Rhapsody In Blue - Gershwin - Original Piano Roll

[dlsofsetx]

Rhapsody in Blue may be the greatest composition ever.

[texrou]

This is really neat - thanks!!!

[Sirvalorsax]

This is awesome!!! Thanks 4 the post!

[dhaddox]

This is one of my favorite movies ever, and it is one that inspired me to be a musician.

[K2Rful]

c super!

[slothropgr]

I have. And to two recordings he made of the Rhapsody with orchestras, one a full and the other a later version of the Whiteman. They were fast but not nearly this fast. This he reserved for showing off when he was playing both piano and orchestra parts. It was one of these they captured on a player recorder, then taped over (one by one) each hole on the roll that was orchestral. Listen to Oscar Levant in the bio pic, he played it almost exactly like Gershwin.

[slothropgr]

I dunno, to me it's just a stunt. Kudos to the musicians who can keep up with Gershwin's frantic fingers, but it ain't authentic in any way. First, he only played it this way when he was soloing and doing both parts, when he was with an orchestra he slowed down a LOT. Second, it's nothing like performances from GG's day. Grofe scored it for Paul Whiteman's orchestra, which had violins, and was closer to what we associate with Mantovani and the "sweetly swinging" bands.

[coywin]

@slothropgr This is no stunt. Gershwin played this with the Paul Whiteman orchestra and he was famous for changing tempo in his classical music. Listen to his American in Paris.

[rgjerde53]

Wow! When it started out, this sounded like they took a 33 1/3 record and played it at 78 speed (sorry, you have to be of a certain age to remember record speeds like that), It's still great, and one of the true classics, that meant American classical music never had to feel "second best" ever again. I know we are having tough times, but when I hear this I'm still proud to be an American. Our one big advantage over the rest of the world is our diversity -- let's not give that up.

[supercherubs]

AWESOME!!! piano play is really nice!

[cjl397]

Muito bom!

Cláudio

[cjl397]

Beleza!!!

[TheStardust12]

just show how popular his music is. its still be played today.. in many different ways but its still being played i love his music.. he dies pretty young to

[cjl397]

Beleza!!!

[averyfatsnail12]

1:18 that's a ridiculously long baton

[diema179]

Didn`t George Gershwin die at age 37 caused by brain tumor?

[777MasterHero]

@diema179 Correction. Gershwin died at age 39. He was born in Brooklyn, 1898, and died from the brain tumor operation in 1937. The reason I know is because I'm currently doing a high school music isu on his life, and looking for a good rendition of the song to play as an example of his work.

[brianbela]

@777MasterHero George Gershwin died at the age of 38,not 39.

[777MasterHero]

@brianbela Yeah, that was a typo. My bad.

[777MasterHero]

@diema179 Also, as this video came to a close, it said "George Gershwin 1898 - 1937" so now I feel like an idiot repeating that.

[clariona]

Will the myth that George Gershwin recorded a released piano roll ever end? This is clearly not his style, if you compare it to his audio recordings and this film. The excitment drops several orders of magnitude, when the film stops and the arranged piano roll begins. Close your eyes and see if you agree.

[clariona]

There are still many companies that create and manufacture piano rolls of varying qualities, most better than QRS: Playrite, Klavier, ARTCRAFT, and Upright Grand, to name a few.

[maximusbiddo]

brings tears to my eyes

[MattersUnrelated]

You have to have a little faith in people.

[QuickAtTheKeys]

my dad told When Gershwin first preformed this live symphony..gershwin's dad sat in the front row and at the end pressed his timer and was only amaized at how long the piece was... XD i was like O.o

if i ever made a music changing piece of WONDER and my dad did that I would have cried lol

[whenmyguitar]

Thank you very much ! Master piece ! Special video ! Great moment of the music in all times, all the world ! I really love this.

[Wiley4832]

Jazz is the best style of music in my opinion :) check out my cover of summertime on my page :)

[MrAndreina1990]

Eccezionale!

[AuraLorenaValiente]

I was Sent To Listen To This :/ For Music Class...

[suprflcn]

I listen to this almost everyday. Nice editing by the way, I noticed a few parts where the music seemed to sync with the video.

[NORMAGUE]

I love Gershwin!!!! Masterly

[MrAlfredButts]

I can imagine someone playing this today like this and getting booed off the stage! Interesting in this day of "authentic" music scholarship!

[Lateontios]

1:02...that is a ridiculous way to play a clarinet lol.

[Diansonic]

@Lateontios its actually a soprano sax :P google it

[Lateontios]

@Diansonic oh, couldn't tell because of the black and white.

[Koonartio]

@Lateontios HEY. DONT TALK SHIT BOUT BLACK AND WHITE >:3 !!!

[Koonartio]

@Lateontios THATS HOW HE ROLLZZZZZS!!!!!!!! STOP IT!!! MEANIE!!! >:3 hohoho!

[keenaoctober1]

I love this piece for the different movements. When it comes to symphony music I Love this one the best.

[qitrodz]

This is so cool!! The best of classics of ages gone by, and technology to come....I'm FOR IT!!! Long live Gershin, Crosby, Joelson, Satchmo!!!!

And of course, many others

I should have said, Gershwins, of course!!

[qitrodz]

This is so cool!! The best of classics of ages gone by, and technology to come....I'm FOR IT!!! Long live Gershin, Crosby, Joelson, Satchmo!!!!

And of course, many others

[46LCG]

This was the version of Rhasody that I grew up hearing in my household. My father had one of piano roll recordings. Thank you for explaining why this would be considered the "official" version of this classic Gershwin work.

[Powerglide1A]

This is a reproducing piano. Unlike typical player pianos, it preserves the artist's dynamics.

[pianistwithabluebox]

I honestly hope my band director will let me do this as a solo for my senior year of band. :O Please?

[12bar88]

Thanks for posting this video alot of info in just nine and a half min.

[SillyWillyFan47]

thank you - I learned something tonight ☆〜

[chanlongching666]

so fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MrMashedpotatoesinc]

the tempo kinda surprised me, but i think i like this version!

[Frederik5495]

the man at 06:31 looks like the young Alfred Newman, composer of great filmscores! he won 9 oscars with his scores, great man!

[rneedel1]

@Frederik5495 This is Oscar Levant - he was an exceptional pianist and a good friend of Gershwin's. They toured together playing Rhapsody around the country. Levant was also a staple in a tremendous number of movies, and in many of these he played Gershwin's music.

[TheMoritati]

Listen also to Jack Gibbons. He is a great scholar and is doing now what I consider to be definitive Gershwin realizations.

[w00tw00tyowazzap]

2 people must be either deaf or kidding

[nemoGQ]

One of the grandest songs ever created. :)

[steamboat75043]

There is a nice recording from the 40s of Oscar Levant playing the Rhapsody in Blue and he was considered one of the best interpreters of Gershwin since they were friends, and he knew what Gershwin would have wanted. Levant's recording has it th piece played in only 12:40 !! My pianocorder does it in like 13:28 from Gershwin's piano roll. There are also recordings of the Columbia Jazz orchestra playing with the piano roll. one of the best versions I have heard is Robert Casadesus playing it.

[sobars1]

I love Rhapsody in Blue and always will.

Can anyone enlighten me as to how the roll speed during playing is/was matched to the speed of the the playing when the roll was recorded? The rapid playing of the Rhapsody in this version _might_ be due to a mechanical speed difference between the piano that recorded the roll and the player in this orchestra. (Please note the effect of playing a 33 rpm record at 45 rpm -- if you remember record players.)

[RMoribayashi]

Didn't anyone notice the resemblance of the actor playing Gershwin to Alan Alda? That's his dad, Robert Alda, and that movie was his screen debut.

It's a remarkable recording but it's a shame you had to spoil it with that bit of sound from the movie.

[vkmihova]

1:26 my favourite part, but still I love it all!

[MsItisi]

What can I say that hasn't been said before me. I have love this peice since I was a child and it will be played for me after I'm gone. What a way to leave this planet. Geore was touched by the Gods when he wrote this and we are touched by the Gods when we listen.

[RumbleGeek]

I have heard this same piano roll used in a recording with a jazz band where it fit in better.

[MarloweFamilyUSA]

If you watch the Paul Whiteman production reel, you'll notice the tempo is as fast as this. It's always been curious that successive interpretations slowed it down.

[aknowneemus]

I'm sitting next to the piano, and i wouldn't touch one note til after this song is over. 

[josefkesselring]

This recording is probably too fast-paced: a piano roll records the notes but not the original tempo. We have other recordings by Gershwin (real ones not piano rolls) and they aren't this fast.

[leoprinceoftherodeo]

amazing

[KidEllington]

in the slatkin version you can't hear the saxophones come in on 4:33

[jjcguitar]

my fave piece of music composed... like... EVER! classic! pure genius!

[zelig46]

This should be the original version for jazz band in 1925, before the Ferde Grof e orchestration.

Personally I prefer this to the classic, performed by the Columbia Jazz Band conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

(Sorry for Automatic Traductor)

[marukochan13]

God!!! This is EVEN better than the Fantasia 2000 verison!!! Thank so much for uploading this! :D

[767373jae]

Ridiculously perfect version of the original (less the banjo.) The video is great but, somewhat distracting as it doesn't follow the music.

[TheHeadlung]

That was a great video!! I was captivated by it, I am a Gershwin fan and of all classical pieces I would have to say that Rhapsody in Blue is my all time favorite! I absolutely love this video and it now has me wanting to watch the movie that was featured in this video!! :)

[688james]

What can we say about Gershwin's music. It is simply fantastic!

[musicmann2u]

This is the apex of performances! you have to listen to the quality of this digital recording which uses the original piano roll of George Gershwin. Class A

[xuxushoo]

this seems much faster then the way most ochestras play it today, sounds much better this way

[classsclownnn]

my piano has a piano roll, its sooooo old!

[greendoglover]

This song is and will always be, for lack of a better term, badass. :)

[schwei56]

Musical watermark at the end: “My name’s George Gersh-win — this is my Rhap-so-dy in Blue.”

[nippercat20]

This is to my bestest friend in the whole wide world and I love her dearly just for you Lynne xoxoxoxoxoxox enjoy

[oldguyami]

My mom was the classical lover. But this piece has ALWAYS been a favorite of mine! Thank you for posting!

[eyedelon]

I once saw a "live" performance of the piano roll- the player piano was elevated on a platform in front of the orchestra. It was like the ghost of Gershwin was playing!

[TheHarlequinsMusic]

4:40 onward....begins one of the most beautiful piece of music ever written

[TheVTP]

Why's he in black face????

[s9bomber]

Maximum expression of humanity!

[Karlfalcon]

A little too fast.

[dukebluedevils1024]

Is that a clarinet squeaking at 0:05 or so?

[glkx2]

Just look at the score and ponder how anyone could write such great music in as short a time. I think it was one weekend!

[Karlfalcon]

@glkx2

And on top of that, when the piano solo version was published he had a section taken out, because they thought it would be almost impossible for other pianists to play it.

[monikati51]

And modern music started. BRAVO!

American dream, great composer and pianist George Gershwin!

from Brazil

[aknabea]

This is an awsome documentary! Thanks for posting!

[Deerfielder]

Wonderful!  Thank you.

[bloootube]

Spok would raise one of his Vulcan eyebrows (Trivia question: which eyebrow?) and mutter a deadpan, "Fascinating." I can think of no better descriptive term. I'm glad you prepared me for the tempo - otherwise it would've been quite a shock. The brand of piano roll I used to sell was QRS. I think they're still in business. We probably had Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, but I'm sure I never played it. Cc, once again I thank you for sharing history. It matters to folks like me. Five Stars!

[Ccvanl]

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED.

The last manufacturer of piano rolls, QRS has ended production on January 3, 2009. The remark scribbled at the end of the production sheet said simply, End of era.

The halt in production comes 108 years after the company was founded in Chicago, and 42 years since it moved to Buffalo.

The company is now a leading manufacturer of digitized and computerized player-piano technology that runs on CDs.

[Cedman00]

@Ccvanl I hate to be a downer but thats my Birth Day but it ok i feel you 

[Ccvanl]

CD Review: This is an altogether unusual recording: presuming Newton Wayland used the tempo markings printed on the roll, Gershwin took the performance far faster than almost any other I've ever heard. Still—absent any contradicting information, it forces a major re-evaluation of how Gershwin intended it to be played, and on the evidence, that doesn't have a lot to do with the way anyone else, from Whiteman on down, has.

[bloootube]

G'mornin', Cc! Thanks for the heads-up. For me, YouTube began as an escape - something merely to take the edge off the day, but it has subsequently become a tool for me to pick the talented brains of folks like you. Ironic that QRS just recently ceased production - and how sobering the words, "End of an era." Please, Cc ... keep the history rolling, okay?

P.S. I have forgotten which eyebrow Spok typically raised. There's gotta be a Trekkie out there with the answer!

[gettingkilt]

@Ccvanl The Gershwin roll was converted to MIDI years ago too, and I seem to recall when I heard it that it was indeed faster than any recording I'd heard. I think this is the speed he played it at. 

I was wondering if indeed he thought it sounded best at this speed, or if he just entered a kind of performing trance where it just 'felt right' to play it as fast as possible. (I've been in that trance.)

[chanlongching666]

@Ccvanl Rhapsody in blue was just a very hard song that is almost impossible to play as solo it has 30 page so WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW­WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW­WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!

[Powerglide1A]

@Ccvanl Yes, the faster tempo is stunning, and so much better, so much jazzier!

[C3P0meetsData]

@bloootube Right eyebrow...usually followed by the left.

[bloootube]

@C3P0meetsData Hey, THANKS C-Threep!!! My ancient Star Trek VCRs are in the attic with the squirrels (or is that tribble hair falling through the ceiling tile???) and I honestly could not remember the sequence of those magnificent Vulcan brows! I traded in my berth on the Enterprise years ago when Kirk gave me a red shirt for my 50th birthday. I now have a berth on the Axiom with WALL-E and Eve:) Live long and prosper, Tracy!