D. Gershwin "American in Paris"
The twenties and the subsequent thirties of the last century in the United States are called the "jazz era". This interesting chapter in the history of musical culture is associated with the name of the eminent American composer George Gershwin, who is today called the classic of the music of the 20th century. Having left a descendants rich creative heritage, he sought to display in his works the spirit of that time and the lifestyle of the American nation. One of such works is the symphonic poem American in Paris. In this work, the composer, without touching on serious social problems, spoke in musical language about the enthusiastic impressions of an American traveling around Paris.
History of creation
1924 in life George Gershwin was very successful. SuccessRhapsody Blues“and then the attractive production of the musical“ Lady, please! ”bore fruit, or rather, good money. The family’s financial situation became so prosperous that it allowed her to acquire a five-story house and move to a more prestigious district of New York, and George finally go on a three-year creative tour of Europe. The success of the young composer in London was so ambitious that even members of the royal family wanted to meet him, but despite the warm welcome of the British, Gershwin’s heart was torn in France This was due to George’s desire to get acquainted with the outstanding composer as soon as possible. Maurice Ravelwhose music he never ceased to admire.
Finally, the long-awaited meeting for the American took place. Gershwin, who was attracted by the unusual harmonization in the works of the French maestro, asked for a few lessons. However, Ravel, after listening to George's work for the first time, refused him affectionately, stating: "Why be second-rate Ravel, if you can be first-class Gershwin?" That is, as the great Frenchman later justified himself, he did not want to spoil the peculiar musical style of the talented American. Subsequently, the friendly relations between the two composers led George to persistently persuade Maurice to visit the United States on a tour.
Paris was impressed by George not only by meeting many famous talented personalities, but also by his sights. The exposition of the Louvre, the palace and park ensemble of Versailles, walks through the Champs-Elysées and the bustling streets of Paris, elegant people, sounds of horns of taxis — all this pleasantly influenced the young man’s imagination and could not but inspire the composer to create a new composition. So a play called “Very Parisian” appeared, in which Gershwin reflected the exciting atmosphere of the Paris capital, and then put her musical material into the basis of a new work - the symphonic poem “American in Paris”.
Returning home in early 1928, George immediately began to bother about Ravel's tour of the United States. To organize a concert trip, he turned to composer's friend Robert Schmitz, the founder of the French-American Musical Society, which was engaged in the USA in popularizing contemporary French music. Schmitz offered Ravel a substantial fee of ten thousand dollars for the concerts, and Maurice agreed that such a reward could improve his financial situation.
Gershwin again met with Ravel in New York on March 7 at a friendly party on the occasion of the birthday of the French composer. A meeting with Maurice prompted George to return to Paris, and this time he traveled with his older brother. This three-month trip was very fruitful, Gershwin closely communicated with the composers: William Walton, Arthur Onegger and Sergey Prokofiev, showed his works to publishers, and also ran around the stores, looking for car horns that he needed to create special sound effects in his conceived "American in Paris". Gershwin enthusiastically began to make sketches of this symphonic poem in France, and he finished it in the States. Subsequently, in his interview to the correspondent of Musical America, the composer explained that in his essay he wanted to display everything that is particularly impressive for an American guest in Paris, that is, to convey the atmosphere of the French capital.
The premiere performance of "American in Paris" took place at Carnegie Hall in mid-December of that same 1928. The piece was performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Walter Damros, and was received by the audience very cordially.
Interesting Facts
- While in Paris, Gershwin, after the refusal of Maurice Ravel, attempted to take a few lessons from Igor Stravinskybut again received a refusal. To the question: "How much money did you earn last year?" George replied: "200,000 dollars." Stravinsky frowned at this with a sneer: "To earn that kind of money, I must learn to write music with you."
- His play "Very Parisian", the melodic material of which Gershwin later used in the symphonic poem "The American in Paris", the composer composed as a gift to Mabel and Robert Schirmer - the hospitable owners of the house who sheltered George during his stay in Paris.
- Maurice Ravel, who praised Gershwin’s talent and still made George think seriously about education, wrote a letter of introduction to his good friend, composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger, who at that time lived in Fontainebleau and worked at the American Conservatory. However, after talking with Gershwin, Nadia expressed that she could not teach him anything.
- For the performance of the “American in Paris”, a musical instrument was specially made, consisting of four different sounding horns, which at the beginning of the work portrayed signals from Paris taxis. In the score, their order was denoted by the letters A, B, C and D, and in addition the duration of their sound was indicated. For the execution of the poem, George himself chose the horns in Paris, but, unfortunately, today they are lost.
- The “American” orchestration that we hear today has significant differences from the original Gershwin version. This should blame the publisher of composer Frank Campbell-Watson. He edited the score in such a way that it lost its original appearance.
- In 1951, the musical melodrama "An American in Paris" was filmed by director Vincent Minnelli, in which Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron starred. There is a lot of George Gershwin's melodies in the film, and it ends with a grand dance scene in which the music of the composer’s symphonic poem is used. The following 1952 film received six Oscars.
Content
"An American in Paris" is a musical fantasy that has features both of the suite and of the symphonic poem, with which it is brought together by freedom in the development of musical material and a motivic connection. The work can be divided into five sections, enclosed in the framework of the three-part form. The first part of the "Allegretto grazioso" composer, to brighten the French flavor, wrote in the style Claude Debussy and composers of the famous association "The Six". Based on three themes that are continuously varying and actively developing, it displays the walk of an American guest through the streets of Paris, a taxi driver’s quarrel and a rest over a cup of coffee in the student quarter. The middle section is "Andante ma con ritmo deciso", starting with a beautiful solo in blues honesty pipes, conveys the nostalgic feeling associated with homesickness that has arisen in American in connection with a visit to the magnificent Luxembourg Garden. In the last part, which tells how our traveler met with his countryman and shared his impressions with him, the themes that sounded energetically in the first part again come back, and in the grand finale the blues theme from the middle section also appears.
"An American in Paris" is a remarkable work by an outstanding composer. George Gershwin Immediately loved listeners around the world. It is on a par with the famous masterpieces of the American maestro, which are often played on the best scenes performed by star musical groups, along with Porgy and Bes and Blues Rhapsody.
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