Concert of the Lithuanian Symphony Wind Orchestra, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
Lithuanian Symphony Wind Orchestra
Conductor Leif Karlsson (Sweden)
Conductor Leif Karlsson (Sweden)
In 1928 the young composer George Gershwin was already a real sensation – the “Blue Rhapsody” created a little earlier became the calling card of American music. G. Gershwin succeeded in what seemed impossible to other composers of his generation – to organically connect African-American and Western European musical traditions. Once while in Paris, the cosmopolitan Gershwin asked Maurice Ravel, the French impressionist classic, to teach him the secrets of composition. But after hearing Gershwin’s music, Ravel replied: “Why be a Ravel of the second kind when you can be a Gershwin of the first kind?” The friendship between the composers continued even later. Gershwin even invited Ravel to tour the United States. It is believed that this friendship inspired the composer to create the symphonic poem “An American in Paris.”
The Lithuanian Symphony Wind Orchestra, inspired by this intercontinental musicianship, presents a program with the same name. It contains echoes of contemporary American and French intonations, merging into an extravagant symphony jazz sound.