LYCOS RETRIEVER 
George Gershwin: Piano Concerto
built 276 days ago
Many fans of George Gershwin have found it strange that, in comparison to the piano rolls, there are very few accessible audio recordings of his live playing. His very first recording was his own
Source:
The session took place on June 10 and featured the same Whiteman players who were at Aeolian Hall, including Gershwin himself at the piano. The performance captured that day is a tour de force, fully regenerating the excitement that thrilled audiences at the time. The pacing is brisk and at times even frantic, the dynamics extreme, and the playing biting, tense and driven. There is not a bit of the gushy romanticism heard on so many bloated modern interpretations of the piece. Even the shrill, brassy, lean orchestration seems an ideal match for the limitations of the acoustic process.
Source:
The Gershwins bought a piano when George was 12 years old. They bought it so Ira could take lessons. George had already discovered his own love of music through an eight-year-old friend, Max Rosenzweig. Max was a violin prodigy.
Source:
To supplement his income, on Saturdays, Gershwin recorded piano rolls under various pseudonyms. For his efforts he received $35 for six rolls. He was a great admirer of the comedian Ed Wynn and it is at this time, in honor of him, that Gershwin changed the end of his last name.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Piano Concerto