An American in Paris

Available for 29 days

Donald Macleod explores George Gershwin’s orchestral work An American in Paris, inspired by the time he spent in the French capital on a visit in the spring of 1928. After an earlier visit to Paris, in 1926, Gershwin sent a thank-you note embellished with two musical quotations: one was a short section from Rhapsody in Blue; the other was labelled 'An American Paris'. A couple of years later, when he began to work on what was to be an “orchestral ballet” with that title, he returned to that little fragment and the challenge of evoking the experience of an American visitor in the French capital. S’Wonderful Frank Braley, piano The Man I Love (arr. Percy Grainger) Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano Nice Work If You Can Get It London Symphony Orchestra John Williams, conductor Joshua Bell, violin How Long Has This Been Going On Keith Jarrett, piano Gary Peacock, double bass Jack DeJohnette, drums American in Paris Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra Antal Dorati, conductor Rhapsody in Blue London Symphony Orchestra Andre Previn, conductor