The main attraction of this release for Gershwin buffs will be the new edition of the Concerto in F, made by annotator Timothy Freeze and performed here for the first time. The story is that the Concerto in F as it has come down to the present day is based more on performing traditions than on Gershwin's own interpretive markings, which, for the most part, are missing. It fell to Freeze to divine Gershwin's intentions, partly making use of later revisions made to the manuscript. The changes to the familiar score are not ...
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The main attraction of this release for Gershwin buffs will be the new edition of the Concerto in F, made by annotator Timothy Freeze and performed here for the first time. The story is that the Concerto in F as it has come down to the present day is based more on performing traditions than on Gershwin's own interpretive markings, which, for the most part, are missing. It fell to Freeze to divine Gershwin's intentions, partly making use of later revisions made to the manuscript. The changes to the familiar score are not huge, but they have the interesting cumulative effect of making the Concerto a bit less jazzy (listen closely to the very end). The new edition fits with the other major reason one might want this album: the changes bring the Gershwin Concerto closer to a mainstream of American music represented by the other three works. The program is of a type more often offered by ensembles in Europe, where Gershwin has always been taken seriously and placed in this mainstream, but it is well-chosen...
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