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George Gershwin Not Only in Blue


We encounter the music of the most famous American composer George Gershwin, and not only his Rhapsody in Blue, but also the Cuban Overture.

Subscription series K | Education programs | Duration of the programme 2 hours | From 12 years

Performers

Jakub Sládek piano
Kristýna Donovalová piano
Marta Kloučková zpěv

Czech Youth Philharmonic 
Marko Ivanović conductor

Petr Kadlec guide

Photo illustrating the event George Gershwin Not Only in Blue

Rudolfinum — Dvořák Hall

“It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang, that is so often so stimulating to a composer—I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise. … And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper—the complete construction of the rhapsody, from beginning to end. No new themes came to me, but I worked on the thematic material already in my mind and tried to conceive the composition as a whole. I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston I had a definite plot of the piece.”

George Gershwin about the train journey from New York to Boston, when he began writing down the first ideas for Rhapsody in Blue—just 39 days before the premiere.

The partner of the concerts of the Czech Youth Philharmonic is the VZP.