#468 Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue": A Jazz-Age Drama

<p>On January 3, 1924, 25-year-old <strong>George Gershwin</strong> was shooting pool in a Manhattan billiard hall when his brother <strong>Ira Gershwin</strong> read aloud a shocking newspaper article: "George Gershwin is at work on a jazz concerto." There was just one problem—George had never agreed to write any such piece.</p><p>What happened next would change American music forever. In just five weeks, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants raced to compose what would become "<strong>Rhapsody in Blue</strong>," breaking down the barriers between popular music and the concert hall. </p><p>From that snowy February night at <strong>Aeolian Hall</strong> to today's reinterpretations by contemporary artists, this is the story of how a newspaper lie became a masterpiece—and how one young composer captured the sound of Jazz Age New York in music.</p><p>Featuring original audio clips of George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and orchestrator Ferde Grofé, plus the historic 1924 recording of the premi...