publicradio.org, as data

Recommended Gershwin RecordingsBy MPR Music Librarian Rex LevangThis discography is provided as an accompaniment to the feature: Who Could Ask for Anything More?: A Hundred Years of George Gershwin. Many of these recordings are available from the Public Radio MusicSource .The Broadway Shows | Gershwin by Gershwin**THE FIRST MUSICIAN TO RECORD** Gershwin's music was Gershwin himself: In 1916, the 18-year-old George made a piano roll of his song, "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em."Since then, Gershwin recordings have issued forth steadily, performed by everyone from Otto Klemperer to *Seinfeld'*s Jason Alexander. What follows is a highly selective list of basic recordings, with a leaning toward Gershwin's classical output - plus a few extras.**Concert Hall Works: Rhapsody in Blue; Concerto in F; An American in Paris**These are the three works on which Gershwin's fame in the concert hall rests. The classic name here is Leonard Bernstein, with his characteristic energy and spontaneity. These performances have been issued many times, e.g.: on Sony 63086.Bernstein didn't record the concerto, though, so for all three pieces on one disc (plus the *I Got Rhythm Variations*), go for another great advocate of Gershwin, Earl Wild (RCA 6519.)The *Rhapsody in Blue* is a special case. It was always known that the standard version for symphony orchestra had been preceded by an arrangement for Paul Whiteman's jazz band. But it wasn't till the 1970s that musicians started researching what that original version might have sounded like, and bringing it to life in performances.Which one is the "true" Gershwin? Well, both. But the jazz version, with its snappy tempos and saxes instead of violins, makes the old Rhapsody sound like a whole new piece. You can even get this version with Gershwin as the piano soloist, thanks to some technical hocus-pocus with piano rolls (with Michael Tilson Thomas; CBS 42240.)