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Alsop Hot, Thibaudet Cool

Jeff Dunn on May 18, 2010
Rhapsody in Blue

“What?!” you say, “another recording of Rhapsody in Blue?” Amazon lists 632 recordings of this music co-opted by United Airlines ads and 71 MP3 downloads. What’s so special about this rendition?

There are a few somewhat unusual features. The performance uses the jazz-band orchestrations of Ferde Grofé for both the Rhapsody and the Concerto in F. The forces include conductor Marin Alsop and her fairly recently wed orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony. Alsop is known for her affinity to New York music of the energetic variety, as she has shown hereabouts in many Cabrillo Festival concerts. The CD is a live concert recording, which could, in theory, add a certain spontaneity.

Finally, the French pianist, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, in photos plastered all over the release, looks really cool in sunglasses.

The trouble is, while Thibaudet is cool, Alsop is hot. She gets her band going in some crazy licks in the Rhapsody, but then Thibaudet comes in with a mismatched, continental elegance better suited to a conductor like André Previn. In the more formal Concerto in F, the two make a more satisfying pair, but in the breakneck finale, Alsop’s brass can’t keep up the pace without fudging their articulation.

Listen to the Music

Rhapsody In Blue

Concerto in F, III - Allegro agitato

The engineering is adequate, and the issue also includes a good performance of Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm variations.

This disc is recommended for Alsop fans and for those wanting to hear a really zany clarinetist in the Rhapsody. But those wanting a truly cartoonish, wild ride with the big band should download Michael Tilson Thomas’ 1976 version with the Columbia Jazz Band, and Gershwin himself playing via a piano roll. It’s a hoot.