Info for Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue – Strike Up the Band: Overture – Promenade – Catfish Row (Remaster 2015)
George Gershwin fired up the New York music scene with his mélange of alluring tunes and refinement of the jazz vibe. His Strike up the Band Overture opened a flashy broadway hit and, inspired by a train ride, the composer heard his masterpiece Rhapsody in Blue as a “musical kaleidoscope of America”. Promenade was reconstructed from a 1937 film score, and Catfish Row was Gershwin’s concert suite from the opera Porgy and Bess. Acclaimed as a “bold, gutsy performance with plenty of pizzazz” and with “impressive brilliance and depth”.„There’s something comforting about this defiantly relaxed, gracious, unashamedly big-band Gershwin disc. This performance of Rhapsody in Blue is positively luscious, taking its time and luxuriating in the great tunes and full sonorities of the large orchestra. But it’s also fluid, with pianist Orion Weiss applying rubato sensitively, in a way that sounds truly jazzy… The rest of this program really helps to separate this disc from the rest of the Gershwin pack. Catfish Row…is still too rarely heard, and JoAnn Falletta’s performance is excellent. The overture to Strike Up the Band, another comparative rarity…has plenty of energy, while the brief Promenade simply exudes charm with John Fullam the excellent solo clarinetist. Gershwin’s music has to sound sexy, and here it really does. How refreshing!“ (David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com)

„The orchestral contribution is lively and idiomatic, with jazzy clarinet and trumpet. The solo playing is clean and clear, but I would also describe it as thoughtful and careful.“ (Anthony Burton, BBC Music Magazine)

„On this second Gershwin disc from Falletta, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and Orion Weiss is a very personal performance of Rhapsody in Blue that completes the works for piano and orchestra. I would describe [Weiss’s] performance here as lovingly sensitive and very detailed… The current release adds a fascinating and varied group of other Gershwin music. Every piece here is arranged for orchestra by others. One of the most enjoyable tracks is the well-known ‘Promenade’ from Shall We Dance arranged for clarinet and orchestra (with some nice piano solos) by Sol Berkowitz. It is these orchestral pieces that will bring me back to this disc.“ (James Harrington, American Record Guide)