Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F

Universal Classical Album of the Month, March 2010

ARTISTS

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop

TRACK LISTING

GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue (original jazz band version, orch. Ferde Grofé, 1924) GERSHWIN: "I Got Rhythm" Variations (composer's original manuscript version, 1934) GERSHWIN: Piano Concerto in F (jazz band version, arr. Ferde Grofé, 1928)

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, one of the most charismatic and technically prodigious pianists performing today, puts his stamp on two of Gershwin’s masterpieces - the Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F.

The album combines these beloved standards with the lesser known, witty yet captivating, Variations on “I Got Rhythm”, creating Jean-Yves’s most commercial album of recent years.

Uniquely, both major works are presented in their ‘jazz band’ orchestrations, created by legendary composer/arranger Ferde Grofé for the equally celebrated Paul Whiteman Band.

Under the energizing baton of Marin Alsop’s (herself a famous exponent of Gershwin), Jean-Yves Thibaudet, accompanied by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, turns in thrilling, jazz-inspired interpretations from these live concert performances.

After a performance in 2009, Jean-Yves Thibaudet was lauded by the Süddeutsche Zeitung for his “cultured and carefully molded tone” in Gershwin’s Concerto in F and for the “lightness of touch which has always characterized his playing”.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet will be the featured artist on the cover of the BBC Music Magazine March issue, which will also focus on this major new Gershwin release.