Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue"

One hundred years ago this month, George Gershwin composed Rhapsody in Blue. 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 his reputation as an eminent composer and became one of the most popular of all concert works. In the American Heritage magazine, Frederic D. Schwarz posits that the famous opening clarinet glissando has become as instantly recognizable to concert audiences as the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony

Gershwin was of Jewish ancestry. His grandfather, Jakov Gershowitz, was born in Odessa, Russian Empire (now Ukraine), and had served for 25 years as a mechanic for the Imperial Russian Army to earn the right of free travel and residence as a Jew, finally retiring near Saint Petersburg. His teenage son Moishe, George's father, worked as a leather cutter for women's shoes.

The 100th anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue is being celebrated worldwide. The story of how and why George Gershwin wrote it in just a month is one of the legends of American music and is told by Andy Hollandbeck in the February 11th issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

We're joining the celebration by sharing a short excerpt from a concert by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in Frankfurt in 1976.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.