NOI Philharmonic: Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue

NOI Philharmonic: Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue

Saturday, June 17, 2023 • 7:30PM
Special Announcement: 

This concert will be recorded for future release by Naxos.

Event Attributes

Presented By

Presented By: 
Accessibility: 

For more information regarding accessible accommodations, please click here.

Estimated Length: 
2 hours
Intermission: 
One

ABOUT THE EVENT

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NAXOS RECORDS

David Alan Miller, conductor
Kevin Cole, piano
NOI Philharmonic

David Alan Miller, multi-Grammy Award-winning conductor and music director of the Albany Symphony, leads the NOI Philharmonic on stage with Kevin Cole, the foremost interpreter of George Gershwin’s music, on piano. The program begins with Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, a tone poem inspired by a visit to Havana, imbibed with Cuban rhythms and elements of Cuban dance. Next is Gershwin’s cherished masterpiece, Rhapsody in Blue, which deftly assimilates American and European traditions while challenging the divisions between classical and popular music. Following up with more Gershwin, his Second Rhapsody carries similar passion and intensity to Rhapsody in Blue, kindled from the story of a young Russian pianist who emigrates to Manhattan. Steven Stucky’s orchestral fantasy Dreamwaltzes sets fragments of Viennese waltz music of Brahms and Strauss in a strikingly modern orchestral tone. Joan Tower’s 1920/2019 concludes the program, commemorating the two most historically significant years for the advancement of women in society.

When Cole sits down at the piano, you would swear Gershwin himself was at work”

–Chicago Tribune

PROGRAM

Gershwin: Cuban Overture
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Gershwin: Second Rhapsody
Stucky: Dreamwaltzes
Tower: 1920/2019