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##   George Gershwin  - *Rhapsody in Blue*



## I was watching some YouTube
today and stumbled upon a new video from [David Bruce Composer](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh-PyMficPzVAihCJkFJVAA) about George Gershwin, and more specifically, his legendary compositon, *Rhapsody in Blue*, so I figured it would be a good song for today.  I've attached an original 1924 recording of the song, and Bruce's analysis, below.  Gershwin was born in 1898, and began his professional career as a 'song plugger', a person paid to perform music publicly to promote the composer/artist.  He eventually moved onto tin pan alley and Broadway music, though initially he had very little success.  Eventually, people began to appreciate his abilities, cementing his place a legend of American music.  He died quite young, of a brain tumor, in 1937, at age 38. 

###### <center>[Listen to *Rhapsody in Blue* by **George Gershwin** here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIr_WPcVDt8)</center>

## Rhapsody in Blue is a great
representation of Gershwin's overall goal as a composer: combining the American traditions of blues and jazz with European classical music to create an entirely new, exclusively American art style.  The history of the piece's performance is interesting, as every artist/arranger brings their own changes to it.  It was originally written for jazz band (a relatively small orchestra), but has been altered for massive symphonic orchestras and for individual performers (solo piano, solo harp, etc).  The various recordings/performances have also varied in length, with certain sections being removed or shortened.  The written piece should be about 15 minutes long, though, as you can see in this original recording, even Gershwin himself altered things, with this version coming in at just over 9 minutes.



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## Enjoy today's song!  Thanks for checking out my blog, and Steem On!
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### [Check out my new E.P. **numerical** here.](https://thesupplekrew.bandcamp.com/album/numerical)

### [Click here to listen to all of my Steem Monsters inspired songs!](https://soundcloud.com/thesupplekrew/sets/steem-monsters-songs) 
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