The Gershwin Moment: Rhapsody in Blue & Piano Concerto in F Major (Live)

Rhapsody in Blue, recorded from live performances in its Paul Whiteman Band version, is Gershwin’s dazzling conversation between jazz and classical music. Kirill Gerstein, one of today’s most versatile artists, fuses them seamlessly, achieving a performance that, in his own words, is “not too classical, not too jazzy”. It’s fleet-fingered, brash and brassy, louche and lazy, and the St Louis Symphony Orchestra carries him along with playing that delights. Gerstein’s solo numbers are a touch of genius, carrying us into the intimate ambiance of a jazz club, before the Piano Concerto in F Major, with its homages to Stravinsky and Ravel, sends us dancing back into the concert hall.