Rhapsody in Blue (arr Verrier)

Composer Name

General Info

Year: 1924 / 1998
Duration: c. 18:20
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano and jazz band
Publisher: Schott Music
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental | Score Only - $50.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon (optional)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Banjo
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Bells
Crash Cymbals
Gong
Snare Drum
Suspended cymbal
Triangle

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

In music, a rhapsody is a one-movement work that is free-ﬂowing in structure, featuring a range of contrasting moods, color, and tonality. An air of spontaneous inspiration and a sense of improvisation make it freer in form than a set of separate variations.

In 1924, George Gershwin forgot a commitment he had made to bandleader Paul Whiteman and was compelled to compose Rhapsody in Blue in just three weeks. He premiered the jazz-ﬂavored concerto with Whiteman’s Jazz Band, rather than the more familiar symphony orchestra arrangement. Gershwin played the piano part himself, as he said, “from the music in my mind,” since he hadn’t yet fully scored the music. Gershwin wrote about the piece:

There had been so much talk about the limitations of jazz ... Jazz, they said, had to be in strict time. It had to cling to dance rhythms. I resolved, if possible, to kill that misconception ... I worked out a few themes, but just at this time I had to appear in Boston for the premiere of Sweet Little Devil. It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattly-band ... (I frequently hear music in the very heart of noise), that I suddenly heard — 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 ... By the time I reached Boston, I had the deﬁnite plot of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance.

- Program note by Karen Berry for the San Jose Wind Symphony

This is a setting for concert band accompaniment for George Gershwin's famed Rhapsody in Blue arranged by Dr. Thomas Verrier. It retains all the period sounds of the original while providing a more fully scored version as a companion piece to the leaner wind ensemble orchestration by Donald Hunsberger.

- Program note by publisher

Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Baldwin-Wallace University (Berea, Ohio) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Brendan Caldwell, conductor; Zarina Melik-Stepanova, piano) - 14 April 2023
Auburn (Ala.) University Symphonic Winds (Richard D. Good, conductor; Jeremy Samolesky, piano) - 5 March 2020 (86th Annual ABA National Convention)
San Luis Obispo (Calif.) Wind Orchestra (Jennifer Martin, conductor; Rudolf Budginas, piano) – 3 June 2018
United States Coast Guard Band (New London, Conn.) (Richard Wyman, conductor; Robert Langslet, piano) – 15 April 2018
Southeastern Louisiana University (Hammond) Wind Symphony (Derek Stoughton, conductor; Henry Jones, piano) – 6 April 2017
San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra (Jennifer Martin, conductor; Rudolf Budginas, piano) – 27 September 2015
San Jose Wind Symphony (Edward C. Harris, conductor; Avguste Antonov, piano) - 27 January 2013
Brigham Young University Wind Symphony (David Blackinton, conductor; Irene Peery-Fox, piano) - 2008

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

I Got Rhythm (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Story) (1930/2020)
Rhapsody in Blue (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Murtha) (1924/2020)
Summertime (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Wada) (1934/2018)

All Wind Works

An American in Paris (tr. Krance) (1929/1959)
An American in Paris (arr. Brubaker) (1929/1994)
An American in Paris (arr. Hoshina) (1929/1980)
An American in Paris (arr. Nowlin) (1929/2016)
An American in Paris (arr. Satone) (1929)
An American in Paris (arr. Tamanini) (1929/2015)
An American in Paris (orch. Van Gils) (1929/1994)
But Not for Me (arr. Barker) (1930/1995/2006)
Catfish Row (arr. Hunsberger) (1934/2000)
Concerto for Piano in F (tr. Grofé) (1925/1928)
Concerto in F (arr. Jorge) (1925/2017)
Concerto in F for Piano and Wind Band (arr. Bulla) (1925/2009)
Cuban Overture (arr. Koekelkoren) (1925/1987)
Cuban Overture (arr. Milburn) (1925/)
Cuban Overture (arr. Rogers) (1933/2001)
Embraceable You (arr. Barker) (1930 / 1999)
Fascinatin' Gershwin (arr. Murtha)
Fascinating Rhythm (arr. Bulla) (1924)
Fascinating Rhythm (arr. Del Borgo) (1924/1994)
A Foggy Day in London Town (arr. Ninmer) (1937/)
George by Fred (arr. Frenkel)
George Gershwin (arr. Chase) (1971)
George Gershwin Selection (tr. Bennett) (1947)
Gershwin! (arr. Barker) (1997)
Gershwin: A Medley (arr. Bennett) (1972)
Gershwin by George! (arr. Brubaker) (2015)
A Gershwin Fantasy (arr. Martino) (1991)
Gershwin on Broadway (arr. Moss) (1991)
A Gershwin Portrait! (arr. Higgins) (1985)
A Gershwin Tribute to Love (arr. Heisinger) (2014)
The Great Gershwin (arr. van der Beek) (2018)
How Long Has This Been Going On? (arr. Barker) (1927/2000)
I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' (arr. Wagner) (1935/2008)
I Got Rhythm (arr. Davis) (1930)
I Got Rhythm (arr. Story) (1930/2020)
I Got Rhythm (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Story) (1930/2020)
Japanese (arr. Wagner; scored Sandler) (c. 1918/2006)
Liza (arr. Teague) (1929/1944)
The Man I Love (arr. Bergman) (1924)
March from "Strike Up the Band" (arr. Hearshen) (1927/1987)
Overture to "Strike Up the Band" (arr. Matsushiro) (1927)
Porgy and Bess: Selections (arr. Bennett) (1934/1942)
Porgy and Bess (arr. Barnes) (1934/2002)
Porgy and Bess Medley (arr. Hermann) (1934/)
Porgy and Bess Medley (arr. Lowden) (1934/1984)
Rhapsody in Blue (tr. Grofe) (1924/1938)
Rhapsody in Blue (arr. Hunsberger) (1924/1998)
Rhapsody in Blue (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Murtha) (1924/2020)
Rhapsody in Blue (arr. Verrier) (1924)
Rhapsody in Blue (tr. Tamanini) 1924/2010)
Rialto Ripples (arr. Di Scala) (1917/2013)
'S Wonderful (arr. Barker) (1919/1996)
Second Prelude (arr. Krance) (1927/1964)
Someone to Watch Over Me (arr. Barker) (1926/1995)
Someone to Watch Over Me (arr. Rumbelow) (1926/2006)
Strike Up the Band (arr. Barker) (1927/1981/1997)
Strike Up the Band (arr. Brubaker) (1927/1994)
Strike Up the Band (arr. Nestico) (1927)
Strike Up the Band (arr. Paynter) (1927)
Strike Up the Band (arr. Pegram) (1927/1979)
Strike Up the Band (arr. Schoenfeld) (1927/1956)
Summertime (arr. Custer) (1934/1995)
Summertime (arr. Garcia; ed. Shaw) (1934)
Summertime (arr. Lang) (1934/1959)
Summertime (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Wada) (1934/2018)
Summertime from "Porgy and Bess" (arr. Longfield) (1934/2015)
Swanee (arr. Holcombe) (1919)
The Symphonic Gershwin (arr. Barker) (2011)
They Can't Take That Away from Me (arr. Barker) (1937/2001)
Three Preludes (arr. Norris) (1927/)
Three Preludes (tr. Williams) (1927/2015)
A Tribute to Gershwin (arr. Bullock) (20098)
Walking the Dog (arr. Bourgeois) (1937/2007)

Resources

Gershwin, G; Verrier, T. (1998). Rhapsody in Blue [score]. University of Colorado: College of Music (DMA).
Pease, Andy. "Rhapsody in Blue." Wind Band Literature, 24 September 2019. Web. Accessed 24 September 2019
Perusal score
Rhapsody in Blue, Wikipedia Accessed 2 November 2019