Gershwin - Rhapsody In Blue

Unless you're a bit ignorant you know some Gershwin... Mum and I went to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra give a performance entitled 'Gershwin: Who Cares?' at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea a few nights ago. It was really cool, my first proper classical-type gig. It helped that the guy who was conducting was obsessed with Gershwin, he told us how in 1924 Paul Whiteman (a well known band leader of sorts if I recall) asked George Gershwin to compose a piece for a concert he was putting on, a Jazz 'retrospective' called 'An Experiment In Modern Music.' George agreed, then promptly forgot, until his brother (Ira) saw an advert in the papers with his photo two weeks before the proposed concert. George tried to pull out saying he could never write a piece in such a short amount of time, but Whiteman refused, so this piece was written in two weeks. That's also the reason why the piano and strings play around each other... it was easier to compose it in such a short amount of time that way. It's worldwide premier was on this very night 86 years ago. Mum's (and maybe my) only gripe was that they never played 'Summertime'.