Rhapsody in Blue (tr Tamanini)

Composer Name

George Gershwin (trans. Marco Tamanini)

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General Info

Year: 1924 / 2010
Duration: c. 16:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano and jazz band
Publisher: Baton Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - €175.00 | Score Only (print) - €30.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo Piano
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Solo B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion

(percussion detail desired)

Banjo

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

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

Hartwick College (Oneonta, N.Y.) Wind Ensemble (Andrew Pease, conductor; Fideliz Campbell, piano) – 19 November 2019
New York Wind Orchestra (Hana Kim, conductor; Maxim Lando, piano – 14 May 2016

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)
Fascinating Rhythm (arr. Taylor) (1924/1961/2006)
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) (1924/1998)
Rhapsody in Blue (ed. Bañagale) (1924/2023)
Rhapsody in Blue (jazz band) (arr. Grofe) (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. Moss) (1927/1967)
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

Pease, Andy. "Rhapsody in Blue." Wind Band Literature, 24 September 2019. Web. Accessed 24 September 2019
Rhapsody in Blue. Wikipedia. Accessed 2 November 2019