Klarinet Archive - Posting 000214.txt from 2009/03

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Glissando vs. portamento (was: Rhapsody in Blue)
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:33:13 -0400

At 03:38 PM 3/30/2009, Michael Nichols wrote:
>I think what it comes down to is that Gershwin originally wrote it at
>the piano for himself to play. (You can buy a recording of the piano
>roll version with Gershwin playing and listen yourself.) So it's a
>glissando. But the practice is to play it at least partly as a
>continuous glissando (a.k.a portamento) on the clarinet.

Gershwin was an excellent pianist, but not THAT good. The piano roll
was made in two passes, as it is impossible to play all the notes in
it at one time. The Rhapsody was written expressly for the Paul
Whiteman Orchestra to play, and was given its first performance by
him, as orchestrated by his arranger Ferde Grofe. Whiteman's first
clarinetist Ross Gorman was coached extensively by Gershwin on how to
perform the part. The original score does not contain the word
"gliss" although the later score Grofe did for full symphony
orchestra does. A most interesting recording of the original version
of the work was made by Michael Tilson Thomas, using the original
Whiteman band score and the piano roll with all the accompaniment
notes covered up, leaving only the solo part, as performed by Gershwin himself.

By the way, the version recorded in 1924 was abridged because of the
limitations of the recording technology of the time, i.e., to allow
it to fit on two sides of a 12" 78 rpm record (at approximately 5
minutes per side).

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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