I really enjoyed learning Prelude II (Blue Lullaby). Any suggestions for another piano solo work by George Gershwin that would be a good next piece to learn (of equal or a slight step up in difficulty) and would perhaps complement it?

There's not that much solo piano repertoire by Gershwin, but Alfred Publishing has a volume they claim is the complete piano music of George Gershwin, edited by Maurice Hinson (Alfred Edition 31882, at $29.95 US). There is a total of about 35 disparate pieces, among which "Rialto Ripples," a rag, is sometimes played; among the 35, there are 18 piano solo transcriptions by Gershwin of his own (vocal) songs which are often recorded.

As well as the Three Preludes (of which you played the second) there are four other Preludes (including Novelette, Rubato, Melody No 17), Three-Quarter Blues and two Waltzes in C.

Then there are the larger numbers for piano and orchestra: "Rhapsody in Blue" (there is also a version for piano solo), and the "Concerto In F."

Regards,

BruceD,

Thank you for your input. Looks like I may need to get hold of that Alfred book, and listen to a CD of these pieces performed to help decide on something.

Regards,

Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks for posting this. I have the book that BruceD is eluding to, and it is quite good (although I have never played anything from it until tonight!). I have just sight read the Prelude II which I am sure I have heard before, but not sure where. That 10th is quite a stretch for me, but the piece is beautiful. If you like that, you might also like the Debussy Book II, Prelude IV - which the Gershwin reminded me of. It is also a beautiful piece and probably just that little bit more difficult than the Gershwin.

You can find the music at the Petrucci Music Library here.

Cheers

Marcus

PS I realise you were looking for more Gershwin, but I don't know the others yet!

From the Gershwin Songbook mentioned above:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHjEiZqs6...PL&index=21

There's the Earl Wild Gershwin transcriptions on his website:

http://www.earlwild.com/

7 Etudes

I'm working on 'The Man I Love'.

The three preludes make a nice set. The second is indeed the easiest, especially if you take it at the stately pace used by most pianists today. But the bookend first and third are quite doable. Each offers a set of interesting technical and musical challenges.

I like Vacatello's live performance of "The Man I Love"; it's warm and sensitive, although she doesn't closely observe the score! I suppose that, in this type of repertoire, close observance of note values is not that critical if the performance communicates well, which hers does.

Regards,

If you're talkng about her playing the dotted eighths of the melody more like even eighths I certainly agree about it being different from the score. But I liked it so much I began playing them her way also.

I think of someone singing (not me!) when I play The Man I Love, so I don't keep those strict note values in my Gershwin transcription either.

Check out Ella and Billie Holiday.

Daniel

Yes. When I play it, I, too, never play it quite as literally as I would if this were Baroque or Classical notation, but I don't think I've played those notes as even eighth-notes, either. I do like Vacatello's performance; she adapts her playing to the mood, style and feeling of the piece; were she to play it literally, I think it would lose some of its seductive charm and perhaps some of its implied meaning, too.

I think that this is one case - perhaps among many - where notation in certain types of music is just an approximation of what the composer "intended"(?), and where following the score slavishly detracts from rather than improves a performance.

Regards,

Interestingly, both those singers use reasonably even eighths.

I looked at the score for Gershwin's Prelude #3 and listened to recordings, and for me it may in fact be "doable" sans (at least to start) the extremely high tempo seen in some interpretations. I really like the syncopations in this unique work.

What, in your opinion, are the main musical and technical challenges of this piece? Any suggestions on practice in order to achieve these and really bring the piece to life?

[Note: I found an enjoyable performance of this piece at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXt6cD-SSH ]

RH or LH? Any recommendation for the low Bb in measure 20 (beat 2 1/2) of Prelude III after the run of 32nd notes with the right and the high Bb with the LH? My reflex is to reach with my right, but this may not be the most efficient way?

Left hand, definitely (for me), for that B-flat. That way, the right hand stays in one position for the C-flat, D, F, A-flat, C-flat with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 fingering with no finger repeating, and the left hand has plenty of time to reach over to the B-flat.

Regards,

BruceD,

I agree the left hand does work best for this.
Thank you for your input!

Regards,

Tom

Can’t resist a chuckle at the way posh classical-minded folk overlook the mighty 1920-30s output of the Gershwins (brothers George and Ira) ... and regard them as merely taboo Tin Pan Alley song-writers ... it’s a wonder that the 3 Preludes and Rhapsody in Blue have become acceptable fare in today’s elite circles.

And yet there is a goldmine for the keyboard (with lyrics) in the haunting songs which we have inherited ... here’s a copy of the first page of perhaps the most aired song of all-time ...
"Summertime"... if you haven’t yet played this masterpiece ... YOU HAVEN’T LIVED.

You're making a totally erroneous assumption! No one has made any disparaging remarks, nor has anyone even brought up the works that resulted from the collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin. I'd be one of the first to acknowledge - although too many have already done it before me for me to be a first - that some of their works are among the greatest that the American Stage has experienced :
- Porgy and Bess
- Girl Crazy
- Lady Be Good
- Of Thee I Sing
to mention only (perhaps) the best-known.

The OP evidently isn't a singer and wasn't asking for vocal numbers, but original piano pieces by Gershwin.

Regards,

Go easy on the assumption rot BruceD,

The motley is presently limiting the Gershwin range to the 3 Preludes ... my suggestion is intended to cast the net wider to include the Pan Alley smash hit songs.

What willful tosh to suggest that "Summertime" (first page) is for the singer ... any pianist worth his salt carries the sublime words of Du Bose Heyward in his head ... while capturing the heady deep South Afro-American atmosphere, conjured by George Gershwin.

The posh clearly haven’t lived!!

You have to clearly differentiate the triplets from the sixteenth notes Prelude 3 and bring out the accents. Obviously if you're going to play Prelude 3 you are going to play Prelude 1 too. But if you just opt for Prelude 2, why not play Copland for a contrast?

Et tu, btb.

I'm off in the mountains skiing at present. I'll ask my son what he thinks and maybe post something when I get back. I know the piece as a listener. He has a more insider view!

Thanks for the reply. Good skiing!