Every day we will bring you some listening to broaden your cultural horizons and introduce you to lots of different music. Here’s our first piece:
Written by American composer George Gershwin in 1924, Rhapsody in Blue is a concerto-like piece with a piano solo, which brings jazz and classical styles together. Gershwin wrote the first draft on a train journey, and wanted the piece to be a ‘kaleidoscope of all America’.
Listen out for:
- the clarinet solo at the start, with a rapid scale (glissando) followed by a slide (portamento) that the clarinettist does with their embouchure (tightening the lips around the mouthpiece)
- the interplay between the piano and the orchestra
- all the jazzy touches in the music
Hayes Music blog 