"Rhapsody in Blue" is a piano concerto published by American composer George Gershwin in 1924. It was a huge success and made him a world-class composer. Basic introduction Chinese name: Rhapsody in Blue? Foreign name: Rhapsody in Blue Release date: 1924 Composer: George Gershwin, Field Grophy Music style: Piano concerto, introduction to jazz and classical repertoire, creation history, music appreciation , Overview, theme, section, middle section, ending, orchestration, reasons for unfinished orchestration, band arrangement, track introduction "Rhapsody in Blue" was written by the American composer George Gershwin in 1924 Written in 2001 for solo piano and jazz orchestra, it combines classical music principles with jazz elements. The premiere of this piece is generally considered to have been in a concert titled "Experiments in Modern Music" at Aeolian Hall in New York on February 12, 1924, with Paul Whiteman conducting his Orchestra and Gershwin on piano. The version for piano and symphony orchestra was arranged by American composer Ferde Grofé in 1946, and it became one of the most popular pieces in American concerts. Like other of Gershwin's most popular classical compositions, Rhapsody in Blue established his reputation as a prolific composer. Creation History In 1924, American composer George Gershwin published the piano concerto "Rhapsody in Blue", which was a huge success and made him a world-class composer. George Gershwin Early in his creative career, Gershwin harbored ambitions to become a serious musician. Therefore, when Paul Whiteman invited him to write a "Jazz Concerto" for the "Modern Music Experiment" concert organized by Paul Whiteman, Gershwin was very interested. He had always longed to write serious music with jazz elements. However, the deadline given by Whiteman was too tight, and he had already announced that Gershwin would compose the music for this concert and perform as the piano soloist himself. In this way, Gershwin had no retreat at all. It is said that Gershwin composed this song during his trip to Boston. He later described it this way: "It was on the train, and you could hear the sonorous rhythm and rumbling percussion... I often heard music deep in the noise. . There, I suddenly constructed it from beginning to end - even vividly on paper -..." Only one week after returning from Boston, Gershwin completed the entire piano part except for a few solo piano cadenzas. Spectrum. As for the cadenzas, he planned to save them for the premiere and improvise them. After the music was completed, Gershwin was troubled by the title of the work, and it was only a few days before the first performance that Gershwin finally decided on the title. Because blue is the same word as the blues tune used in the work, which originated from African American labor songs and spirituals, the name "Rhapsody in Blue" was finally adopted. Music Appreciation Overview "Rhapsody in Blue" is a single-movement concerto-like work written for piano and orchestra, in which the improvisational expression of the theme is organically combined with the development of symphony. The modal and harmonic elements of black blues music and the strong syncopated rhythm and slide effects of jazz music all give this uniquely conceived work a distinctive color. In this work, Gershwin was also quite ingenious in his arrangement of passages with completely different emotions, such as the contrast between lyricism and drama, and dance and singing. Theme The piece begins with a portamento in the bass of the solo clarinet, which is the basis for an ascending scale. When the scale reaches the highest note, one of the work's main themes of uninhibited freedom bursts out (bB major). Then, the French horn and saxophone played a very rhythmic theme. It is very close in mood to the above-mentioned clarinet theme, just like a deformation or continuation of this theme, but it is more powerful and obviously has a dance style. The muted trumpet plays the theme again, leading to the beautiful piano. After the piano states the theme, it adds variations, leading to a brilliant solo restating each theme.

The main theme appeared in the band's unison music with a bold and powerful sound, and the bright trumpet played an open and loud melody. The music set off an extremely active new world. Section: The cadenza is a passage stated only by a solo instrument. The piano suddenly slows down the rhythm while crawling with ascending scales and unison repetitions, and then states the first theme (G major) alone. After the first theme is played, the tense second theme follows, starting in G minor, but with frequent key changes in several variations, and a large number of dissonances showing the busy working life of the United States. The panic temporarily passed, and the piano opened the middle part of the music with slow arpeggios. Middle Section This is a beautiful song played by string instruments (in the key of E major). This is the center of the whole song and one of the most famous passages in American music. This piece of music is broad, smooth, tender and sentimental, with a style similar to the basic theme of the first movement of Tchaikovsky's "First Piano Concerto". But what’s special is that there is a looming snare drum in the middle, indicating that the restless mood continues. After the strings have finished playing, the piano continues with variations. At the end, the piano brings the end of the music with a speed change, and once again cooperates with the band very tacitly. After the whole band reproduced the main theme of the music with thunderous momentum, the whole song ended brilliantly with a crescendo of ***. Orchestration Reasons for unfinished orchestration: Gershwin was under a very tight schedule when composing "Rhapsody in Blue" and he was not sure about the orchestration. Therefore, the original orchestration of this piece of music was completed by the famous American composer Groffy. Gershwin later re-orchestrated the piece, and this is the orchestral version performed today. The orchestra consists of woodwind section, piccolo (and third flute), 2 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 bassoons, 2 clarinets, 1 soprano clarinet, 1 bass clarinet, 2 alto saxophones, 1 tenor saxophone, brass section 4 horns, 3 1 trumpet, 2 tenor trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 tuba, percussion section, timpani, cymbals (cymbals and cymbals), bass drum, gong, triangle, string section, solo piano, first violin, second violin, viola, cello, double bass