Notes and Editorial Reviews
GERSHWIN
Rhapsody in Blue.
Piano Concerto in F. 3 Preludes.
Bidin’ My Time
•
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (pn)
•
ETCETERA 1176 (60:15)
This is the first of Dorothy Lewis-Griffith’s two Gershwin CDs, recorded at the University of Cambridge, England, concert hall in 1989 and 1992. It stood to reason that she would include his three most famous piano works on a debut disc, but in two of them she arranged her own transcriptions. What surprises me is that her
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version of
Rhapsody in Blue
is entirely different from the Duo-Art piano roll that the composer made in 1925 of the complete work. That performance, like both of his studio recordings with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, had a jolly, taut, straightforward style, but here Lewis-Griffith allows her mind to play with the music, giving free rein to asymmetrical phrasing, slight rhythmic displacement (not jazz rhythms but interesting nonetheless), and unusual phrasing I’ve not heard from any other Gershwin pianist. In short, it is
sui generis.
Much of the same can be said of her solo transcription of the Concerto in F. Gershwin never recorded this himself, but there is the Roy Bargy performance with Whiteman for Columbia in 1928 as well as two versions by his friend and apostle Oscar Levant (one conducted by Kostelanetz, the other by Toscanini), and recordings by another Gershwin specialist, the late Earl Wild, and none of them sound like this. Quite a compliment to her imagination and ingenuity. One might also compare this reading to the one with orchestra recently recorded by Ian Parker (ATMA 2656).
Though there are similar touches in the Three Preludes, these are more in the recognizable Gershwin style. The recital ends with an arrangement by Cyril F. Walter of the famous song from
Girl Crazy,
“Bidin’ My Time,” and she gives it the full measure of her artistry. These are certainly fascinating, eclectic readings of familiar Gershwin works, well worth hearing by the composer’s many fans.
FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley
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Works on This Recording
1.
An American in Paris by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1928; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 18 Minutes 48 Secs.
2.
Novelette in fourths by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
3.
Porgy and Bess: Summertime by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 2 Minutes 58 Secs.
4.
Porgy and Bess: My man's gone now by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 4 Minutes 13 Secs.
5.
Porgy and Bess: I got plenty o' nuttin' by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Written: 1935
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 1 Minutes 50 Secs.
6.
Porgy and Bess: Bess, you is my woman now by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 4 Minutes 30 Secs.
7.
Porgy and Bess: It ain't necessarily so by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 2 Minutes 56 Secs.
8.
Porgy and Bess: I loves you, Porgy by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 2 Minutes 37 Secs.
9.
Porgy and Bess: Clara, Clara by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 2 Minutes 28 Secs.
10.
Porgy and Bess: There's a boat dat's leavin' soon for New York by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 2 Minutes 15 Secs.
11.
Porgy and Bess: Oh Bess, where's my Bess? by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 2 Minutes 38 Secs.
12.
Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra no 2 "Rhapsody in Rivets" by George Gershwin
Performer:
Dorothy Lewis-Griffith (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1931; USA
Venue: University of Cambridge
Length: 15 Minutes 41 Secs.
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