smiling at Gershwin playing
The crazy thing is, this is a jazz classic, but the composer himself (Gershwin) played the most astonishing remix of his own piece that we've seen to date!
His music is magic. I wonder if he'd lived a normal life span how many more beautiful compositions he would have come up with. Our loss.
It is amazing to watch him play. His talent was quite unique.
Such strength, such force, such energy unique to a true musician. Love for life.
Remarquable qualité d'interprétation et d'enregistrement pour l'époque.
I'm so amazed, and sad, because I could never play this in a host of lifetimes. Hats off to this wonderful man.
It's July 4th, 2018. George Gershwin at the piano, playing "I Got Rhythm." Even the piano was smiling.;)
Absolutely amazing!! Thanks for posting---i shared on my FB page---astounding film of a true American genius--Gershwin Lives!!!!
He is such a musical genius & his music soothes my mind!
Just so amazing to see him perform! Thank you for this little gem.
This is an exemplary view of masterful talent! I am thrilled to have such a privilege to see the Great George Gershwin striking those keys in "fascinating rhythm"! My thanks for posting this treasured piece of music history!😉😁😚
Only the good die young, and this musical genius certainly proved that.
Glad to see that this venue is still in existence as of 1-2022 (Manhattan Theatre Club). -mikenotpaula.
Different venue. The names of various Broadway houses get changed over the years. What was called the Manhattan Theatre back in 1931 is known today as the Ed Sullivan Theatre.
Phenomenal. The man played as if he had an extra pair of hands.
Handsome, talented man. I think I really am in love with him.
I have always heard he had amazing technique. First clip I have ever seen and it's true
Brilliant pianist! How wonderful to hear him play (as only he can .....) his thrilling music
Just the intro, before he even starts the song... he sets the mood perfectly
Great composer and fantastic pianist
This is unique. We’re lucky enough to have this recording and footage.
Good call. George Gershwin is precious.
Gershwin is my favorite composer and pianist ......thank you so much for loading this
Love it ....what a treasure....
Lol at the end he just pops up and walks off like a boss
That fella in the back with the knowing smile is so adorable
Oh my god, how many times I've listened to the audio recording of this. And now I get to see the performance in all its glory, superb!
Boy I wish they had film back in the day when Bach was performing, or Beethoven but watchin Gershwin ain't bad
0:26 when I try to play that incredible little turnaround, I discover that I do not, in fact, have rhythm.
What a privilege to hear and see this. Had the notated sheet music of this for over 50 years and at last know what the maestro intended.
Thanks so much! Wish you well.
0/zero dislikes! Thank Goodness for sensibility!
This guy is probably the best composer of all time. Him and his brother were beyond their time. You can just tell by their beautifully written compositions.
I listen to Loose Ends, T-Rex, Chicago House and all sorts of music and I know they trace their roots back here...
Best composer of all time?
I don't mean to get into an argument, but maybe try listening to the works of Mozart, Bach, Chopin, and Ravel...
@@KristianWolfe or Beethoven?
A pure genius, no doubt about it. His music will live forever.
We watched this in music class last year, it feels so nostalgic revisiting.
Gershwin: "Rhythm changes!"
Orchestra: "Nope. You're on your own."
HA!
Wow. Breathtaking! What a treat. Thank you for posting this. Such a major talent.
Authentic American genius.
This is so cool!! I have never seen footage of Gershwin performing. I have audio, but this is relevatory since it’s clearly meant to be an encore. He really goes for it!
I would love to see footage of Gershwin and Oscar Levant. They worked out hours of music and arrangements together. It would be something to hear and a little of them together.
He appeared in a few movies.
O
@@jimcrawford5039 Levant did but Gershwin didn't.
I have to say, this has always been my favorite Gershwin tune. ❤ Sublime!
His talent was God -given!!!
Talent and skill are different things. Everyone has talent, the skill is to develop it through practice. If you don't practice, then you waste your talent. 'God' is the excuse given by those who're too lazy, dishonest and ill-disciplined to practice.
Nope. Genes plus dedication.
@@dicty2 which obviously explains your genius.
Thank you for uploading this!
What an amazing musical genius who died way too young at the age of 39 in 1937..😇
He was 38 when he died to be correct about it.
Thanks also for the upload! Love watching how the band members are so charmed by that.
Quel félin...Quelle vivacité, quelle souplesse, quel dynamisme...On aurait aimé que ça dure des heures.
Incroyable de ouf merci beaucoup pour ces images 🔥
Absolutely timeless. To this day, some of the freshest music out there!!
Amazing composer and musician!
I fell in love with Gershwin when a friend played me his Prelude #2 on the piano. We were in ninth or tenth grade at the time, so that was around 1970. I immediately set out to collect everything he had ever written. I have tons of albums and a bunch of sheet music as a result. I would even record stuff off the TV. I remember sitting with my little cassette tape recorder, holding the microphone up to the TV while the first of the segments shown in this video was played. On the tape you can hear me shouting, "It's him! It's really him!" I still have that tape, although I'm not sure it's still playable after over 50 years.
Gershwin, Chopin, Satie and Debussy inspired me to get back into playing piano again. Currently practicing the Gymnopedies
This is a really great performance! Thank you for uploading the rare movie!
Gershwin one my all time fav American composer and pianist
First time seeing this...wonderful, mesmerizing. One of the greats: Bess You Is My Woman might be the greatest song ever written.
Also my first time and Wow!!!!
Yes. It is the most gut-wrenching, soul-stirring, life-affirming song ever written. And number two is probably "I Loves You, Porgy".
Awesome to see one of the Masters in American music it’s kind of a blind blowing what he could have achieve.
I love this beautiful man what may have been had he lived a longer life!
Me too, so can I say that he's the man I love ?
Me too, so can I say he's the man I love ?
Can you just imagine how he felt when the doctor told him the brain prognosis? Imagine what that would have looked like. A man at the very prime of his genius and life. Unbelievable.
In fact Gershwin was never told he had a brain tumor. He’d already refused the invasive spinal tap procedure that was offered to either detect or rule out a potential tumor. His brain tumor was only discovered during the emergency operation begun on the evening of July 10 1937 (Gershwin had been in a deep coma since July 9). He never regained consciousness after the operation, dying on the morning of July 11 1937.
such a beautiful melody!! Thanks for uploading!
=D
Art Tatum loved his music; often inserting quotes from George G
There are words to describe how awesome this is.
LOVE THIS! Im a Gershwin fan!
🎹 Gershwin lives on through his music.
Absolutely legend mr. George Gershwin
C'est tellement émouvant de le voir !
This rendition is what we could caĺl Gershwin by Gershwin.
I never knew one my favorite songs from the Happenings in the 60's was a Gershwin song of the 30's
the Man is a National Treasure.
Love him! Such fine musician!!!
Love the chord voicing in the melody. First time I've heard him play the piece.
bro this MADLAD made 10 GRAND with *ONE MINUTE* of music BACK in the 30S!
That was awesome!!
Wonderful ! Thank you so much :)
Wow, I love George. Now, that's a master.
According to the digitally re-recorded piano rolls, he took Rhspsody in Blue faster than other pianists DARED
I mean it’s his piece haha. He can do whatever he wants with it. Also, piano rolls probably had very limited space, so it might have needed to be recorded quicker just to make sure everything gets on it.
@@jonathanm.9801 Hey...Agreed! He can leave out notes however he wants but yes the digitally remastered piano roll recordings....which can be found here on YT, are quite a listen!
@@jonathanm.9801 You are actually right about at least one of the two Duo-Art rolls (it was in two parts) of the "Rhapsody". There was so much music required to be crammed on that roll, that editor/arranger Frank Milne had quite a task, working from Gershwin's original performance. Several roll collectors / enthusiasts have actually complained that the level of rhythmic detail in one of those two rolls is lacking, due to this kind of "cramming" requiring a slower roll tempo / paper speed. IMO Aeolian should have instead made this a three-roll or four-roll set, instead of two rolls. But the piece was brand-new at the time and no one was yet sure if it would be a success, when the first roll was released. After a few years it was apparent that it was indeed a success, so they brought out the second roll (I think that was the 'crammed' one). If you want to hear Gershwin's real tempo and touch, check out the two recordings of the 'Rhapsody' (the 1924 acoustic recording, and I think the 1927 electric recording) with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, featuring Gershwin himself at the piano. IMO those are the best document of this piece. The rolls are very nice however.
One good thing about the "Rhapsody" being on the Duo-Art reproducing piano system is that it's more or less a binary-type expression system that works very quickly with (to my knowledge) no "crescendo" effect in the system. So it is fairly faithful with a wider range of chosen tempos for the roll playback.
This is to contrast with the Welte system, which is all crescendos and decrescendos, and the Ampico system which has a mix of both elements.
In the systems with crescendo functions in the expression, the roll has to be set at JUST the right speed (and the piano in good shape / timing checked by a technician before a serious recording is made), since when the roll tells the piano to get louder or softer (slowly or quickly), it has to do so at a predictable speed.
If the tempo of the roll is set too fast or slow for a Welte or Ampico (or certain other systems), the expression (whose timing happens at a couple of fixed speeds), will "land" on the correct dynamic at the WRONG time, so that the WRONG notes will be too loud or too soft due to the roll timing (notes) being off from the expression timing.
With Duo-Art, within reason, the roll can be sped up or slowed down and as long as everything is in good working order and working rapidly, the expression can still keep up with the timing of the notes so that the correct notes get the correct dynamics.
This is actually why the early Red Welte system has NO tempo lever... all rolls play at a fixed factory-determined paper speed to ensure that the timing of the expression doesn't get away from the timing of the notes. So, different tempos chosen by the artist show up MORE as different note lengths / spacings in the Welte rolls than in many later systems where they will ask the user to set a particular roll tempo (paper speed) and then have the timing of the expression adjusted by the person arranging the expression tracks (on the master roll at the factory), to match that paper speed.
By contrast, the Duo-Art system has the most extensive hand-controls for hand expression of any major reproducing system, so you can turn off the Duo-Art expression and also put your own interpretation into the roll, like a regular 88-note piano.
the poor clarinetist!
gifted, talented - would like to meet him if i had a time machine
Happy birthday George.
Absolutely breathtaking!
Amazing! He was golden! Long Live Gershwin!
I mean... I'm 37. Gershwin DIED at 37... :( This recording in particular is an absolutely astonishing record of how ahead of his time he was. This music is so damn fresh in 2023 as it was in 1931. My grandmother just died and she was born the same year this was recorded!!!
Gershwin was 38 when he died to be precise. No I am not splitting hairs on the issue, just a correction to be fair about it.
His music must have blown away the people of the time!
Vad kul att höra!
Wow! This is so cool! Thanks for posting!
Quel félin, quelle souplesse, quel naturel. Extraordinaire.
The master at work.
Merci pour cette merveilleuse vidéo! Un document historique!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love it! Thank you!
I have both of his piano roll cd's. A must have for jazz people.
Rare performances like this need to be remastered into 4K :-)
Very good musician I'm looking in to play rhapsody in blue in the next 3 years
Is definitely one of my favorites theme's...very beautiful music from this guy.
Amazing.
There are not enough superlatives to describe George Gershwin!
He pounded those keys