, orch. by F. Grofé 1 Rhapsody in Blue 16:47 Pittsburgh Orchestra / William Steinberg, Conductor/Jesus Maria Sanroma, Piano George Gershwin 2 An American in Paris 17:08 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra / William Steinberg, Conductor Gershwin: Gershwin didn’t take Whiteman very seri- “The middle theme came upon me sud- Rhapsody in Blue ously. It was therefore with quite a shock denly, as my music often does. It was at An American in Paris that he read in the New York Tribune of the home of a friend, just after I got back to January 4, 1924, that Whiteman had sched- Gotham. I must do a great deal of what you Jesus Maria Sanroma, piano uled his concert for February 12, and that might call subconscious composing, and William Steinberg the “George Gershwin is at work on a jazz con- this is an example. Playing at parties is one Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra certo.” Here is the composer’s own story of of my notorious weaknesses. As I was play- what happened after that: ing, without a thought of the Rhapsody, all Throughout his all-too-short life, George at once I heard myself playing a theme that Gershwin was associated primarily with “Suddenly an idea occurred to me. There must have been haunting me inside, seeking Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley. had been so much talk about the limitations outlet. No sooner had it oozed out of my fin- Still, he managed to find time and inspira- of jazz, not to speak of the manifest misun- gers than I realized I had found it. Within a tion to create a handful of concert works, derstanding of its function. Jazz, they said, week of my return from Boston I had com- several of which may very well outlive his had to be in strict time. It had to cling to pleted the structure in the rough, of the music in the more popular idiom. Surely, one dance rhythm I resolved, if possible, to kill Rhapsody in Blue.” of those works destined for immortality is that misconception with one sturdy blow. the Rhapsody in Blue. Just as surely, the man Inspired by this aim, I set to work composing. In the ensuing weeks before the con- acknowledged to be one of the Rhapsody’s cert, Gershwin worked on revisions in the foremost interpreters is Jesus Sanroma. His “I had no set plan, no structure to which Rhapsody. The composition was written performance, together with that of the mag- my music could conform. The Rhapsody, you for two pianos, with a few suggestions of nificent Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, has see, began as a purpose, not a plan. I worked instrumentation jotted down in the music. been preserved for all to enjoy in glittering, out a few themes, but just at this time I had Because of the pressure of time, and because lifelike Everest sound. to appear in Boston for the premiere of Sweet Gershwin had had little experience in orches- Little Devil. It was on the train, with its steely tration, Whiteman’s arranger Ferde Grofé, Gershwin was not the first composer to rhythms, its rattlety-bang that is so often made the setting for Whiteman’s enlarged adapt jazz to concert music, but he was one stimulating to a composer. (I frequently dance band and later for symphony orches- of the early pioneers in the field. Posterity hear music in the very heart of noise), that tra. The final version of the solo part wasn’t may also record that he was the most suc- I suddenly heard – even saw on paper – the even ready at concert time, and there were cessful. His initial effort in this new hybrid complete construction of the Rhapsody from whole blank pages of piano music which form was the Rhapsody in Blue. beginning to end. No new themes came to Gershwin improvised on the spot. Whiteman me, but I worked on the thematic material must have had his hands full conducting a The idea that Gershwin composes some- already in my mind, and tried to conceive score that in one long blank space bore the thing of larger scope than musical comedy the composition as a whole. I heard it as a notation, “Wait for nod.” scores came from Paul Whiteman. The ban- sort of musical kaleidoscope of America – of dleader was planning an “educational” jazz our vast melting-pot, of our incomparable The Rhapsody was the next to last work concert at Aeolian Hall in New York, and he national pep, our blues, our metropolitan on the program. Until that point the audi- wanted Gershwin to write something for it. madness. By the time I reached Boston, I had ence, which included many notables from For this same program com- the definite plot of the piece as distinguished the world of serious music, was anything but posed A Suite of Serenades, not exactly in the from its actual substance. enthusiastic. The Rhapsody changed all that; jazz style. it electrified its hearers, and won an imme- diate place of honor in the concert realm. In his biography of Gershwin, Isaac Goldberg called that Lincoln’s Birthday concert “a visitor to Paris as he strolls about the city, lis- JESUS MARIA SANROMA, one of the birthday, too, for American music – even an tens to the various street noises, and absorbs most popular concert pianists of our day, Emancipation Proclamation, in which slav- the French atmosphere. was born in Puerto Rico of Catalan parents ery to European formalism was signed away in 1903. By the time he was thirteen, he dis- by the ascending glissando of the rhapsody.” “As in my other orchestral compositions, played such outstanding gifts as a pianist I’ve not endeavored to present any definite that the Puerto Rican government sent him When he wrote the Rhapsody in Blue, scenes in this music. The rhapsody is pro- to study at the New England Conservatory Gershwin was lit youth of twenty-five feeling grammatic only in a general impressionistic of Music in Boston. Three years later, his way in a new medium. When he wrote way, so that the individual listener can read he graduated with honors, winning the An American in Paris during the summer of into the music such episodes as his imagina- Mason and Hamlin Prize of a grand piano. 1928, he was nearing thirty and, with the tion pictures for him. Subsequently, he studied in Boston with behind him, was fast becom- Antoinette Szumowska, in Paris with Alfred ing an assured craftsman in the creation of “The opening gay section is followed by Cortot, and in Berlin with Artur Schnabel. music for the concert stage. a rich ‘blues’ with a strong rhythmic under- At twenty-one he made his recital debut in current. Our American friend, perhaps after Boston, and two years later was appointed When he left for Europe in the spring of strolling into a cafe and having a few drinks, official pianist of the Boston Symphony 1928, Gershwin already had it in his mind has suddenly succumbed to a spasm of home- Orchestra, a post he held for a number of to write An American in Paris. Once in the sickness. The harmony here is both more seasons. Throughout his long and distin- City of Light, his ideas crystallized. He began intense and simple than in the preceding guished career, Sanroma has toured widely work on the score in Paris, took it to Vienna pages. The ‘blues’ rises to a climax followed and with outstanding success, both as recit- with him, and finished the orchestration by a coda in which the spirit of the music alist and as soloist with orchestra. Altogether – his own this time – on his return to Paris. returns to the vivacity and bubbling exuber- he has appeared in well over thousand con- The work was given its first performance ance of the opening part with its impressions certs in nineteen different countries. Not by the -Symphony of Paris. Apparently the homesick American, only is he an expert interpreter of the music Orchestra, under Walter Damrosch ‘s direc- having left the cafe and reached the open air, of the classical and romantic schools but he tion, on December 13, 1928. has downed his spell of the blues and once has introduced important new works by such again is an alert spectator of Parisian life. At prominent modern composers as Honegger, Again, it is the composers own words the conclusion, the street noises and French Piston, Dukelsky, Hindemith, Stravinsky and which best describe his music. While still atmosphere are triumphant.” Ravel. in Paris, he gave this “program” for An American in Paris in an interview for the In the opening section of An American in During his lifetime, George Gershwin magazine Musical America: Paris Gershwin added a touch of authentic- knew and esteemed Sanromas playing of ity by including real Parisian taxi horns in his his music. It is fitting, therefore, that this “This new piece, really a rhapsodic ballet, score. He personally shopped for the horns brilliant American pianist should make his is written very freely and is the most modern in Paris, and brought them back with him Everest debut with a work by Gershwin. music I’ve yet attempted. The opening part for the premiere. Had he been composing will be developed in typical French style, in the music today, he undoubtedly would have Original Liner Notes the manner of Debussy and the Six, though scored it differently: all horn tooting is for- the themes are all original. My purpose here bidden in Paris. is to portray the impression of an American Some notes on the history of Everest Below is a graphic representation of this new “wow and flutter” to an absolute minimum. recordings made anywhere in the world. By Records and the digital remastering material. What you see here, your ears will The film has another advantage in its great utilizing specially designed portable versions quickly verify when you listen to an EVER- tensile strength which effectively eliminates of EVEREST 35 mm equipment, EVEREST When was founded by Harry EST recording. pitch changes due to “tape stretch”, a condi- engineers are able to make recordings and Belock in 1958 as a division of Belock Instru- tion heretofore almost impossible to control. maintain the rigid standards and excellence ment Corp., the aim was to produce a cata- Notice that now EVEREST engineers have of quality available in the Studios. logue of stereo recordings of the highest pos- over 3 times the normal space available Drawing on the extensive experience in the sible technical standard, with interesting and [than] on ¼” tape. This means distortion free, motion picture sound field BELOCK INSTRU- The advanced engineering and special equip- innovative classical repertoire played by some perfect sound. 35 mm magnetic film allows MENT (of which EVEREST is a division), ment, in addition to meticulous attention of the best artists and orchestras. EVEREST engineers to make recordings with requested Westrex Corporation to build spe- to detail, results in the EVEREST sound, a cial equipment to EVEREST’S exacting sound that has been acclaimed as superb by For the first Everest recording sessions in • No distortion from print through specifications in order to accomplish these critics and record enthusiasts throughout the 1958, an Ampex 300-3 half-inch three- • No distortion from lack of channel width advantages. This equipment includes the use world. channel recorder was used. Later on the label • Absolute minimum of “wow or flutter” of special recording heads which afford com- moved to use a Westrex 35 mm 3-track mag- • Highest possible signal to noise ratio plete wide band frequency response beyond netic film recorder, which had a wider possible • Greatest quality and dynamic range ever that normally specified in any present-day dynamic range, less print-through, less tape recorded motion picture recording. It is of interest to stretch and less ‘wow and flutter’, and which note, that when soundtracks of great motion was the basis for the highly acclaimed typical With 35 mm magnetic film, the base mate- pictures originally recorded on 35 mm mag- “Everest-sound”. rial on which the magnetic oxide is coated netic film are released as phonograph records, Executive Producer: Mark Jenkins for Countdown is five times thicker than conventional tape that normal technique is to re-record the Media/Everest • Digital Transfers and Remastering: For the process of digital remastering of the and is similar to the film used for motion pic- sound from 35 mm magnetic film to conven- Lutz Rippe at Countdown Media using the original 35 mm master tapes an Albrecht MB 51 tures. This thickness permits the recording of tional tape. EVEREST, through its advanced master tapes • Artwork preparation: Eckhard machine was used for analog playback. The extremely high sound intensities without the processes and equipment, is the only record Volk at Countdown Media • Digital Booklet: Dirk output was captured in highest digital reso- danger of layer-to-layer “print-through”. The company able to transfer all Master Records Böing, Martina Grüthling • Original Producer: lution of 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bit width of 35 mm magnetic film is such that directly from the 35 mm magnetic film to the Bert Whyte for Everest Records • Recording word length using state-of-the-art convert- it can accommodate three channels, each of recording heads. Location and Date: Pittsburgh, February 1960 • Original Recordings on 35 mm 3-track magnetic ers. In the digital domain the recording was which is as wide as the standard ¼” record- film, originally released in 1960 as SDBR 3067 carefully restored and remastered using top- ing tape. Because of this great channel width, To assure maintaining the high quality of • Analog playback of original master tapes on quality mastering and restoration equipment. it is possible to produce stereo recordings in EVEREST sound on every EVEREST record- an Albrecht MB 51 • Digital restoration and which the usual background noise is inaudi- ing, the same equipment that is used in the remastering using Algorithmix software products …from the original LP release: ble. Another similarity of magnetic film to BELOCK Recording studios is utilized for ℗ & © Countdown Media GmbH motion picture is that it has sprocket holes “The remarkable EVEREST sound on this cut along each edge. The drive mechanism is record is the result of a revolutionary new also similar to motion picture cameras in that method of magnetic recording developed by sprocket gears engage these sprocket holes EVEREST utilizing 35 mm magnetic film. affording a smoothness of motion that reduces EVEREST is recorded on tape 35 mm wide

½” Tape used for Conventional stereo recording Standard ¼” Recording Tape Below is a listing of the currently available Everest albums in this series. For more information and an updated listing please visit www.evereststereo.com

SDBR-3003 Antill: Corroboree - Ginastera: Panambi SDBR-3034 Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, Conductor Conductor

SDBR-3005 Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major “Titan” SDBR-3037 Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique London Philharmonic Orchestra & Sir , London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor Conductor

SDBR-3006 A Memorial Tribute to : Symphony SDBR-3038 : Ein Heldenleben No. 9 in E Minor London Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Ludwig, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra & Sir Adrian Boult, Conductor SDBR-3039 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Major, Op. 64 London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, SDBR-3009 Stravinsky: Ebony Concerto & Symphony in 3 Movements Conductor Woody Herman and his Orchestra / London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor SDBR-3040 Hindemith: Violin Concerto & Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Eugene Goossens, SDBR-3018 Copland: Symphony No. 3 Conductor & Joseph Fuchs, Violin London Symphony Orchestra & , Conductor SDBR-3041 Villa-Lobos: The Little Train of the Caipira (from Bachianas SDBR-3022 Kodály: Psalmus Hungaricus - Bartók: Dance Suite Brasileiras No. 2) London Philharmonic Orchestra & János Ferencsik, Ginastera: Estancia & Panambi (Ballet Suites) Conductor London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor SDBR-3025 Waltz Masterpieces Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York & Raoul SDBR-3044 Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite & Concerto for Piano and Poliakin, Conductor Orchestra in D Minor Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra & Ferde Grofé, SDBR-3026 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Conductor London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Conductor SDBR-3045 Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor & Tapiola, Tone Poem, Op. 112 SDBR-3027 Raymond Paige’s Classical Spice Shelf London Symphony Orchestra, Tauno Hannikainen, Conductor Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York & Raymond & Tossy Spivakovsky, Violin Paige, Conductor SDBR-3046 Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D 759 “Unfinished” SDBR-3031 Wagner: - Good Friday Spell “Karfreitagszauber” - Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550 & Symphonic Synthesis Act 3 London Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Ludwig, Conductor Houston Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Stokowski, Conductor SDBR-3047 Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (“Le Sacre du Printemps”) London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, SDBR-3032 Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy - Amirov: Azerbaijan Mugam Conductor Houston Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Stokowski, Conductor SDBR-3049 Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 & Melody, Op. 42/3 SDBR-3033 Stravinsky: Petrouchka London Symphony Orchestra, Walter Goehr, Conductor & London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Eugene Goossens, Tossy Spivakovsky, Violin Conductor SDBR-3050 Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor London Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Ludwig, Conductor SDBR-3051 Respighi: The Fountains of Rome & The Pines of Rome SDBR-3064 A Liszt Recital: Piano Sonata in B Minor / Funerailles / London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, Mephisto Waltz No. 1 Conductor Jorge Bolet, Piano

SDBR-3052 Khatchaturian: Gayne (Ballet Suite) SDBR-3067 Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue & An American in Paris London Symphony Orchestra & Anatole Fistoulari, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg, Conductor Conductor & Jesus Maria Sanroma, Piano

SDBR-3053 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition & Night on Bald SDBR-3068 Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82 & Mountain Finlandia, Op. 26 London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra & Theodore Bloomfield, Conductor Conductor

SDBR-3054 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 / Lieutenant Kijé Suite SDBR-3069 Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Malcolm Sargent, Houston Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Stokowski, Conductor Conductor

SDBR-3055 Khatchaturian: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D-flat SDBR-3070 Wagner: Magic Fire Music & Wotan’s Farewell – Chopin: Major Mazurka, Op. 17/4, Prelude, Op. 28/24 & Waltz, Op. 64/2 London Symphony Orchestra, Hugo Rignold, Conductor & – Canning: Fantasy on a Hymn Tune by Justin Morgan Peter Katin, Piano Houston Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Stokowski, Conductor SDBR-3056 Dvoˇrák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 “From the New World” SDBR-3074 Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 London Symphony Orchestra & Leopold Ludwig, “Pastorale” Conductor London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor

SDBR-3057 De Falla: The Three Cornered Hat (Complete Ballet) SDBR-3086 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 London Symphony Orchestra & Enrique Jordá, Conductor London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor

SDBR-3058 Irving Berlin: Great Man of American Music - A New SDBR-3087 Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 Interpretation London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor Raoul Poliakin and his orchestra SDBR-3088 Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 SDBR-3059 Works of Lili Boulanger: Du fond de l’abîme (Psaume London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor 130), Psaume 24, Psaume 129 & Vieille Prière Bouddhique SDBR-3089 Beethoven: No. 1 & 8 Lamoureux Concert Association Orchestra, Elisabeth London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor Brasseur Choir & Igor Markevtich, Conductor SDBR-3110 Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 “Choral” SDBR-3060 Debussy: Iberia - Ravel: La Valse & Rhapsodie Espagnol London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra & Theodore Bloomfield, Conductor SDBR-3113 Beethoven: Symphonies No. 2 & 4 London Symphony Orchestra & Josef Krips, Conductor SDBR-3061 A Memorial Album: Ernst von Dohnányi Plays His Own Music for Piano Ernst von Dohnányi, Piano

SDBR-3062 Jorge Bolet playing the music of Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major & Mephisto Waltz No. 1 Jorge Bolet, Piano

SDBR-3063 Bennett: A Commemoration Symphony to Stephen Foster & A Symphonic Story of Jerome Kern Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh & William Steinberg, Conductor