Editing Rhapsody in Blue

{{short description|1924 composition by George Gershwin}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{use shortened footnotes|date=February 2025}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox musical composition
| name                = ''Rhapsody in Blue''
| image               = Rhapsody in Blue cover.jpg
| alt                 = An image depicting the original sheet cover for ''Rhapsody in Blue''
| caption             = Cover of the original sheet music of ''Rhapsody in Blue''
| composer            = [[George Gershwin]]
| key                 = 
| genre               = [[Orchestral jazz]]
| form                = [[Rhapsody (music)|Rhapsody]]
| composed            = {{Start date|1924|01}}
| premiere_date       = {{Start date|1924|02|12}}
| premiere_location   = [[Aeolian Building (42nd Street)|Aeolian Hall]], New York City, US
| premiere_conductor  = [[Paul Whiteman]]
| premiere_performers = {{ubl| [[George Gershwin]] (piano) | [[Ross Gorman]] (clarinet) | [[Ferde Grofé]] (orchestrator) }}
| published           = {{Start date|1924|06|12}} Harms, Inc.{{sfn|1924 Copyright Filing}}
| misc                = {{Audio sample
 | type        = song
 | header      = 
 | file        = US Marine Band Rhapsody in Blue.oga
 | description = The [[United States Marine Band]]'s 2018 performance of the 1924 jazz band version, with pianist [[Bramwell Tovey]]
}}
}}

'''''Rhapsody in Blue''''' is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by [[George Gershwin]]. Commissioned by bandleader [[Paul Whiteman]], the work combines elements of [[classical music]] with [[jazz]]-influenced effects and premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in [[Aeolian Building (42nd Street)|Aeolian Hall]], New York City.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=53}}{{sfn|Cowen|1998}} Whiteman's band performed the [[Rhapsody (music)|rhapsody]] with Gershwin playing the piano.{{sfn|Downes|1924|p=16}} Whiteman's arranger [[Ferde Grofé]] [[orchestrated]] the rhapsody several times, including the 1924 original scoring, the 1926 [[pit orchestra]] scoring, and the 1942 [[symphony orchestra|symphonic]] scoring.

The rhapsody is one of Gershwin's most recognizable creations and a key composition that defined the [[Jazz Age]].{{sfn|Ciment|2015|p=265}}{{sfn|Gilbert|1995|p=71}}{{sfn|Howard|2003}} Gershwin's piece inaugurated a new era in America's musical history,{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=154}} established his reputation as an eminent composer and became one of the most popular of all concert works.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|loc=Book jacket}} In the ''[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]]'' magazine, Frederic D. Schwarz posits that the famous opening clarinet [[glissando]] has become as instantly recognizable to concert audiences as the opening of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Fifth Symphony]].{{sfn|Schwarz|1999}}

== History ==
=== Commission ===
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 |footer = Bandleader [[Paul Whiteman]] (left) and composer [[George Gershwin]] (right)
}}
Following the success of an experimental classical-jazz concert held with Canadian singer [[Éva Gauthier]] in New York City on November 1, 1923, bandleader [[Paul Whiteman]] decided to attempt a more ambitious feat.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=53}} He asked composer [[George Gershwin]] to write a concerto-like piece for an all-jazz concert in honor of [[Lincoln's Birthday]] to be given at [[Aeolian Building (42nd Street)|Aeolian Hall]].{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=61}} Whiteman became fixated upon performing such an extended composition by Gershwin after he collaborated with him in ''[[George White's Scandals|The Scandals of 1922]]''.{{sfn|Wood|1996|pp=68–69, 112}} He had been especially impressed by Gershwin's one-act "jazz opera" ''[[Blue Monday (opera)|Blue Monday]]''.{{sfnm|Wood|1996|1p=112|Howard|2003}} Gershwin initially declined Whiteman's request on the grounds that he would have insufficient time to compose the work and there would likely be a need to revise the score.{{sfn|Wood|1996|p=81}}

Soon after, on the evening of January 3, George Gershwin and lyricist [[Buddy DeSylva]] played a game of [[billiards]] at the Ambassador Billiard Parlor at [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] and [[52nd Street (Manhattan)|52nd Street]] in Manhattan.{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|p=76}} George's brother, [[Ira Gershwin]], interrupted their billiard game to read aloud the January 4 edition of the ''[[New-York Tribune]]''.{{sfnm|Wood|1996|1p=81|Jablonski|1999}} An unsigned ''Tribune'' article entitled "What Is American Music?" about an upcoming Whiteman concert had caught Ira's attention.{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|p=76}} The article falsely declared that George Gershwin had begun "work on a jazz concerto" for Whiteman's concert.{{sfnm|Schiff|1997|1p=53|Schwartz|1979|2p=76}}

The news announcement puzzled Gershwin as he had politely declined to compose any such work for Whiteman.{{sfnm|Schwartz|1979|1p=76|Wood|1996|2p=81}}{{sfn|Jablonski|1999}} In a telephone conversation with Whiteman the next morning, Whiteman informed Gershwin that Whiteman's arch rival [[Vincent Lopez]] planned to steal the idea of his experimental concert and there was no time to lose.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|pp=64–65}} Whiteman thus finally persuaded Gershwin to compose the piece.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|pp=64–65}}

=== Composition ===
With only five weeks remaining until the premiere, Gershwin hurriedly set about composing the work.{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|p=76}} He later claimed that, while on a train journey to [[Boston]], the thematic seeds for ''Rhapsody in Blue'' began to germinate in his mind.{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=139}}{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|pp=64–65}} He told biographer [[Isaac Goldberg]] in 1931:

{{blockquote|It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang, that is so often so stimulating to a composer&nbsp;... I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise. And there I suddenly heard—and 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. I heard it as a sort of musical [[kaleidoscope]] of America, of our vast [[melting pot]], of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston I had a definite ''plot'' of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance.{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=139}}}}

Gershwin began composing on January 7 as dated on the original manuscript for two pianos.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=53}} He tentatively entitled the piece as ''American Rhapsody'' during its composition.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=13}} Ira Gershwin suggested the revised title of ''Rhapsody in Blue'' after his visit to a gallery exhibition of [[James McNeill Whistler]] paintings, which had titles such as ''[[Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket]]'' and ''[[Arrangement in Grey and Black]]''.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=13}}{{sfn|Reef|2000|p=38}} After a few weeks, Gershwin finished his composition and passed the score, titled ''A Rhapsody in Blue'', to [[Ferde Grofé]], Whiteman's arranger.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=69}} Grofé finished [[orchestration|orchestrating]] the piece on February 4—a mere eight days before the premiere.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=69}}

=== Premiere ===
[[File:Aeolian Hall (1923).jpg|thumb|right|The ''Rhapsody'' premiered on a snowy afternoon at [[Aeolian Building (42nd Street)|Aeolian Hall]], [[Manhattan]], pictured here in 1923.]]
''Rhapsody in Blue'' premiered during a snowy Tuesday afternoon on February 12, 1924, at [[Aeolian Building (42nd Street)|Aeolian Hall]], [[Manhattan]].{{sfn|Downes|1924|p=16}}{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=143}} Entitled "An Experiment in Modern Music",{{sfn|Cowen|1998}} the much-anticipated concert held by Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra drew a packed house.{{sfn|Downes|1924|p=16}}{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=142}} The excited audience consisted of "[[vaudevillian]]s, concert managers come to have a look at the novelty, [[Tin Pan Alley]]ites, composers, symphony and opera stars, [[flapper]]s, cake-eaters, all mixed up higgledy-piggledy."{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=143}}<!--

Do NOT add Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky, Fritz Kreisler, John Philip Sousa or Leopold Stokowski. Many sources wrongly conflate the concert's publicized Patrons (sponsors) with the concert's attendees. These are two separate groups, and many sponsors did not attend. On the same day, Rachmaninoff was giving a concert in Kansas City, Missouri (Kansas City Times 1924.02.13 p=13), Stokowski was conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in Washington DC (Washington Evening Star 1924.02.13 p=4), and Sousa was performing with his band in Pensacola, Florida (https://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/For-Researchers/Sousa-Band-Press-Books/). On the following day, Kreisler was giving a recital in Birmingham, Alabama (Birmingham Age-Herald 1924.02.12 p=14), and the 1924 train schedules would not have got him there in time if he had been at Aeolian Hall on the 12th. Stravinsky does not even appear in the concert programme as a Patron, but instead the former conductor of the [[New York Philharmonic]], [[Josef Stransky]], does. Stravinsky did not travel to the USA until January 1925, arriving at [[Ellis Island]] on January 4 on the S.S. Paris. There are others who have been widely reported as having attended, and who could not have been there for similar reasons, including John McCormack, Mischa Elman, Moriz Rosenthal, Mary Garden and Jasha Heifetz (sources can be provided if necessary).

--> A number of influential figures of the era were present, including [[Carl Van Vechten]],{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=154}} [[Marguerite d'Alvarez]],{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=154}} [[Victor Herbert]],{{sfn|Jenkins|1974|p=144}} [[Walter Damrosch]],{{sfn|Jenkins|1974|p=144}} and [[Willie "the Lion" Smith]].{{sfn|Wood|1996|p=85}}

In a pre-concert lecture, Whiteman's manager Hugh C. Ernst proclaimed the purpose of the concert to be "purely educational".{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|p=84}}{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=144}} Whiteman had selected the music to exemplify the "melodies, harmony and rhythms which agitate the throbbing emotional resources of this young [[Jazz Age|restless age]]."{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=145}} The concert's lengthy program listed 26 separate musical movements, divided into 2 parts and 11 sections, bearing titles such as "True Form Of Jazz" and "Contrast—Legitimate Scoring vs. Jazzing".{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|pp=146–147}} The program's schedule featured Gershwin's rhapsody as merely the [[Wiktionary:penultimate|penultimate]] piece which preceded [[Edward Elgar|Elgar]]'s ''[[Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1]]''.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|pp=55–61}}

Many of the early numbers in the program underwhelmed the audience, and the ventilation system in the concert hall malfunctioned.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|pp=72}} Some audience members had departed the venue by the time Gershwin made his inconspicuous entrance for the rhapsody.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|pp=72}} The audience purportedly were irritable, impatient, and restless until the haunting clarinet [[glissando]] played the opening notes of ''Rhapsody in Blue''.{{sfn|Cowen|1998}}{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|pp=72–73}} The distinctive glissando had been created quite by happenstance during rehearsals: {{Blockquote|As a joke on Gershwin&nbsp;... [[Ross Gorman|[Ross] Gorman]] [Whiteman's virtuoso clarinetist] played the opening [[Measure (music)|measure]] with a noticeable glissando, 'stretching' the notes out and adding what he considered a jazzy, humorous touch to the passage. Reacting favorably to Gorman's whimsy, Gershwin asked him to perform the opening measure that way&nbsp;... and to add as much of a '[[Vociferation|wail]]' as possible.{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|pp=81–83}}}}

Whiteman's orchestra performed the rhapsody with "twenty-three musicians in the ensemble" and George Gershwin on piano.{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=147}}{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|p=89}} In characteristic style, Gershwin chose to partially improvise his piano solo.{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|p=89}} The orchestra anxiously waited for Gershwin's nod which signaled the end of his piano solo and the cue for the ensemble to resume playing.{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|p=89}} As Gershwin did not write the solo piano section until after the concert, it remains unknown exactly how the original rhapsody sounded at the premiere.{{sfn|Schwartz|1979|pp=88–89}}

=== Audience reaction and success ===
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 |image3 = Victor Herbert cph.3a01932.jpg
 |width3 = 100
 |footer = [[Carl Van Vechten]], [[Marguerite d'Alvarez]], and [[Victor Herbert]] were among the many eminent persons in the audience.
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Upon the conclusion of the rhapsody, the audience tumultuously applauded Gershwin's composition,{{sfn|Downes|1924|p=16}}{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=152}} and, quite unexpectedly, "the concert, in every respect but the financial,{{efn|[[Paul Whiteman]] gave away free tickets to promote the concert and lost money.{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|pp=142, 148}} He expended $11,000, and the concert netted $4,000.{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|pp=142, 148}}}} became a 'knockout'."{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=148}} The concert soon became historically significant due to the premiere of the rhapsody, and its program would "become not only a historic document, finding its way into foreign monographs on jazz, but a rarity as well."{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=143}}

Following the success of the rhapsody's premiere, future performances followed. The first British performance of ''Rhapsody in Blue'' took place at the [[Savoy Hotel]] in London on June 15, 1925.{{sfn|Radio Times|1925}} The [[BBC]] broadcast the performance in a live relay. [[Debroy Somers]] conducted the [[Savoy Orpheans]] with Gershwin himself at the piano.{{sfn|Radio Times|1925}} Audiences heard the piece again in the United Kingdom during the second European tour of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, most notably on April 11, 1926, at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], with Gershwin in the audience. [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] recorded and released this performance.{{sfnm|Royal Albert Hall|1926|Rust|1975|p=1929}}

By the end of 1927, Whiteman's band had performed ''Rhapsody in Blue'' approximately 84 times, and its recording sold a million copies.{{sfn|Schwarz|1999}} For the entire piece to fit onto two sides of a [[Twelve-inch single|12-inch record]], the rhapsody had to be played at a faster speed than usual in a concert, which gave the recording a hurried feel with noticeably lost [[rubato]]. Whiteman later adopted the piece as his band's [[theme song]] and opened his radio programs with the slogan "Everything new but the ''Rhapsody in Blue''."{{sfn|Rayno|2013|p=203}}

=== Critical response ===
{{Quote box
| align = right
| width = 40%
| fontsize = 95%
| quote = "This composition shows extraordinary talent, as it shows a young composer with aims that go far beyond those of his ilk, struggling with a form of which he is far from being master&nbsp;... In spite of all this, he has expressed himself in a significant and, on the whole, highly original form&nbsp;... His first theme&nbsp;... is no mere dance-tune&nbsp;... it is an idea, or several ideas, correlated and combined in varying and contrasting rhythms that immediately intrigue the listener. The second theme is more after the manner of some of Mr. Gershwin's colleagues. ''[[Tutti]]s'' are too long, [[cadenza]]s are too long, the peroration at the end loses a large measure of the wildness and magnificence it could easily have had if it were more broadly prepared, and, for all that, the audience was stirred and many a hardened concertgoer excited with the sensation of a new talent finding its voice."
| qalign = left
| quoted = 1
| author = —[[Olin Downes]]
| source = ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 1924{{sfn|Downes|1924|p=16}}
}}
In contrast to the warm reception by concert audiences,{{sfn|Downes|1924|p=16}}{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=148}} music critics gave the rhapsody mixed reviews.{{sfn|Schneider|1999|p=180}} Samuel Chotzinoff, music critic of the ''[[New York World]]'', conceded that Gershwin's composition had "made an honest woman out of jazz",{{sfn|Jenkins|1974|p=144}} while Henrietta Strauss of ''[[The Nation]]'' opined that Gershwin had "added a new chapter to our musical history."{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=154}} [[Olin Downes]], reviewing the concert in ''[[The New York Times]]'', favorably noted the rhapsody as a "highly original form", and the composer as a "new talent finding its voice."{{sfn|Downes|1924|p=16}}

Nonetheless, other reviewers were less positive. [[Pitts Sanborn]] declared that the rhapsody "begins with a promising theme well stated" yet "soon runs off into empty passage-work and meaningless repetition."{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=152}} A number of reviews were particularly negative. [[Lawrence Gilman]]—a [[Richard Wagner]] enthusiast who would later write a devastating review of Gershwin's ''[[Porgy and Bess]]''—harshly criticized the rhapsody as "derivative", "stale", and "inexpressive" in a ''[[New-York Tribune]]'' review on February 13, 1924.{{sfn|Slonimsky|2000|p=105}}{{sfn|Jablonski|1992|p=30}}

Overall, professional music critics recurrently criticized Gershwin's piece as essentially formless and asserted that the composer had haphazardly glued melodic segments together.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|pp=74–75}}

==== Retrospective reviews ====
Years after its premiere, ''Rhapsody in Blue'' continued to divide music critics principally due to its perceived melodic incoherence.{{sfn|Schneider|1999|p=182}}{{sfn|Wyatt|Johnson|2004|p=297}}{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=4}} [[Constant Lambert]], a British composer whose oeuvre often incorporated jazz elements, openly dismissed the work:

{{Blockquote|The composer [George Gershwin], trying to write a [[Franz Liszt|Lisztian concerto]] in a jazz style, has used only the non-barbaric elements in dance music, the result being neither good jazz nor good Liszt, and in no sense of the word a good concerto.{{sfn|Schneider|1999|p=182}}}}

In an article in ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'' in 1955, [[Leonard Bernstein]], who nevertheless admitted that he adored the piece,{{sfn|Wyatt|Johnson|2004|p=297}} stated:

{{Blockquote|''Rhapsody in Blue'' is not a real composition in the sense that whatever happens in it must seem inevitable, or even pretty inevitable. You can cut out parts of it without affecting the whole in any way except to make it shorter. You can remove any of these stuck-together sections and the piece still goes on as bravely as before. You can even interchange these sections with one another and no harm done. You can make cuts within a section, or add new cadenzas, or play it with any combination of instruments or on the piano alone; it can be a five-minute piece or a six-minute piece or a twelve-minute piece. And in fact all these things are being done to it every day. It's still the ''Rhapsody in Blue''.{{sfn|Wyatt|Johnson|2004|p=297}}{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=4}}}}

== Orchestration ==
[[File:Ferde Grofé.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[Ferde Grofé]], Whiteman's chief arranger from 1920 to 1932, created the first arrangement of Gershwin's ''Rhapsody in Blue''.]]
As Gershwin did not have sufficient knowledge of orchestration in 1924,{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=66}} Whiteman's pianist and chief arranger [[Ferde Grofé]] played a key role in the rhapsody's meteoric success,{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=153}} and scholars have contended that Grofé's arrangements of the ''Rhapsody'' secured its place in [[American culture]].{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|pp=45–46}} Gershwin's biographer, Isaac Goldberg, noted in 1931 that Grofé played a crucial role in the premiere's triumph:

{{Blockquote|In the heat of the occasion, the contribution of Ferdie Grofé, the arranger on the Whiteman staff who had scored the ''Rhapsody'' in ten days, was overlooked or ignored. It is true that an appreciable part of the scoring had been indicated by Gershwin; nevertheless, the contribution of Grofé was of prime importance, not only to the composition, but to the jazz scoring of the immediate future.{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=153}}}}

Grofé hastily arranged the famous 1924 score to take full advantage of the Whiteman orchestra's particular strengths.{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|p=4}} He developed this orchestration for solo piano and Whiteman's twenty-three musicians.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=5}} For the reeds section, Ross Gorman (Reed I) played an oboe, a [[heckelphone]], a clarinet in B{{music|flat}}, [[sopranino saxophone]]s in E{{music|flat}} & B{{music|flat}}, an [[alto saxophone]], one E{{music|flat}} soprano clarinet, and [[alto clarinet|alto]] and [[bass clarinet]]s; Donald Clark (Reed II) played a soprano saxophone in B{{music|flat}}, alto and [[baritone saxophone]]s, and Hale Byers (Reed III) played soprano saxophone in B{{music|flat}}, [[tenor saxophone]], baritone saxophone, and a [[Western concert flute|flute]].{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=5}}

For the brass section, two [[Trumpet|trumpets in B{{music|flat}}]] were played by Henry Busse and Frank Siegrist; two [[French horn|French horns in F]] were played by Arturo Cerino and Al Corral; two [[Trombone|trombones]] were played by Roy Maxon and James Casseday, and a [[tuba]] and a [[double bass]] played by Guss Helleburg and Alus Armer respectively.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=5}}{{sfn|Sultanof|1987}}{{sfn|Levy|2019}}{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=148}} The percussion section included a [[drum set]], [[timpani]], and a [[glockenspiel]] played by George Marsh; one piano typically played by either Ferde Grofé or Henry Lange; one [[tenor banjo]] played by Michael Pingatore, and a complement of violins.{{sfnm|Schiff|1997|1p=5|Goldberg|1958|2p=148|Sultanof|1987|Levy|2019}}

Musicologists largely ignored this original arrangement—with its unique instrumental requirements—until its revival in reconstructions beginning in the mid-1980s, owing to the popularity and serviceability of the later scorings.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=76}} After the 1924 premiere, Grofé revised the score and made new orchestrations in 1926 and 1942, each time for larger orchestras.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=76}} He published his arrangement for a theater orchestra in 1926.{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|p=43}} Grofé orchestrated this adaptation for a more standard "[[pit orchestra]]", which included one flute, one oboe, two clarinets, one bassoon, three saxophones; two French horns, two trumpets, and two trombones; as well as the same percussion and strings complement as the later 1942 version.{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|p=44}}
[[File:King of Jazz (1930) - Trailer.webm|thumb|left|thumbtime=45|end=56.5|Paul Whiteman again performed ''Rhapsody in Blue'' in the film ''[[King of Jazz]]'' (1930), arranged by Grofé.]]
Grofé later produced a 1942 arrangement for a full [[symphony orchestra]]. It is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two [[soprano clarinet|clarinets in B{{music|flat}} and A]], one [[bass clarinet]], two bassoons, two alto saxophones in E{{music|flat}}, one tenor saxophone in B{{music|flat}}; three French horns in F, three trumpets in B{{music|flat}}, three trombones, one tuba; a percussion section that includes timpani, one [[crash cymbal|suspended cymbal]], one [[snare drum]], one [[bass drum]], one [[tam-tam]], one [[triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]], one glockenspiel, and [[cymbal]]s; one tenor banjo; and [[string section|strings]]. Since the mid-20th century, the 1942 arrangement became a staple of the concert repertoire until 1976 when [[Michael Tilson Thomas]] recorded the original jazz band version for the first time, employing Gershwin's actual 1925 piano roll with a full jazz orchestra.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=76}}

Grofé's other arrangements of Gershwin's piece include those done for Whiteman's 1930 film, ''[[King of Jazz]]'',{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=67}} and the concert band setting (playable without piano) completed by 1938 and published 1942. The prominence of the saxophones in the later orchestrations is somewhat reduced, and the banjo part can be dispensed with, as its mainly rhythmic contribution is provided by the inner strings.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=65}}

Gershwin himself made versions of the piece for solo piano as well as two pianos.{{sfn|Ferencz|2011|p=143}} The solo version is notable for omitting several sections of the piece.{{efn|Omissions include the bars from rehearsal mark 14 to halfway through the fifth bar of rh. 18; from two bars before rh. 22 to the fourth bar of rh. 24; and the first four bars of rh. 38.}} Gershwin's intent to eventually do an orchestration of his own is documented in 1936–37 correspondence from the publisher [[T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, Inc.|Harms]].{{sfn|Ferencz|2011|p=141}}

== Notable recordings ==
<!-- This section is for historically significant recordings. Do not add non-notable recordings. Check if a recording is discussed elsewhere in the article. -->
[[File:Rhapsody in Blue Paul Whiteman 1927.jpg|thumb|Late 1930s reissue of the 1927 electrical release of ''Rhapsody in Blue'' as Victor 35822A by Paul Whiteman and His Concert Orchestra with George Gershwin on piano. 1974 [[Grammy Hall of Fame]] inductee.]]
After the warm reception of ''Rhapsody in Blue'' by the audience at Aeolian Hall, Gershwin recorded several abridged versions of his composition in different formats.{{sfnm|Greenberg|1998|1pp=75|Schiff|1997|p=86}} On June 10, 1924, Gershwin and Whiteman's orchestra created an [[History of sound recording#Acoustical recording|acoustic recording]] running 8&nbsp;minutes and 59&nbsp;seconds and issued by the [[Victor Talking Machine Company]].{{efn|Victor 55225 is the June 10, 1924, acoustic recording with the original clarinetist, Ross Gorman, performing the opening glissando.{{sfn|Rust|1975|p=1924}}}}{{sfnm|Rust|1975|1p=1924|Rayno|2013|2p=327}} A year later, Gershwin recorded his performance on a 1925 [[piano roll]] for a two-piano version.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=64}} Later, on April 21, 1927, he made an [[Sound recording and reproduction#Electrical|electrical recording]] with Whiteman's orchestra running 9&nbsp;minutes and 1&nbsp;second and again recorded by Victor.{{efn|Victor 35822 is the April 21, 1927, electrical recording in which [[Nathaniel Shilkret]] conducted the orchestra and later [[Dubbing (music)|dubbed]] onto an [[RCA Victor]] {{frac|33|1|3}}-rpm.{{sfn|Rust|1975|p=1931}}}}{{sfn|Rust|1975|p=1931}} [[Nathaniel Shilkret]] purportedly conducted the electrical recording after a dispute between Gershwin and Whiteman.{{sfnm|Greenberg|1998|1pp=75–76|Rust|1975|2p=1931}} Whiteman's orchestra later performed a truncated version of the piece in the 1930 film ''[[King of Jazz]]'' with [[Roy Bargy]] on piano.{{sfnm|Sobczynski|2018|Greenberg|1998|2p=78}} <!-- Whiteman's 1938 recording for Decca on a 12-inch 78-rpm is not historically significant. -->

Due to the length limitations of early recording formats, the first complete and unabridged recording of Gershwin's composition did not occur until the [[Great Depression]]. In July 1935, after several years of performing the rhapsody for sold-out audiences in Massachusetts,<ref>{{harvnb|''The New York Times''|1932}}: "Despite the depression, the Boston 'Pops' have been astonishingly successful this season, sold-out houses being an almost nightly circumstance."</ref> conductor [[Arthur Fiedler]] and the [[Boston Pops]] recorded the first unabridged version—nearly fourteen minutes in length—with [[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]] pianist [[Jesús María Sanromá]] for [[RCA Victor Red Seal|RCA Victor]]<!-- Victor Record 11822-23 -->.{{efn|name=Fiedler Re-Recording|Fiedler and the Boston Pops made another popular recording of the work in [[stereophonic sound]] with [[Earl Wild]] at the piano for RCA Victor in 1959.}}{{sfnm|Moore|1935|1p=7|Sherman|1935}} For this first unabridged recording, Fiedler discarded Ferde Grofé's original 1924 arrangement and adapted the piece for a conventional symphony.<ref>{{harvnb|Moore|1935|p=7}}: "This piece, introduced a decade ago by Paul Whiteman, speedily grew so popular that another version had to be made, changing from the Whiteman instrumentation to that of the conventional symphony orchestra, which is the case here."</ref> At the time, contemporary critics praised Fiedler for jettisoning the so-called "jazzy sentimentality" of Grofé's earlier arrangement and adding a "more symphonic richness and authority."{{sfn|Sherman|1935}}

During the final months of [[World War II]], amid the box-office success of the Gershwin biographical film ''[[Rhapsody in Blue (film)|Rhapsody in Blue]]'' (1945), pianist [[Oscar Levant]] recorded the now iconic composition with [[Eugene Ormandy]]'s [[Philadelphia Orchestra]] on August 21, 1945<!-- as Columbia Record X-251 -->.{{sfn|Billboard|1945|p=24}} Levant had been an intimate friend of the deceased composer,<ref>{{harvnb|''Tampa Bay Times''|1945|p=35}}: "Levant was a close friend of Gershwin and was a wise choice to do the thrilling new recording of the ''Rhapsody''. Levant's interpretation is fiery and brilliant."</ref>{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|pp=49, 212}} and he sought to replicate Gershwin's idiomatic playing style in his performance.<ref>{{harvnb|Cassidy|1945|p=11}}: "Oscar Levant ghosts Gershwin's playing, and he comes closer than anyone else to recapturing what sometimes seems to have been a one man idiom."</ref> Levant's homage—labelled Columbia Masterworks 251—received rapturous reviews and became one of the best-selling record albums of the year.{{sfnm|''Tampa Bay Times''|1945|1p=35|Billboard|1945|2p=24}} As a result of Levant's recording and the 1945 biographical film about Gershwin's life, a "Gershwin revival" ensued.

{{Listen|type=music|image=none|help=no
|filename=My Video.webm
|title=''Rhapsody in Blue'' for piano four hands
|description=[[The Latsos Piano Duo]] perform ''Rhapsody in Blue'' for [[piano four hands]], arr. Henry Levine in the concert series for Music in the Mansion, filmed by Beverly Hills Television, Los Angeles, in [[Greystone Mansion]] (2023)}}
By the 1960s and 1970s, Gershwin's rhapsody had become a predictable staple of both concert performances and orchestra recordings; consequently, more diverse and irreverent interpretations appeared over time. In Summer 1973, Brazilian [[jazz-rock]] artist [[Eumir Deodato]] [[Deodato 2|reinterpreted]] Gershwin's rhapsody in an abridged version that featured [[uptempo]] neo‐[[samba]] rhythms.{{sfn|Palmer|1973}} Although music critics derided Deodato's interpretation as "mangled" and barely recognizable,<ref>{{harvnb|Palmer|1973}}: "''Rhapsody'' resembles the Gershwin original only when strings and horns interrupt extended guitar and keyboard solos with fragments of the work's principal themes. The solos are played over up‐tempo neo‐samba rhythms.... these long improvisational sections have little to do with the thematic material which is inserted here and there".</ref> his single reached No. 41 on the "Hot 100" and No. 10 on "Easy Listening" on the [[Billboard charts|''Billboard'' charts]],{{sfn|Billboard|1973|pp=27, 56}} and No. 48 and No. 13 respectively in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4912.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - October 6, 1973}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4913.pdf| title=RPM Top AC - October 27, 1973}}</ref> In the wake of Deodato's earlier reinterpretation, French pianist [[Richard Clayderman]] recorded a similarly abridged [[disco]] arrangement in 1978 which became one of his signature pieces.<ref>{{harvnb|Mazey|1985}}: "Clayderman butchered Gershwin's intoxicating ''Rhapsody in Blue'', for example, with a pulsing disco beat. If they ever do a record called ''Hooked on Gershwin'', Clayderman is their man."</ref>{{sfn|Colford|1985}}

Concurrent with the emergence of these more diverse interpretations, scholarly interest revived in the original 1924 arrangement by Ferde Grofé which had not been performed since the end of the Jazz Age. On February 14, 1973, conductor [[Kenneth Kiesler]] and pianist Paul Verrette performed Grofé's original arrangement on the [[University of New Hampshire]] campus.{{sfn|Smith|1973|p=10}} Soon after, conductor [[Michael Tilson Thomas]] and the [[Columbia Jazz Band]] recorded Grofé's arrangement in 1976, as did conductor [[Maurice Peress]] with pianist [[Ivan Davis]] in 1984 as part of a 60th-anniversary reconstruction of the entire 1924 concert.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|pp=67–68}}

<!-- Do not insert your favorite artist's performance into this paragraph. This section is for historically significant performances. -->One hundred years after the debut of Gershwin's rhapsody in 1924, tens of thousands of orchestras as well as solo pianists have recorded the piece, both abridged and unabridged. A number of these recordings have garnered critical recognition such as pianist [[Michel Camilo]]'s 2006 rendition which won a [[Latin Grammy Award]].{{sfn|Westphal|2006}}

== Form and analysis ==
[[File:Rhap in blue opening.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|The opening bars of Gershwin's score for the rhapsody, often referred to as the "Glissando theme".]]
As a jazz concerto, ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is written for solo piano with orchestra.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=26}} A [[Rhapsody (music)|rhapsody]] differs from a concerto in that it features one extended movement instead of separate movements. Rhapsodies often incorporate passages of an improvisational nature—although written out in a score—and are irregular in form, with heightened contrasts and emotional exuberance. The music ranges from intensely rhythmic [[piano solo]]s to slow, broad, and richly orchestrated sections. Consequently, the ''Rhapsody'' "may be looked upon as a [[Fantasia (music)|fantasia]], with no strict fidelity to form."{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=157}}

The opening of ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is written as a clarinet [[Trill (music)|trill]] followed by a legato, 17 notes in a diatonic scale. During a rehearsal, Whiteman's virtuoso clarinetist, Ross Gorman, rendered the upper portion of the scale as a captivating and trombone-like [[glissando]].{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=70}} Gershwin heard it and insisted that it be repeated in the performance.{{sfn|Greenberg|1998|p=70}} The effect is produced using the tongue and throat muscles to change the resonance of the oral cavity, thus controlling the continuously rising pitch.{{sfn|Chen|Smith|2008}} Many clarinet players gradually open the left-hand [[tone hole]]s on their instrument during the passage from the last concert F to the top concert B{{music|flat}} as well. This effect has now become standard performance practice for the work.{{sfn|Chen|Smith|2008}}

''Rhapsody in Blue'' features both rhythmic invention and melodic inspiration, and demonstrates Gershwin's ability to write a piece with large-scale harmonic and melodic structure. The piece is characterized by strong [[motivic|motivic inter-relatedness]].{{sfn|Gilbert|1995|p=17}} Much of the motivic material is introduced in the first 14 [[Measure (music)|measures]].{{sfn|Gilbert|1995|p=17}} Musicologist [[David Schiff]] has identified five major themes plus a sixth "tag".{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=13}} Two themes appear in the first 14 measures, and the tag shows up in measure 19.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=13}} Two of the remaining three themes are rhythmically related to the first theme in measure 2, which is sometimes called the "Glissando theme"—after the opening [[glissando]] in the clarinet solo—or the "Ritornello theme".{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=13}}{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|pp=39–42}} The remaining theme is the "Train theme",{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=13}}{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|p=107}} which is the first to appear at rehearsal 9 after the opening material.{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|p=107}} All of these themes rely on the [[Pentatonic scale|blues scale]],{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=14}} which includes lowered sevenths and a mixture of major and minor thirds.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=14}} Each theme appears both in orchestrated form and as a piano solo. There are considerable differences in the style of presentation of each theme.
{{Listen|type=music|filename=George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" piano solo.ogg|title="Rhapsody in Blue" (Cover)|description=2018 piano solo cover of ''Rhapsody in Blue''}}
The [[Harmony|harmonic structure]] of the rhapsody is more difficult to analyze.{{sfn|Gilbert|1995|p=68}} The piece begins and ends in B{{music|flat}} major, but it modulates towards the sub-dominant direction and abruptly returns to B{{music|flat}} major at the end.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=28}} The opening modulates "downward" through the keys B{{music|flat}}, E{{music|flat}}, A{{music|flat}}, D{{music|flat}}, G{{music|flat}}, B, E, and finally to A major.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=28}} Modulation through the circle of fifths in the reverse direction inverts classical tonal relationships, but does not abandon them. The entire middle section resides primarily in C major, with forays into G major (the dominant relation).{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=29}} Such modulations occur freely, although not always with harmonic direction. Gershwin frequently uses a recursive [[Chord progression|harmonic progression]] of minor thirds to give the illusion of motion when in fact a passage does not change key from beginning to end.{{sfn|Gilbert|1995|p=68}} Modulation by thirds is a common feature of [[Tin Pan Alley]] music.

The influences of jazz and other contemporary styles are present in ''Rhapsody in Blue''. [[Ragtime]] rhythms are abundant,{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=14}} as is the Cuban "[[clave (rhythm)|clave]]" rhythm, which doubles as a dance rhythm in the [[Charleston (dance)|Charleston]] jazz dance.{{sfn|Schneider|1999|p=180}} Gershwin's own intentions were to correct the belief that jazz had to be played strictly in time so that one could dance to it.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=12}} The rhapsody's tempos vary widely, and there is an almost extreme use of [[rubato]] in many places throughout. The clearest influence of jazz is the use of [[blue note]]s, and the exploration of their half-step relationship plays a key role in the rhapsody.{{sfn|Schneider|1999|p=187}} The use of so-called "vernacular" instruments, such as [[accordion]], [[banjo]], and saxophones in the orchestra, contribute to its jazz or popular style, and the latter two of these instruments have remained part of Grofé's "standard" orchestra scoring.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=65}}

Gershwin incorporated different piano styles into his work. He used the techniques of [[stride piano]], [[novelty piano]], comic piano, and the [[song-plugger]] piano style. Stride piano's rhythmic and improvisational style is evident in the "agitato e misterioso" section, which begins four bars after rehearsal 33, as well as in other sections, many of which include the orchestra.{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|p=107}} Novelty piano can be heard at rehearsal 9 with the revelation of the Train theme. The hesitations and light-hearted style of comic piano, a [[vaudeville]] approach to piano made well known by [[Chico Marx]], are evident at rehearsal 22.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=36}}

== Legacy and influence ==
=== Cultural zeitgeist ===
{{CSS image crop|Image=Krazy Kat LOC npcc.04658.jpg|bSize=500|cWidth=300|cHeight=200|oTop=125|oLeft=90|Location=right|Description=Gershwin's work has been cited by writers and scholars as embodying the [[Jazz Age]]'s [[zeitgeist]] with its [[flapper]]s and [[speakeasies]]. ''Above:'' Patrons and a flapper await the opening of a speakeasy in 1921.}}
{{Further|Jazz Age}}
With the debut of ''Rhapsody in Blue'', Gershwin inaugurated a new era in America's musical history.{{sfn|Goldberg|1958|p=154}} He established his reputation as one of the eminent composers of the [[Jazz Age]], and his composition eventually became one of the most popular of all concert works.{{sfn|Schiff|1997|loc=Book jacket}} In the ''[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]]'' magazine, Frederic D. Schwarz posits that the famous opening clarinet [[glissando]] has become as instantly recognizable to concert audiences as the opening of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Fifth Symphony]].{{sfn|Schwarz|1999}}

According to critic Orrin Howard of the [[Los Angeles Philharmonic]], Gershwin's rhapsody made an indelible mark "on the fraternity of serious composers and performers—many of whom were present at the premiere—and on Gershwin himself, for its enthusiastic reception encouraged him to other and more serious projects."{{sfn|Howard|2003}} Howard posits that the work's legacy is best understood as embodying the cultural [[zeitgeist]] of the Jazz Age: {{Blockquote|Beginning with that incomparable, flamboyant clarinet solo, ''Rhapsody'' is irresistible still, with its syncopated rhythmic vibrancy, its abandoned, impudent flair that tells more about the [[Roaring Twenties]] than could a thousand words, and its genuine melodic beauty colored a deep, jazzy blue by the flatted sevenths and thirds that had their origins in the [[Slave Songs of the United States|African-American slave songs]].{{sfn|Howard|2003}}}}

Although Gershwin's rhapsody is "by no means a definitive example of jazz in the Jazz Age",{{sfn|Sisk|2016}} music historians such as James Ciment and [[Floyd Levin]] have similarly concurred that it is the key composition that encapsulates the spirit of the era.{{sfn|Ciment|2015|p=265}}{{sfn|Levin|2002|p=73}} As early as 1927, writer [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] opined that ''Rhapsody in Blue'' idealized the youthful zeitgeist of the Jazz Age.{{sfn|Fitzgerald|2004|p=93}} In subsequent decades, both the latter era and Fitzgerald's related literary works have been often culturally linked by critics and scholars with Gershwin's composition.{{sfn|Teachout|1992}} In 1941, social historian [[Peter Quennell]] opined that Fitzgerald's novel ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' embodied "the sadness and the remote jauntiness of a Gershwin tune."{{sfn|Mizener|1960}} Accordingly, director [[Baz Luhrmann]] used ''Rhapsody in Blue'' as a dramatic [[leitmotif]] for the character of [[Jay Gatsby]] in his 2013 film ''[[The Great Gatsby (2013 film)|The Great Gatsby]]'', a cinematic adaptation of Fitzgerald's 1925 novel.{{sfn|Levy|2019}}{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|pp=156–157}}

Various writers, such as the American playwright and journalist [[Terry Teachout]], have likened Gershwin himself to the character of Gatsby due to his attempt to transcend his lower-class background, his abrupt meteoric success, and his early death while in his thirties.{{sfn|Teachout|1992}}

=== Musical portrait of New York City ===
[[File:Night view of lower New York City from the Metropolitan Tower LCCN00651180 Retouched.jpg|thumb|right|''Rhapsody in Blue'' has been interpreted as a musical portrait of [[Jazz Age]] New York City.]]
''Rhapsody in Blue'' has been interpreted as a musical portrait of early-20th-century New York City.{{sfn|King|2016}} Culture scribe Darryn King wrote in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' that "Gershwin's fusion of jazz and classical traditions captures the thriving [[melting pot]] of Jazz Age New York."{{sfn|King|2016}}

Likewise, music historian [[Vince Giordano]] has opined that "the [[syncopation]], the blue notes, the ragtime and jazz rhythms that Gershwin wrote in 1924 was really a feeling of New York City in that amazing era. The rhythm of the city seems to be in there."{{sfn|King|2016}} Pianist [[Lang Lang]] echoes this sentiment: "When I hear ''Rhapsody in Blue'', I see the [[Empire State Building]] somehow. I see the [[New York Skyline]] in midtown Manhattan, and I already see the coffee shops [in] [[Times Square]]."{{sfn|King|2016}}

Accordingly, the opening montage of [[Woody Allen]]'s 1979 film ''[[Manhattan (1979 film)|Manhattan]]'' features a rendition by [[Zubin Mehta]] in which quintessential New York scenes are set to the music of Gershwin's famed jazz concerto.{{sfnm|King|2016|Cooper|2016}} Twenty years later, [[Walt Disney Pictures]] used the composition for the New York segment of the 1999 animated film ''[[Fantasia 2000]]'', in which the piece lyrically frames an animated segment drawn in the style of illustrator [[Al Hirschfeld]].{{sfn|Solomon|1999}}

=== Influence on composers ===
Gershwin's rhapsody has influenced a number of composers. In 1955, ''Rhapsody in Blue'' inspired accordionist [[John Serry Sr.]] to compose his 1957 work ''[[American Rhapsody]]''.{{sfn|Serry|1957}} [[Brian Wilson]], leader of [[The Beach Boys]], stated on several occasions that ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is one of his favorite pieces. He first heard the piece as a two-year-old and recalled that he adored it.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=25, 118}} According to biographer [[Peter Ames Carlin]], the rhapsody influenced Wilson's ''[[Smile (Beach Boys album)|Smile]]'' album.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=25, 118}} ''Rhapsody in Blue'' also inspired a collaboration between blind savant British pianist [[Derek Paravicini]] and composer [[Matthew King (composer)|Matthew King]] on a new concerto, called ''[[Blue (piano concerto)|Blue]]'' premiered at the [[South Bank Centre]] in London in 2011.{{sfn|BBC News|2011}}

=== Other uses ===
At the opening ceremony of the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in Los Angeles, 84 pianists played simultaneously ''Rhapsody in Blue'' in an ensemble performance.{{sfn|Bañagale|2014|p=43}}{{sfn|Schiff|1997|p=1}} Pianists [[Herbie Hancock]] and [[Lang Lang]] performed ''Rhapsody in Blue'' at the [[50th Grammy Awards]] on February 10, 2008.{{sfn|Swed|2009}} Since 1980, the piece has been used by [[United Airlines]] in their advertisements, in pre-flight safety videos, and in the Terminal 1 underground walkway at Chicago [[O'Hare International Airport]].{{sfnm|United Airlines|2020|Bañagale|2014|2pp=158–173}}{{sfn|Eldred v. Ashcroft 2003}} ''Rhapsody in Blue'' was sampled in [[Ben Folds Five]]'s "[[Philosophy (Ben Folds Five song)|Philosophy]]"{{sfn|King|2015}} and South Korean girl groups [[Red Velvet (group)|Red Velvet]]'s "[[Birthday (Red Velvet song)|Birthday]]"{{sfn|Lipshutz|Lynch|Bowenbank|Havens|2022}} and [[Loossemble]]'s [[Loossemble (EP)|"Real World"]].{{sfn|Yeo|2023}}

== Preservation status ==
On September 22, 2013, the Gershwin estate announced that a [[musicological]] [[historical editions (music)|critical edition]] of the full orchestral score will be eventually released. The Gershwin family, working in conjunction with the [[Library of Congress]] and the [[University of Michigan]], are working to make these scores available to the public.{{sfn|Gershwin Initiative|2013}}{{sfn|Canty|2013}} Though the entire Gershwin project may take 40 years to complete, the ''Rhapsody in Blue'' edition will be an early volume.{{sfn|Clague|Getman|2015}}{{sfn|Clague|2013}}

{{Listen|type=music
| filename     = George Gershwin playing Rhapsody in Blue.ogg
| title        = Selections from ''Rhapsody in Blue''
| description  = 1924 recording featuring George Gershwin on piano with the [[Paul Whiteman Orchestra]]
}}
''Rhapsody in Blue'' entered the [[2020 in public domain|public domain on January 1, 2020]], although individual recordings of it may remain under copyright.{{sfn|King|Jenkins|2019}}{{sfn|Jenkins|2019}} The first published recordings from 1924 entered the public domain in 2025.{{sfn|Jenkins|Boyle|n.d.}}

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist|18em}}

=== Works cited ===
==== Print sources ====
{{refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
* {{cite news|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=A Concert of Syncopated Symphonic Music|date=June 12, 1925|access-date=June 17, 2020|issue=90|page=538|work=[[Radio Times]]|location=London, England|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/7e6ec7978ed345c7ab0fc3e1f5312b2f?page=10|ref={{harvid|Radio Times|1925}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Bañagale|first=Ryan Raul|title=Arranging Gershwin:''Rhapsody in Blue'' and the Creation of an American Icon|year=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford, England|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199978373.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-997837-3}}
* {{cite magazine|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Best-Selling Record Albums by Classical Artists (1945)|date=September 1, 1945|page=24|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]]|volume=57|number=35|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jRgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT23|access-date=November 10, 2020|ref={{harvid|Billboard|1945}}}}
* {{cite magazine|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Billboard Top 50 Easy Listening (1973)|date=September 22, 1973|pages=27, 56|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]]|volume=85|number=38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA27|access-date=February 21, 2022|ref={{harvid|Billboard|1973}}}}
* {{cite news|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Boston's 'Pop' Concerts|date=June 22, 1932|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=4X|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/06/26/archives/bostons-pop-concerts.html|access-date=February 21, 2022|url-access=subscription|ref={{harvid|''The New York Times''|1932}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Carlin|first=Peter Ames|author-link=Peter Ames Carlin|title=Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson|year=2006|location=London|publisher=[[Rodale, Inc.|Rodale]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_D9WcfN0NqEC|isbn=978-1-59486-899-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Ciment|first=James|year=2015|orig-year=2008|title=Encyclopedia of the Jazz Age: From the End of World War I to the Great Crash|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S2nxBwAAQBAJ|isbn=978-1-317-47165-3|access-date=October 20, 2020}}
* {{cite news|last=Colford|first=Paul D.|title=He's Almost World Famous: Meet Richard Clayderman, 'the world's most popular pianist'|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|date=October 9, 1985|location=Melville, New York|page=131|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/721871070/|access-date=February 21, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite news|author=<!-- Not stated -->|title=Columbia, Victor Dedicates Albums to Gershwin|date=July 29, 1945|newspaper=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|location=St. Petersburg, Florida|page=35|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/314843132/|url-access=subscription|access-date=February 21, 2022|ref={{harvid|''Tampa Bay Times''|1945}}|via=Newspapers.com}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Eldred v. Ashcroft 2003}}|reference={{cite court|litigants=[[Eldred v. Ashcroft]]|vol=01|reporter=U.S.|opinion=618|pinpoint=p. 67|court=[[United States Supreme Court]]|date=January 15, 2003|url= http://www.copyright.gov/docs/eldrdedo.pdf|quote=Even the $500,000 that United Airlines has had to pay for the right to play George Gershwin's 1924 classic ''Rhapsody in Blue'' represents a cost of doing business, potentially reflected in the ticket prices of those who fly.}}}}
* {{cite journal|last=Ferencz|first=George J.|author-link=George Ferencz|year=2011|title=''Porgy and Bess'' on the Concert Stage: Gershwin's 1936 Suite (''Catfish Row'') and the 1942 Gershwin–Bennett ''Symphonic Picture''|journal=[[The Musical Quarterly]]|volume=94|issue=1–2|pages=93–155|jstor=41289202|doi=10.1093/musqtl/gdq019|quote=Reissuance of the ''Rhapsody in Blue'' re-scored by yourself for large symphony orchestra}}
* {{cite book|last=Fitzgerald|first=F. Scott|author-link=F. Scott Fitzgerald|title=Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald|year=2004|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]|location=[[Jackson, Mississippi]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_BObJAl0lIC|isbn=978-1-57806-605-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Gilbert|first=Steven E.|year=1995|title=The Music of Gershwin|location=[[New Haven, Connecticut]]|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maPCNBtyZN4C|isbn=978-0-300-06233-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Goldberg|first=Isaac|author-link=Isaac Goldberg|title=George Gershwin: A Study in American Music|publisher=[[Frederick Ungar Publishing Company]]|location=New York|year=1958|orig-year=1931|lccn=58-11627|url=https://archive.org/details/georgegershwinst00gold|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite book|last=Greenberg|first=Rodney|year=1998|title=George Gershwin|location=London|publisher=[[Phaidon Press]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DuoYAQAAIAAJ|isbn=978-0-7148-3504-4|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Jablonski|first=Edward|author-link=Edward Jablonski|title=Gershwin Remembered|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATcjgQTx0uIC|publisher=[[Amadeus Press]]|location=[[Portland, Oregon]]|isbn=0-931340-43-8|year=1992}}
* {{cite book|last=Jenkins|first=Alan|title=The Twenties|year=1974|publisher=Peerage Books|location=Great Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k9dWAAAAYAAJ|isbn=978-0-434-90894-3|access-date=August 1, 2020}}
* {{cite book|last=Levin|first=Floyd|author-link=Floyd Levin|title=Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians|date=April 30, 2002|publisher=University of California Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbEwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73|isbn=978-0-520-23463-5|access-date=November 10, 2020}}
* {{cite news|last=Mazey|first=Steve|title='Elevator' pianist bland, lacks vitality, passion|newspaper=[[The Ottawa Citizen]]|location=Ottawa, Ontario|date=September 19, 1985|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/464355267/|access-date=February 21, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite news|last=Mizener|first=Arthur|author-link=Arthur Mizener|title=Gatsby, 35 Years Later|date=April 24, 1960|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/24/specials/fitzgerald-gatsby60.html|access-date=June 4, 2021|url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite news|last=Moore|first=Edward|title=New Musical Records Skim Many Moods|date=October 6, 1935|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/370427460/|page=7|access-date=February 21, 2022|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com}}
* {{cite news|last=Palmer|first=Robert|title=Recordings: Pop/Jazz Meets Classical Rock|date=August 26, 1973|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=22D|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/08/26/archives/popjazz-meets-classical-rock-recordings-lillian-roxon.html|access-date=February 21, 2022|url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite book|last=Rayno|first=Don|title=Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, Volume II: 1930–1967|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-hYmPstZmIC|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]]|year=2013|isbn=978-0-8108-8204-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Reef|first=Catherine|year=2000|title=George Gershwin: American Composer|location=[[Greensboro, North Carolina]]|publisher=Morgan Reynolds Publishing|isbn=978-1-883846-58-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1quq1Vis9KQC}}
* {{cite book|last=Rust|first=Brian|author-link=Brian Rust|title=The American Dance Band Discography 1917–1942|year=1975|volume=2|publisher=[[Arlington House Publishers|Arlington House]]|location=[[New Rochelle, New York]]|isbn=0-87000-248-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0uUvAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Schiff|first=David|author-link=David Schiff|year=1997|title=Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue|location=Cambridge, England|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.1017/CBO9780511620201|isbn=978-0-521-55077-2|url=https://archive.org/details/gershwinrhapsody0000schi|url-access=registration|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Schneider|editor-first=Wayne|title=The Gershwin Style: New Looks at the Music of George Gershwin|year=1999|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-509020-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a0urqvDSAS4C}}
* {{cite book|last=Schwartz|first=Charles|year=1979|title=Gershwin: His Life and Music|location=New York|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|isbn=978-0-306-80096-2|url=https://archive.org/details/gershwinhislifem00schw|url-access=registration|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite report|last=Serry|first=John|author-link=John Serry Sr.|title= American Rhapsody, Copyright: Alpha Music Co.|year=1957|publisher=[[Library of Congress Copyright Office]]|location=Washington, D.C.}}
* {{cite news|last=Sherman|first=John K.|title=Gershwin Rhapsody Vividly Interpreted|date=October 26, 1935|newspaper=[[The Minneapolis Star]]|location=Minneapolis, Minnesota|page=34|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/187397296/|url-access=subscription|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}
* {{cite book|last=Slonimsky|first=Nicolas|author-link=Nicolas Slonimsky|year=2000|orig-year=1953|title=Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time|location=New York|publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]]|isbn=978-0-393-32009-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JjW66BVA-j0C}}
* {{cite news|last=Smith|first=Wayne A.|title=Around the Clock: Rhapsody Revived|date=January 27, 1973|work=[[The Greenfield Recorder]]|location=[[Greenfield, Massachusetts]]|page=10}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Sultanof|editor-first1=Jeff|title=Rhapsody in Blue: Commemorative Facsimile Edition|location=[[Secaucus, New Jersey]]|publisher=[[Warner Brothers Music]]|year=1987|quote=This reproduces Grofé's holograph manuscript from the Gershwin Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress.}}
* {{cite book|last=Wood|first=Ean|year=1996|title=George Gershwin: His Life and Music|location=London|publisher=Sanctuary Publishing|isbn=978-1-86074-174-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V80HAQAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Wyatt|editor1-first=Robert|editor1-link=Robert Wyatt|editor2-last=Johnson|editor2-first=John Andrew|title=The George Gershwin Reader: Readers on American Musicians|chapter=Leonard Bernstein: "Why Don't You Run Upstairs and Write a Nice Gershwin Tune?" (1955)|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford, England|year=2004|isbn=978-0-19-802985-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DIA8DwAAQBAJ}}
{{refend}}

==== Online sources ====
{{refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
* {{cite news|title=Blind Autistic Man Stuns the Music World|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-15086761/blind-autistic-man-stuns-the-music-world|date=September 28, 2011|work=[[BBC News]]|location=London, England|access-date=January 24, 2019|ref={{harvid|BBC News|2011}}}}
* {{cite news|last=Cassidy|first=Claudia|title=On the Record: Levant's ''Rhapsody in Blue'' Best of Current Crop of Gershwin Record Albums|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=July 31, 1945|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/370119878/|url-access=subscription |access-date=February 21, 2022|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}
* {{cite web|last=Canty|first=Cynthia|title=The University of Michigan Was Selected for the 'Gershwin Initiative'|location=[[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]|publisher=[[Michigan Radio]]|date=October 21, 2013|access-date=August 30, 2015|url=http://michiganradio.org/post/university-michigan-was-selected-gershwin-initiative}}
* {{cite web|last=Clague|first=Mark|title=George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition|website=Musicology Now|date=September 21, 2013|url=https://musicologynow.org/george-and-ira-gershwin-critical-edition/|publisher=[[American Musicological Society]]|location=New York City|access-date=May 31, 2021}}
* {{cite web|last1=Clague|first1=Mark|last2=Getman|first2=Jessica|title=The Editions|url=http://www.music.umich.edu/ami/gershwin/?page_id=59|department=The Gershwin Initiative|location=[[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]|publisher=[[University of Michigan]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905115947/http://www.music.umich.edu/ami/gershwin/?page_id=59|year=2015|archive-date=September 5, 2015|access-date=August 30, 2015}}
* {{cite web|last1=Chen|first1=Jer Ming|last2=Smith|first2=John|title=How to Play the First Bar of '''Rhapsody in Blue''|year=2008|url=http://www.acoustics.org/press/155th/chen.htm|publisher=[[Acoustical Society of America]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425041259/http://www.acoustics.org/press/155th/chen.htm|archive-date=April 25, 2013|access-date=April 28, 2013}}
* {{cite news|last=Cooper|first=Michael|title=The Philharmonic Accompanies 'Manhattan,' Just as It Did in 1979|date=September 15, 2016|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/arts/music/new-york-philharmonic-accompanies-woody-allen-manhattan-just-as-it-did-in-1979.html|access-date=November 7, 2020 | url-access = subscription}}
* {{cite news|last=Cowen|first=Ron|author-link=Ron Cowen|year=1998|title=George Gershwin: He Got Rhythm|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/horizon/nov98/gershwin.htm|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=August 30, 2015}}
* {{cite news|last=Downes|first=Olin|author-link=Olin Downes|title=A Concert of Jazz|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 13, 1924|access-date=June 28, 2020|page=16|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/02/13/archives/music-a-concert-of-jazz.html|url-access = subscription}}
* {{cite web|last=Howard|first=Orrin|title=Rhapsody in Blue|year=2003|url=http://www.laphil.org/resources/piece_detail.cfm?id=314|location=Los Angeles|publisher=[[Los Angeles Philharmonic Association]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050223010933/http://www.laphil.org/resources/piece_detail.cfm?id=314|archive-date=February 23, 2005|access-date=January 24, 2019}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Jablonski|first=Edward|author-link=Edward Jablonski|title=Glorious George|year=1999|url=http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Features/CA_Feature_Basic_Template_Print/0,2809,553,00.html|magazine=[[Cigar Aficionado]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117195632/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Features/CA_Feature_Basic_Template_Print/0,2809,553,00.html|archive-date=January 17, 2006|access-date=January 24, 2019}}
* {{cite web|last=Jenkins|first=Jennifer|title=Public Domain Day 2020|date=December 30, 2019|publisher=[[Duke University School of Law]], Center for the Study of the Public Domain|url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2020/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230140958/https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2020/|archive-date=December 30, 2019|access-date=January 1, 2020}}
* {{cite web|last1=Jenkins|first1=Jennifer|last2=Boyle|first2=James|date=n.d.|url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2025/#ftnref6|access-date=2025-02-08|title=January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924!|publisher=[[Duke University School of Law]], Center for the Study of the Public Domain}}
* {{cite news |last=King |first=Darryn |date=June 12, 2015 |title=Ben Folds's latest project pays homage to Gershwin, 'the Elton John of his day' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/12/ben-folds-gershwin-ymusic-classical|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=November 29, 2020}}
* {{cite news|last=King|first=Darryn|title=How ''Rhapsody in Blue'' Perfectly Channels New York|date=September 15, 2016|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=November 9, 2020|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-rhapsody-in-blue-perfectly-channels-new-york-1473975013 | url-access = subscription}}
* {{cite web|last1=King|first1=Noel|last2=Jenkins|first2=Jennifer|title=1924 Copyrighted Works to Become Part of the Public Domain|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/12/30/792302139/1924-copyrighted-works-to-become-part-of-the-public-domain|date=December 30, 2019|publisher=[[NPR]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104211840/https://www.npr.org/2019/12/30/792302139/1924-copyrighted-works-to-become-part-of-the-public-domain|archive-date=January 4, 2020|access-date=January 1, 2020}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Levy|first=Aidan|title=''Rhapsody in Blue'' at 90|magazine=[[JazzTimes]]|location=[[Braintree, Massachusetts]]|year=2019|url=https://jazztimes.com/features/columns/rhapsody-in-blue-at-90/|quote=Like a train, Gershwin's sprawling composition had more moving parts than Whiteman had musicians, even augmented with strings, but the band was so versatile that three reed players managed to play a total of 17 parts, including the oboe-like heckelphone, switching as the music dictated.}}
* {{Cite magazine|last1=Lipshutz|first1=Jason|last2=Lynch|first2=Joe|last3=Bowenbank|first3=Starr|last4=Havens|first4=Lyndsey|title=10 Cool New Pop Songs to Get You Through The Week: Red Velvet, Alan Walker, Julia Pratt & More|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/new-pop-songs-red-velvet-alan-walker-julia-pratt-1235177057/|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=November 28, 2022|access-date=February 8, 2025|archive-date=December 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201134359/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/new-pop-songs-red-velvet-alan-walker-julia-pratt-1235177057/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Library of Congress - Copyright Office|url=http://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyri193libr|title=Catalog of Copyright Entries - Part 3: Musical Compositions | volume = 19 | date = 1924 | publisher = U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|others=United States Copyright Office|language=English|ref={{harvid|1924 Copyright Filing}} | url-access = registration}}
* {{cite AV media|people=[[Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra]]|title=Paul Whiteman Orchestra — Live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1926|date=1926|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doHMpHJqSWw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/doHMpHJqSWw| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|medium=[[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]]|location=[[Royal Albert Hall]]|access-date=June 17, 2020|ref={{harvid|Royal Albert Hall|1926}}}}{{cbignore}}
* {{cite web|title=Rhapsody Remastered|url=https://hub.united.com/sp/rhapsody-remastered/|website=[[United Airlines]]|year=2020|access-date=April 27, 2020|ref={{harvid|United Airlines|2020}}}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Schwarz|first=Frederick D.|title=Time Machine: Seventy-five Years Ago Gershwin's Rhapsody|magazine=American Heritage|year=1999|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1999/1/1999_1_126.shtml|volume=50|issue=1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507103040/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1999/1/1999_1_126.shtml|archive-date=May 7, 2006|access-date=February 17, 2007}}
* {{cite web|last=Sisk|first=Sarah|title=When Blue Was New: ''Rhapsody in Blue'''s Premiere at 'An Experiment in Modern Music'|date=February 12, 2016|website=The Gershwin Initiative|url=https://smtd.umich.edu/ami/gershwin/?p=628|publisher=[[University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance]]|access-date=November 10, 2020}}
* {{cite web|last=Sobczynski|first=Peter|title=Criterion Returns King of Jazz to Its Rightful Throne|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]|date=April 9, 2018|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/criterion-returns-king-of-jazz-to-its-rightful-throne|access-date=November 10, 2020}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Solomon|first=Charles|title=''Rhapsody in Blue'': ''Fantasia 2000''{{'}}s Jewel in the Crown|year=1999|url=http://www.awn.com/mag/issue4.09/4.09pages/solomonrhapsody.php3|magazine=[[Animation World Magazine]]|volume=4|issue=9|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013134719/http://awn.com/mag/issue4.09/4.09pages/solomonrhapsody.php3|archive-date=October 13, 2007|access-date=January 24, 2019}}
* {{cite news|last=Swed|first=Mark|date=August 8, 2009|title=Music Review: Lang Lang and Herbie Hancock at the Hollywood Bowl|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/08/lang-lang-and-herbie-hancock-at-the-hollywood-bowl.html|department=Culture Monster|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=[[El Segundo, California]]|access-date=January 24, 2019}}
* {{cite news|last=Teachout|first=Terry|author-link=Terry Teachout|title=The Fabulous Gershwin Boys|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 19, 1992|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1992/01/19/the-fabulous-gershwin-boys/5feacc85-1711-4bb4-8e25-1f00a1436343/|access-date=November 7, 2020}}
* {{cite web|title=The Gershwin Initiative|url=http://www.music.umich.edu/ami/gershwin/|publisher=[[University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance]]|year=2013|access-date=August 30, 2015|ref={{harvid|Gershwin Initiative|2013}}}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Westphal|first=Matthew|title=Michel Camilo and Barcelona Symphony Win Classical Latin Grammy for ''Rhapsody in Blue''|date=November 3, 2006|magazine=[[Playbill]]|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/michel-camilo-and-barcelona-symphony-win-classical-latin-grammy-for-rhapsody-in-blue|access-date=November 10, 2020}}
* {{Cite web |last=Yeo |first=Gladys |date=2023-09-21 |title=Loossemble – ''Loossemble'' review: a charming re-introduction |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/loossemble-review-charming-re-introduction-3501635 |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=[[NME]]}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin)}}
* {{IMSLP|work=Rhapsody_in_Blue_(Gershwin%2C_George)|cname=''Rhapsody in Blue''}}
* {{YouTube|Ce3OERuCY0E|''Rhapsody in Blue'': Yuja Wang Performance 2016 (video; 16:01)}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/resource/muslcdb.muslcdb-100261/?st=gallery Gershwin's Original Manuscript for ''Rhapsody in Blue''] at the [[Library of Congress]]

{{George Gershwin}}
{{Disney's Fantasia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhapsody In Blue}}
[[Category:1924 compositions]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Concertante works by George Gershwin]]
[[Category:Concert band pieces]]
[[Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients]]
[[Category:Jazz compositions]]
[[Category:Music of New York City]]
[[Category:Rhapsodies]]
[[Category:United Airlines]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]
[[Category:Music commissioned by Paul Whiteman]]