Feb 17, 2026
Maestro’s Latest Blog
George Gershwin––He … Had Rhythm!
We have really been enjoying presenting the music of American composers this season as our contribution to the 250th celebration of our country’s independence. We will end our festivities with a digital recording of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on Sunday, June 14, 2026 for American Public Television in the Alexander Kasser Theater on the campus of Montclair State University. This Discovery Concert™, entitled Discover Rhapsody in Blue, will be one to be enjoyed and savored. But—in the meantime—we have some warm up activities planned for our online audience.
We will soon be releasing a series of four new Discovery Orchestra Chats on Gershwin’s Three Preludes for piano solo. Each of these short compositions is a gem—a distilled essence of his wonderful style of writing. The work has a “bookends”—or what I sometimes like to call a “sandwich”—structure: two movements with fast tempos bookending the middle, slow prelude … or, if you will, two pieces of fast bread with a slow filling of some kind in the center. Gershwin’s Three Preludes had not been part of my pianist mother’s repertoire, large and varied though it was. So, it was a great joy when I discovered this work in the fall of 1966 when I began attending music school in Louisville. The slow middle movement in particular continues to move me greatly ever since that first encounter.
We’ll be jumping headlong into these delightful Gershwin miniatures—and we’ll be joined for this series by Spanish pianist Enriqueta Somarriba (pictured here). Some of you heard her play on our live Inside Music broadcast in March 2025. On that occasion, Enriqueta and our talented former Executive Director (as well as clarinetist and composer) Virginia Johnston performed Ginny’s Suite for Clarinet and Piano. We hope that you will “stay tuned” to our e-blasts, and we promise to let you know when each of these Discovery Orchestra Chats is released on YouTube. In the meantime, enjoy watching Gershwin himself play I Got Rhythm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQdeTbUDCiw.
Finally—please mark your calendars on Sunday, June 14th for Discover Rhapsody in Blue. While there is no admission chargefor this television production, Kasser Theater has less than 500 seats, and we expect them to go quickly. More information will be coming soon about how to reserve your free tickets!
