The first movement loosely follows a sonata structure of exposition, development, and recapitulation. The second movement is a slow, meditative adaptation of blues progressions, and the third movement introduces new themes and returns, rondo-like, to the themes of the first. Although not as well received at the time as Rhapsody in Blue, the Concerto in F eventually came to be regarded as one of Gershwin’s most important works.
An American in Paris (1928), Gershwin’s second-most famous orchestral composition, was inspired by the composer’s trips to Paris throughout the 1920s. His stated intention with the work was to “portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city, listens to various street noises, and absorbs the French atmosphere.” It is this piece that perhaps best represents Gershwin’s employment of both jazz and classical forms. The harmonic structure of An American in Paris is rooted in blues traditions, and soloists are often required to bend, slide, and growl certain notes and passages, in the style of jazz musicians of the 1920s.
Gershwin’s other major orchestral compositions have grown in stature and popularity throughout the years. His Second Rhapsody (1931) was featured, in embryonic form, as incidental music in the film Delicious (1931). Gershwin’s Cuban Overture (1932), employed rhumba rhythms and such percussion instruments as claves, maracas, bongo drums, and gourds, all of which were generally unknown at the time in the United States.
Throughout his career, Gershwin had major successes on Broadway with shows such as Lady, Be Good! (1924), Strike Up the Band (1930), and, especially, the political satire Of Thee I Sing (1931), for which Ira and librettists George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind shared a Pulitzer Prize. These shows, smash hits in their time, are (save for Gershwin’s music) largely forgotten today; ironically, his most enduring and respected Broadway work, Porgy and Bess, was lukewarmly received upon its premiere in 1935. Gershwin’s “American Folk Opera” was inspired by the DuBose Heyward novel Porgy (1925) and featured a libretto and lyrics by Ira and the husband-wife team of DuBose and Dorothy Heyward.
Theatre critics received the premiere production enthusiastically, but highbrow music critics were derisive, distressed that “lowly” popular music should be incorporated into an opera structure. Black audiences throughout the years have criticized the work for its condescending depiction of stereotyped characters and for Gershwin’s inauthentic appropriation of black musical forms. Nevertheless, Gershwin’s music— including such standards as “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” and “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’”—transcended early criticism to attain a revered niche in the musical world, largely because it successfully amalgamates various musical cultures to evoke something uniquely American and wholly Gershwin.
Bessie Smith
