Roundtable by the 92nd Street Y: The Revolutionary George Gershwin, Lecture 2 – “Jazz and classical are two languages; I try to speak both”

Gershwin was already a youthful celebrity when his “Rhapsody in Blue” brought him blazing success. However, his restless imagination and boundless creativity drove him to continue dreaming up new ways to fuse his Jewish, jazz, and classical roots, ignoring both snobbery and bigotry on the way. In addition to major musical productions with his brother Ira such as “Lady Be Good” and “Funny Face”, we enjoy his virtuosic Concerto in F and his enchanting paean to the City of Light, “An American in Paris.”