Composer of the Week: George Gershwin > Radio Documentary

Recording Details

Date: 2011
Type: Noncommercial Audio / Documentary
Method: Studio
Language: English
Location: UK / England / London
Group/Studio: BBC Radio 3
Music: George Gershwin (859)
Performer: Donald McLeod (8) — host
Notes: When George Gershwin died prematurely of a brain haemorrhage, on July 12th 1937, aged only 38, the news stunned the globe. In barely two decades, he'd become the most famous musician in America, possibly the world - a one-time lowly song plugger from the musical furnace of New York's famous 'Tin Pan Alley' who had become a star of both the Broadway stage and the concert hall.

Virtually no composer before or since bridged the popular, jazz and classical worlds as remarkably and adeptly as Gershwin - and more than eight decades on, Gershwin's music continues to inspire music across the musical spectrum.

This week, Donald Macleod presents an overview of some of the composer's most brilliant works from both the concert stage and the world of musicals - showing off his extraordinary gift for melody, and discussing his often-overlooked originality and daring as a so-called 'serious' composer. He also presents a series of numbers from Gershwin's voluminous songbook, in performances and arrangements by artists as diverse as George Martin, Andre Previn, Ella Fitzgerald, Meat Loaf and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson - amongst many others - and a number of a 'lost' and rarely-heard works.

This is the second time that Composer of the Week has looked at Gershwin; this is a different programme from Composer of the Week: George Gershwin [2006 Radio Documentary].
Shortcode: [r29461]

Releases (2)

Format: 5-Radio Broadcast
Label: BBC Radio 3
Released: 2011
Country: UK
Notes: Original 5-episode broadcast featuring full-length musical excerpts
# Tracks: 5
Length: 5:00:00
Lists: 5 collectors / 1 wish list
History: 1 Revisions
Shortcode: [rl47223]

1. Tin Pan Alley to Broadway
2. Rhapsody in Blue, and Oh, Kay!
3. Primrose, plus a rarity from the Silver Screen
4. Of Thee I Sing
5. Porgy and Bess

Format: Audio File
Label: BBC Radio 3
Released: 2011
Country: UK
Notes: Podcast version featuring heavily abridged musical excerpts from the original 5 programmes
# Tracks: 1
Length: 54:41
Lists: 5 collectors / 0 wish lists
History: 1 Revisions
Shortcode: [rl47220]