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This chapter re-examines the circumstances and events leading up to Paul Whiteman's celebrated historic Aeolian Hall “Experiment in Modern Music”, at which was premiered Gershwin's seminal jazz inspired work, the “Rhapsody in Blue”. The public and most critics were ecstatic; the chapter offers insights as to why some euro-centric music critics remained deeply divided for generations. It then details Whiteman's respect and passion for jazz, and for Ellington; and the role of skilled arrangers. The challenges faced by the author in recreating the Aeolian Hall event “same day, same hour, same block, sixty years later”, are described. Sleuthing out the scores and parts; assembling a replica band that included several unusual instruments such as hecklephone, sopranino saxophone, a serious slide whistle and 1920's drum kit; and relearning how to play ragtime style are explained. The recreated concert sets off a media storm, triumph and is repeated in cities elsewhere starting in Rome, Italy. The chapter finishes with a rethinking of the whole event as but a part of a very rich and textured American music story.

About the time that Sweet Little Devil went into rehearsal, Gershwin started work on a composition—the Rhapsody in Blue—for Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra, a piece which became an important milestone in terms of not only the composer's career, but American music in general. The Rhapsody evokes not only the blues, but, quite generally, the sounds of New York: the hurdy-gurdies of the Lower East Side, the calliopes of Coney Island, the player pianos of Harlem, the chugging of trains leaving Grand Central Station, the noisy construction of midtown skyscrapers, and so forth. It combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects.

The numerous ways that arrangements contributed to the iconicity of Gershwin and the Rhapsody in the years following the premiere of the piece are outlined in this chapter. Commercial arrangements, including recordings and published sheet music, are considered alongside royalty and copyright information from the Library of Congress collections, divulging new information about prominent and lesser-known iterations of the Rhapsody in circulation during the decade following its 1924 premiere. The chapter also delves into the biographical arrangement of Gershwin in the years before his death from two angles. First, it considers constructions of Gershwin, the Rhapsody, and American music as treated in films such as St. Louis Blues, King of Jazz, and Rhapsody in Blue. Second, it explores how the unfulfilled musical ambitions and personal agency of Isaac Goldberg—Gershwin’s first biographer—shaped enduring conceptions of both Gershwin and the Rhapsody.

This chapter presents the text of an article in the September 27, 1938, issue of the New York Herald Tribune, which reported that George Gershwin left a net estate of $341,089 to his mother. The residuary value of Rhapsody in Blue was appraised at $50,125, his score An American in Paris at $5,000, Of Thee I Sing at $4,000 and his Concerto in F at $1,750.

In the fourteen years or so from the time he began piano lessons to the time he composed the Rhapsody in Blue, his first extended concert work, Gershwin remained actively involved in the practice and study of classical music. This included at least five years of piano instruction, including work with Charles Hambitzer on music from Bach through Debussy; probably four years or more of lessons in harmony, figured bass, analysis, and orchestration with Edward Kilenyi; courses at Columbia in orchestration and music history; and the study of form, composition, and orchestration with Rubin Goldmark. During the same years, Gershwin read widely about classical music and attended many concerts featuring eminent artists performing music from Palestrina to Schoenberg. These facts challenge the common notion of Gershwin as an untrained composer who, after the Rhapsody, attempted to redress his lack of schooling through some serious study.

This chapter explores the colorful history of jazz. It pieces together the origins of great jazz recordings, hit songs, and important performances. Next, it takes a look at some of the popular jazz groups and singers, such as the 369th Infantry Jazz band, Spud Murphy, and Jack Teagarden. It also studies the first recorded hit of the jazz age and the world premiere of “Rhapsody in Blue.” The chapter also studies the development of recording technology by studying Dick Hyman's recording session, which included the direct-to-CD production of Dick Hyman Plays Duke Ellington.

Another distinctive trend was the all-star revue film, as produced by most of the major studios. Each would serve as a guidepost to its company's reigning aesthetic as it addressed the new world of sound films. With The Hollywood Revue, MGM triumphed through a wise use of stars and production knowhow. With Show of Shows, Warner Bros. failed through a misspent budget and indifferent material. While Fox's Happy Days was tepid, Paramount on Parade was witty and resourceful. Universal's King of Jazz, by far the most spectacular of the revues, found artistic success at the expense of diminished audience favor. Seldom, after 1930, would such work ever be tried again.

This chapter presents the text of music critic Olin Downes' article in the February 1924 issue of the New York Times about the concert the included the premiere of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Downes suggested that the composition showed extraordinary talent just as it showed a young composer with aims that go far beyond those of his ilk. She also noted that Rhapsody in Blue counteracted the weakness of the concert program that is the tendency to sameness of rhythm and sentiment in the music.

This chapter discusses the success of George and Ira Gershwins during the 1920s. George composed the tunes while Ira wrote the lyrics. George's success was attributed to the commercial success of their works including Yankee Doodle Blues, Rhapsody in Blue, and Do It Again. In addition, the press also helped to shape Gershwin into a celebrity, particularly Time magazine whose founder Henry Luce was Gershwin's friend. This chapter is based on an article originally published in the July 1925 issue of Time.

The Jazz Age came to full-blown adolescence at 3pm on February 12, 1924, at New York's Aeolian Hall. Until the wail of Ross Gorman's clarinet glissando opened the premiere performance of Rhapsody in Blue, the afternoon's program had been a stuffy sequence of “jazzed”classics and “concertized jazz,” put together by Paul Whiteman, the self-anointed “King of Jazz.” Once George Gershwin strode to the piano to perform his Rhapsody, however, the program turned electric. Rhapsody in Blue captured the rhythmic vitality of New York at the height of the Roaring Twenties. By the end of that year George and Ira Gershwin had infused the same Jazz-Age spirit into musical comedy when Lady, Be Good!, their first successful musical, opened at the Liberty Theatre on December 1. In Lady, Be Good!, and a string of Jazz-Age musicals that followed in its wake, Ira Gershwin set that language—its terms like “crush” and “mush,” phrases such as “It's all bananas,” and even “'s wonderful” way of clipping syllables from words—to his brother's music.

This chapter discusses the first mention of George Gershwin's most well-known concert work titled Rhapsody in Blue. It states that the report in the January 1924 issue of the New York Tribune titled “Whiteman Judges Names: Committee Will Decide What Is American Music” reminded Gershwin about his commitment to the Paul Whiteman concert scheduled for February 12, 1924.

Even after the great success of the Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin continued his musical studies. To this end, he sought an outstanding composer-teacher, although this pursuit largely came to naught. As in the case of his other would-be composer-teachers, Gershwin apparently received an education of sorts from Igor Stravinsky's music itself. His continuing search for guidance led to another well-known encounter with a Russian composer, namely, Alexander Glazounov. Later, Gershwin showed extraordinary courage in making his 1929 conducting debut leading a world-class orchestra unsympathetic to his music in a performance of the challenging An American in Paris before an audience of many thousands. His conducting debut earned unanimously good press. During these later years, Gershwin continued his studies in music theory with Henry Cowell, Wallingford Riegger, and Joseph Schillinger.

This chapter presents the text of music critic Carl Van Vechten's article which was published in the March 25, 1925, issue of Vanity Fair about the jazz composition of George Gershwin. In this article, Van Vechten provides background on Gershwin's musical career and his efforts to improve his craft. It was published when the frenzy following the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue had finally settled and it struck the right tone by balancing serious and popular concerns about American jazz music.

This chapter presents American composer and pianist Oscar Levant's comments on the music of George Gershwin. According to Levant, Gershwin began to impinge on his life even before he met or even heard of him. He recalled his first meeting with Gershwin in a show titled Ladies First starring Nora Bayes and his recording of his version of Gershwin's compositions including Rhapsody in Blue and Rialto Ripples. This chapter is based on an original article published in the November 1939 issue of Town and Country magazine.

This chapter presents an excerpt from the 1930 book Revolt in the Arts edited by Oliver Saylor, which describes George Gershwin as a composer in the Machine Age. The book suggested that the Machine Age and jazz has influenced Gershwin's original creation or work art. This is particularly applicable to his Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris.

Twentieth-century depictions of Gershwin tended toward one of two scenarios. The first viewed him as a childlike genius who scaled the heights without benefit of formal instruction, a modest and somewhat naive man scorned by disdainful critics and envious colleagues. The second regarded him, more darkly, as a flawed genius incapable of sustained study, but ambitious, vain and eager for critical approbation. However, it was clear that Gershwin placed great value on academic work, and diligently studied music throughout his short life. Irving Berlin proved to be a crucial linchpin who helped chart a path for him. In his varied work, Gershwin consistently aimed to reflect American life, in ways accessible to the listener, such as in Rhapsody in Blue and American in Paris. In any event, his music, with all its powerful emotions and novel ideas, proved to have broad universal appeal.

This chapter presents an excerpt from Paul Whiteman's autobiography titled Paul Whiteman and Mary Margaret McBride about the premiere of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in his concert at the Aeolian Hall in New York in February 1924. Whiteman noted the difference between Rhapsody in Blue and Livery Stable Blues and stated that Gershwin's composition was regarded by critics as the most significant number of the program. This was because it was the first rhapsody written for a solo instrument and a jazz orchestra.