Klarinet Archive - Posting 000698.txt from 1999/11

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] pitch bending and the Gershwin Blue Cadenza
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 22:12:50 -0500

At 08:55 PM 11/17/1999 -0500, Donald Longacre wrote:
>Ferde Grofe' (Grand Canyon Suite) was a sideman with Whiteman at the time and
>is credited with the arrangement of R in B which Whiteman used for years.
>Since Whiteman commissioned the work from Gershwin and rushed him to get it
>done, references hold that Gershwin orchestrated the premier performance at
>Aeolian Hall in 1924 and played the piano part as well. This happened two
>years before I was born and needless to say I wasn't there. I do enjoy
>though, these anecdotal incidents in music history. All this may be nothing
>new but I thought I'd send it along. Can you imagine the colossal nerve of
>that clarinet player? But, I think of that glissando as a banner, emblematic
>of the jazz age. Good luck on yours!
>
Ferde Grofe was one of the principal arrangers for Paul Whiteman's band,
which had a rather unique composition: 3 woodwind players (playing 5
different sizes of saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, and oboe), 2
trumpets, 2 horns, 2 trombones, tuba/string bass, various percussion,
banjo, celesta, piano, and 8 violins. According to my information, many
solos in the original score were indicated simply by the players name.
Gorman and his capabilities were clearly in mind when it came to the
opening, although the word "gliss" does not appear in the manuscript. The
score was rather hurriedly constructed, since the piano version was only
finished on February 4th, and the premiere was on the 12th, leaving little
time for arranging, copying, and rehearsal.

When it became clear that the Rhapsody was going to win a permanent and
popular place in American music, GROFE made the second orchestration, this
time for full symphony orchestra.

Irrelevant side note from record jacket: Although we always see (Ferdinand
Rudolf von) Grofe's name spelled "Ferde," he himself signed the original
manuscript in four places "Ferdie." I guess someone decided that looked
too informal.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://homepages.go.com/~zoot14/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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