Rhapsody in Blue
The lasting impact of George Gershwin's 1924 'Rhapsody in Blue', from movies to dance music. With Moby. From April 2014.
"I'm convinced it's the best thing ever written and recorded in the history of things written and recorded" - Moby.
Rhapsody in Blue was premiered on February 12, 1924, in New York's Aeolian Hall.
Through its use at the opening of Woody Allen's 'Manhattan' it’s become synonymous with the city that inspired its creation.
But for people around the world, George Gershwin's "experiment in modern music" has become imbued with the most personal of memories.
LA based screenwriter Charles Peacock reflects on how this piece has become entwined with his life and how, on an evening at the Hollywood Bowl this music "healed him". When Adela Galasiu was growing up in communist Romania, Rhapsody in Blue represented "life itself, as seen through the eyes of an optimist".
For world speed champion Gina Campbell, the opening of that piece will forever remind her of the roar of the Bluebird's ignition as it flew through the "glass like stillness of the water" and brings back the memories of her father, the legendary Donald Campbell - it was played at his funeral when he was finally laid to rest decades after his fatal record attempt on Coniston Lake.
Featuring interviews with:
Professor of Music, Howard Pollock
Musician, Moby
Producer: Nicola Humphries
First broadcast on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 in April 2014.
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- Tue 1 Apr 2014 11:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Sat 5 Apr 2014 15:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Fri 14 Jul 2017 18:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Sat 15 Jul 2017 00:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Tue 14 Dec 2021 18:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Wed 15 Dec 2021 00:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Fri 16 Feb 2024 20:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
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