ThoughtGallery.org > This Month a Century Ago: The Premiere of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (Online)

This Month a Century Ago: The Premiere of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (Online)

A look back at specific moments that occurred a hundred years ago, and how they define us today!

This is an online program. Join the 53rd Street Library and esteemed musicologist Howard Pollack as we honor the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Inaugurating a new era in America’s musical history, the piece established Gershwin’s reputation as one of the eminent composers of the Jazz Age, creating a composition that eventually became one of the most popular of all concert works. Featuring a cavalcade of City-centric characters and anecdotes all showcasing the composition that represents, in Wall Street Journal cultural critic Darryn King’s view, “Gershwin’s fusion of jazz and classical traditions captur[ing] the thriving melting pot of Jazz Age New York”—You won’t want to miss this centenary celebration!

About the Presenter:

Pianist and musicologist Howard Pollack is the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music at the University of Houston, where he has taught since 1987. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1952, he received his BA in music history (1969) at the University of Michigan, and his MA (January 1977) and PhD (January 1981) in musicology at Cornell University, where he wrote his doctoral thesis under William Austin.

Pollack’s research has focused largely on concert, theater, and film music of the long half century, 1890-1960. His books include Walter Piston (1982); Harvard Composers: Walter Piston and his Students, from Elliott Carter to Frederic Rzewski (1992); John Alden Carpenter: A Chicago Composer (1995); Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man (1999); George Gershwin: His Life and Work (2006); Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World (2012); The Ballad of John Latouche: An American Lyricist’s Life and Work (2017); and Samuel Barber: His Life and Legacy (2023).

Among other grants and awards, he has received two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities; a Newberry Library Travel Fellowship; a Kurt Weill Foundation Travel and Research Grant; the Irving Lowens Award and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society forAmerican Music; two Deems Taylor Awards, the Nicolas Slonimsky Award for Outstanding Musical Biography (in the concert music field), and the Timothy White Award for Outstanding Musical Biography (in the pop music field) from ASCAP; and an Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.











When: Tue., Feb. 13, 2024 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Where: 53rd Street Library
18 W. 53rd St.
212-714-8400
Price: Free
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A look back at specific moments that occurred a hundred years ago, and how they define us today!

This is an online program. Join the 53rd Street Library and esteemed musicologist Howard Pollack as we honor the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Inaugurating a new era in America’s musical history, the piece established Gershwin’s reputation as one of the eminent composers of the Jazz Age, creating a composition that eventually became one of the most popular of all concert works. Featuring a cavalcade of City-centric characters and anecdotes all showcasing the composition that represents, in Wall Street Journal cultural critic Darryn King’s view, “Gershwin’s fusion of jazz and classical traditions captur[ing] the thriving melting pot of Jazz Age New York”—You won’t want to miss this centenary celebration!

About the Presenter:

Pianist and musicologist Howard Pollack is the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music at the University of Houston, where he has taught since 1987. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1952, he received his BA in music history (1969) at the University of Michigan, and his MA (January 1977) and PhD (January 1981) in musicology at Cornell University, where he wrote his doctoral thesis under William Austin.

Pollack’s research has focused largely on concert, theater, and film music of the long half century, 1890-1960. His books include Walter Piston (1982); Harvard Composers: Walter Piston and his Students, from Elliott Carter to Frederic Rzewski (1992); John Alden Carpenter: A Chicago Composer (1995); Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man (1999); George Gershwin: His Life and Work (2006); Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World (2012); The Ballad of John Latouche: An American Lyricist’s Life and Work (2017); and Samuel Barber: His Life and Legacy (2023).

Among other grants and awards, he has received two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities; a Newberry Library Travel Fellowship; a Kurt Weill Foundation Travel and Research Grant; the Irving Lowens Award and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society forAmerican Music; two Deems Taylor Awards, the Nicolas Slonimsky Award for Outstanding Musical Biography (in the concert music field), and the Timothy White Award for Outstanding Musical Biography (in the pop music field) from ASCAP; and an Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.

Buy tickets/get more info now