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Rhapsody in Blue Archive

Audio News for October 11, 2017

by | Oct 11, 2017 | Audio News

This Is Cybersecurity Awareness Month – which was set up in 2004 by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to ensure that every American using the Internet has the resources needed to stay safer and more secure online. Gamers’ spaces as well as the social sites like Facebook are being invaded by cybercriminals. And Macs are no longer free of attacks by hackers, as they were in the past. There is only one working software for Macs and that is Malwarebytes. Get it if you don’t have it. Why You Should Be Listening to Podcasts and How to Get Started – is a new article in Parade:  Starting Podcasts Podcasts.. Though only 2% of all audio entertainment is made up of podcasts, Americans now listen at least once monthly and there are over 400,000 free podcasts on iTunes. While most are 30 minutes, they can be only ten or run several hours long. Subjects are no longer confined to cooking and computer tips. Creative freedom and worldwide reach are what set podcasting apart from radio, though for music the quality is still MP3. Left-leaning voices are beginning to match the heavy right-leaning voices on radio. Pianist […]

“New York Rhapsody” – Lang Lang, p. & many others – Sony Classical

“New York Rhapsody” – Lang Lang, p. & many others – Sony Classical

by | Nov 22, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

A really amazing crossover album and one of the very best Rhapsody in Blues. “New York Rhapsody” – Lang Lang, p. & many others [TrackList follows] – Sony Classical 889853329229, 70:00 (9/16/16) *****: I almost decided to put this CD in our Popular category, but it certainly is a very intense crossover effort in spite of Lang Lang saying that it is not. At the center of it all is perhaps the very best version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on record, and I am very partial to one with David Golub, conducted by, of all people, Mitch Miller, on Arabesque (1992). That one is great stereo sound and performance but this one is even better. Part of it is the showiness of Lang Lang, which is bound to come out in this album dedicated to America’s most symbolic city as great artists have imagined it. Part of it is also that this is a two-piano version of the Gershwin classic, with jazz legend Herbie Hancock at his Fazioli and Lang Lang at his Steinway, plus the London Symphony! The rest of this CD consists of nine short tracks featuring vocals by Jason Isbell, Andra Day, Kandace Springs, Lisa Fischer, […]

GERSHWIN: An American in Paris; Con. in F, Ov. to “Of Thee I Sing;” Three Preludes – Lincoln Mayorga p./ Harmonie Ens., NY/ Steven Richman – Harmonia mundi

GERSHWIN: An American in Paris; Con. in F, Ov. to “Of Thee I Sing;” Three Preludes – Lincoln Mayorga p./ Harmonie Ens., NY/ Steven Richman – Harmonia mundi

by | Sep 8, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

Probably the best Gershwin Concerto in F on disc. GERSHWIN: An American in Paris; Concerto in F, Ov. to “Of Thee I Sing;” Three Preludes – Lincoln Mayorga p./ Harmonie Ensemble, New York/ Steven Richman – Harmonia mundi  907658, 56:19 (8/26/16) *****: Steven Richman and the Harmonie Ensemble worked with historically-informed performances of Gershwin, which the conductor has been doing for nearly three decades. The Grammy-nominated conductor wanted to recapture the lean unsentimental style which Gershwin intended for his works. Many of Gershwin’s orchestrations were edited and re-scored by misdirected publishers and arrangers over the years. The 1928 American in Paris portrays an American visitor to the City of Light and was the inspiration for the 1951 Gene Kelley film as well as current Broadway musical/ballet hit. Roy Bargy’s orchestration of Gershwin’s Three Preludes for piano solo is heard here, and he was the original performer for Gershwin’s famous Rhapsody in Blue. The Preludes are full of Brazilian and Spanish flair and bluesy riffs, and have been transcribed for many other instruments. While there are many competing recordings of Gershwin’s first symphonic orchestration, the Concerto in F (including an excellent one conducted by, of all people, Mitch Miller). I would […]