The Whole Music Experience

Gershwin by Grofè Lincoln Mayorga/Al Gallodoro/Harmony Ensemble Conductor Steven Richman Harmonia Mundi The Pacific Northwest sky opens up and rain falls like shards of glass onto the deck outside my window while a small creek forms in the garden. As this is happening, I’m listening to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and the rain has decided to join the percussion section of the orchestra. And if I forget that summer is only two weeks away, this disc, Gershwin by Grofè also features Summertime , originally composed for Gershwin’s jazz opera, Porgy and Bess . But if you’re like me, you’ve heard many versions of this jazz classic. Many people know George Gershwin’s music from watching classical Hollywood musicals, and in fact, I just watched the DVD of Funny Face featuring Gershwin’s Hollywood movie songs. But what some people don’t know is that Gershwin also composed classical music and built a bridge between the new African-American jazz of the turn-of-the-last cent...

Copland Greatest Hits RCA Victor (1991) Grieg: Peer Gynt with Barbara Hendricks & Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra Esa-Pekka Salonen CBS Records (1989) I sometimes recommend that friends, colleagues and students to peruse their libraries classical music collection. European and Western classical music has a vast catalogue that ranges from medieval to contemporary times, with many genres and eras. I certainly cannot afford to buy every classical recording that strikes a chord with me (pun intended), but I can check out recordings from the library and also read music reference books such as The Rough Guide to Classical Music. One recent rediscovery, was the work of American classical composer Aaron Copland. We have all heard fragments of this composers work, from the American beef industries "eat beef" (not this vegetarian), commercials with Hoedown from Copland's ballet Rodeo and we have all heard passages from Appalachian Spring as Americans living in the...