MUSIC EDUCATION PACK PRODUCTION ELEMENTS & CREATIVE DECISION 01

Transcription

1 MUSIC EDUCATION PACK PRODUCTION ELEMENTS & CREATIVE DECISION 01

2 USING THIS RESOURCE PACK This pack aims to give Music teachers and students further understanding of An American in Paris. It includes materials and information about the production that can be used as a stimulus for discussion and practical activities. The resources are aimed at students who are studying courses in Music at secondary level from Key Stage 4-5, but will also be useful for Higher Education students studying a music degree in either research or practice. Resources aim to help students appraise, compose and perform music and develop a music chronology through their wider listening. By building on their knowledge of musical elements and context, this pack should help students reflect upon and evaluate their own and others music. These resources have been built through conversations with secondary Music teachers and with support from Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts. SUMMARY OF APPLICABLE CURRICULUM AIMS FOR STUDENTS: Summary of applicable curriculum aims for students: Recognise contrasting genres, styles and traditions of music, and develop some awareness of musical chronology. Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions; including the works of the great composers and musicians. Learn to compose music on their own and with others. Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations. Improvise and compose; extend and develop musical ideas by drawing on a range of musical structures, styles, genres and traditions. Listen with increasing discrimination to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians. Develop a deepening understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history. Questions, discussion points, further reading and activities are provided in blue boxes. Use these to challenge and apply understanding. The symbols below are used throughout the pack to highlight any activities, ideas for discussion, or worksheets. TEACHER INFORMATION DESCRIBE & EXPLAIN STUDENT WORKSHEET OR INFORMATION SHEET At the top right hand corner of every page, there is an indication of which levels the page is relevant to, in bold. A range of supporting videos can be found on the An American In Paris UK Education YouTube channel: HOW TO USE THIS PACK 02

3 CONTENTS Section 1: An introduction to An American in Paris»Introduction»»History» of the show»structure:» scene outline»creative» team and cast Page 04 Page 05 Page 07 Page 08 Section 2: History of the music»the» Gershwin Brothers: an overview»george» Gershwin: further reading»ira» Gershwin: further reading Page 09 Page 10 Page 12 Section 3: Music in An American in Paris»Outline» of songs, compositions and dates»character» and vocal parts»article:» An American Lost In Paris: Gershwin navigating the classical sphere»activity:» influence and composition»synopsis» and scene by scene breakdown Page 13 Page 15 Page 16 Page 20 Page 21 Section 4: Further student activities»activity» 1: Listening and appraising»activity» 2: Appraising and composing»activity» 3: Composing»Article:» 1929 Gershwin taxi horn photo clarifies mystery Page 25 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Section 5: Reflecting and reviewing music in An American in Paris»Review» questions and analysis»essay» questions Page 29 Page 30 Section 6: Production and rehearsal photos, set and costume designs»costumes»»set» Models»Rehearsal» Shots»Production» Photos Page 31 Page 36 Page 39 Page 40 Section 7: Further information: watching, reading and listening»rob» Fisher: music score adaptation»christopher» Austin: orchestration»credits» Page 42 Page 42 Page 43 CONTENTS 03

4 SECTION 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO AN AMERICAN IN PARIS INTRODUCTION KS3 KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER Jerry Mulligan is an American GI striving to make it as a painter in a city suddenly bursting with hope and possibility. Following a chance encounter with a beautiful young dancer named Lise, the streets of Paris become the backdrop to a sensuous, modern romance of art, friendship and love in the aftermath of war... The reimagining of the Oscar winning film, An American in Paris, started its journey as a new musical in Paris before opening on Broadway, and now plays in London s West End at the Dominion Theatre. With the musical score and lyrics arranged by the proficient Gershwin brothers, it features many of George and Ira s popular and timeless songs. The music pulls from their entire, combined musical repertoire, including I Got Rhythm, 'S Wonderful and They Can t Take That Away From Me, making it even more of a unique production. Performed by a company of 50 actors, dancers and musicians and directed and choreographed by Olivier and Tony Award-winner Christopher Wheeldon, this celebrated production played a sold out, world premiere engagement at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris before transferring triumphantly to Broadway, where it became the most awarded musical of the year. View the official trailer here: 1wt8tLjkI4w ABOUT OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMME Introduce your students to the unforgettable world of An American in Paris, the acclaimed stage musical created by some of the most celebrated theatre-makers in the world. The production explores the themes of love, loss, friendship and the healing power of art, music, and dance as the City of Light emerges from four years of Nazi occupation. Original Broadway Production photography by Angela Sterling. AN INTRODUCTION TO AN AMERICAN IN PARIS 04

5 HISTORY OF THE SHOW 1920s KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER George Gershwin s Tone Poem In 1928, the American composer George Gershwin wrote An American in Paris, a symphonic tone poem for orchestra, which became one of his most well known compositions. Back in New York it premiered at Carnegie Hall, with Walter Damrosch conducting the New York Symphony Society Orchestra. 1950s MGM Motion Picture The idea for An American in Paris came to producer Arthur Freed when he attended a concert of George Gershwin s An American in Paris. Freed liked the title and from that he built a musical with Gershwin tunes after months of negotiations with Ira Gershwin, estate trustees and two different music publishers. Further developed by the artistic triumvirate of choreographer and star Gene Kelly, director Vincente Minelli and screenwriter Alan J. Lerner, An American in Paris became one of the most famous film musicals in the history of Hollywood and went on to win six Academy Awards in In approaching the film s choreographic sequences, Kelly took the opportunity to make cinematic choices that broke new ground, including the legendary 17 minute final ballet sequence. This was set to an adaptation of George Gershwin s original tone poem. He also discovered co-star Leslie Caron after seeing her in Paris Ballet des Champs-Élysées trailer: Gene Kelly biography: BBC radio recording. An American in Paris - Timecode: 06:55: Christopher Wheeldon s New York City Ballet The musical s director and choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon, Resident Choreographer and First Resident Artist of the New York City Ballet (NYCB), previously created a ballet set to the Gershwin score, for the NYCB. The cast of 31 included beatniks, fashion models, tourists, schoolgirls and even a Tour de France bicyclist in a yellow jersey. Set design included backdrops inspired by Picasso and Braque giving a Cubist perspective of the city. The ballet was 21 minutes in duration and premiered on May 4, 2005 at the New York State Theatre PRESENT DAY Ballet on Broadway The estates of the Gershwin brothers wanted to develop a stage musical of An American in Paris and approached the producers Stuart Oken and Van Kaplan. They then joined forces with Jean-Luc Choplin, of Paris Théàtre du Châtelet, who was also seeking the rights to the stage adaptation. Craig Lucas wrote the book for the musical, adapting Alan J. Lerner s original screenplay for the 1951 film. He played with the narrative, moving the time period setting from the early 1950s to 1945, directly after the war had ended and Paris had just been liberated. The characters were also developed further, altering their backstories to give different motivations and contexts. HISTORY OF THE SHOW 05

6 Christopher Wheeldon came on board after being contacted by producer Stuart Oken. The production team wanted a united vision to connect the directing and choreography, because there was so much dance in the show. Using dance as a primary storytelling tool was a priority for the production and so after six weeks of workshops, Wheeldon joined the creative team as both director and choreographer. The producers were also given full access to look through the entire Gershwin catalogue from the estate and were able to flavour the new narrative with both Ira and George Gershwin s compositions. On 22nd November 2014, the world premiere of An American in Paris opened at the Théâtre du Châtelet and ran until 4th January The Broadway premiere opened at the Palace Theater March 13, 2015 and transfers to the West End in March Craig Lucas interview: Stuart Oken and Christopher Wheeldon speak about how the musical came to life: Timecode: 10:00 Original Broadway Production photography by Angela Sterling. HISTORY OF THE SHOW 06

7 STRUCTURE: SCENE OUTLINE ACT ONE KS3 KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER SCENE LOCATION MUSIC Prologue 1.1 Paris Concerto In F - Orchestra 1.2 Dutois Café I Got Rhythm - Henri, Adam, Jerry, Company 1.3 Ballet du Châtelet Second Prelude - Orchestra 1.4 Galeries Lafayette Beginner s Luck - Jerry 1.5 Baurel Manse, Quiet Café (Letters) The Man I Love - Lise 1.6 Along the Seine Liza - Jerry 1.7 Baurel Manse 1.8 Dutois Café, Paris Streets, Jerry s Room S Wonderful - Adam, Henri, Jerry, Company 1.9 The Ritz Shall We Dance? - Milo 1.10 Paris Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture - Orchestra 1.10 (a) Gallery Opening, same night Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture - Orchestra 1.10 (b) Along the Seine, next afternoon Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture - Orchestra 1.10 (c) Ballet Studio Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture - Orchestra 1.10 (d) Nightclub, later that evening Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture - Orchestra 1.10 (e) 3 locations at once: Dutois Café, Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture - Orchestra Ballet Studio, the Ritz 1.10 (f) Along the Seine Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture - Orchestra 1.10 (g) Bal des Beaux Arts Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture - Orchestra ACT TWO SCENE LOCATION MUSIC 2.1 Baurel Manse, evening For Lily Pons and Fidgety Feet - Jerry 2.2 Three Locations At Once: 2.2 (a) Baurel Manse Who Cares? - Milo, Adam, Henri 2.2 (b) The Ritz For You, For Me, For Evermore - Lise, Henri, Jerry, Milo 2.2 (c) The Dutois Café But Not For Me medley - Adam and Milo 2.3 Montmartre Cabaret, evening 2.3 (a) Dressing Room, Backstage I ll Build A Stairway To Paradise - Henri, Adam, Company 2.3 (b) Front of House, Montmartre Cabaret 2.4 Ballet du Châtelet 2.4 (a) Lise s Dressing Room 2.4 (b) Onstage - ballet performed An American in Paris ballet - Orchestra 2.4 (c) After show party They Can t Take That Away From Me - Adam, Jerry, Henri 2.5 The Seine They Can t Take That Away From Me - Adam, Jerry, Henri SCENE OUTLINE 07

8 CREATIVE TEAM GEORGE GERSHWIN COMPOSER IRA GERSHWIN LYRICIST CRAIG LUCAS BOOK CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER ROB FISHER MUSICAL SCORE ADAPTATION BOB CROWLEY NATASHA KATZ JON WESTON 59 PRODUCTIONS SET & COSTUME DESIGN LIGHTING DESIGN SOUND DESIGN PROJECTION DESIGN TODD ELLISON JOHN RIGBY ANDY BARNWELL JONATHAN O BOYLE MUSICAL SUPERVISOR MUSICAL DIRECTOR ORCHESTRA MANAGER RESIDENT DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER AUSTIN BILL ELLIOT DON SEBESKY SAM DAVIS ORCHESTRATOR ADDITIONAL ORCHESTRATIONS ADDITIONAL ORCHESTRATIONS DANCE ARRANGER DONTEE KIEHN JACQUELIN BARRETT RICK STEIGER EMMA HARRIS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR/CHOREOGRAPHER ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR/CHOREOGRAPHER PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR RESIDENT DANCE SUPERVISOR JAMES ORANGE UK CASTING DIRECTOR PATRICK MOLONY PRODUCTION MANAGER PLAYFUL PRODUCTIONS GENERAL MANAGER STUART OKEN PRODUCER VAN KAPLAN ROY FURMAN MICHAEL McCABE JOSHUA ANDREWS PRODUCER PRODUCER PRODUCER PRODUCER UK PREMIERE CAST ROBERT FAIRCHILD JERRY MULLIGAN LEANNE COPE LISE DASSIN JANE ASHER MADAME BAUREL HAYDN OAKLEY HENRI BAUREL ZOË RAINEY MILO DAVENPORT DAVID SEADON-YOUNG ADAM HOCHBERG ASHLEY DAY ALTERNATE JERRY MULLIGAN For an up to date list of cast and creatives please refer to: CAST AND CREATIVE 08

9 Images courtesy of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts SECTION 2: HISTORY OF THE MUSIC THE GERSHWIN BROTHERS: AN OVERVIEW George and Ira Gershwin will always be remembered as the songwriting team whose voice was synonymous with the sounds and style of the Jazz Age. From 1924 until George s death in 1937, the brothers wrote almost exclusively with each other, composing over two dozen scores for Broadway and Hollywood. Though they had many individual song hits, their greatest achievement may have been the elevation of musical comedy to an American art form. With their trilogy of political satires Strike Up the Band, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Of Thee I Sing and its sequel, Let Em Eat Cake (all three written with playwrights George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind) they helped raise popular musical theatre to a new level of sophistication. Their now classic folk opera, Porgy and Bess (co-written with DuBose Heyward) is constantly revived in opera houses and theatres throughout the world and features George s 20th century American classic Summertime. George s Concert Work Concurrently with the Gershwins musical theatre and film work, George attained great success in the concert arena as a piano virtuoso, conductor and composer of such celebrated works as Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris and the Concerto in F. George experimented with the classical sound he had acquired in Paris during the 1920s, when he first began to write An American in Paris. Combining this with his background in mass-market jazz and blues, George forged ahead defining his own American classic style and creating something new. After George s death, Ira continued to work in film and theatre with collaborators ranging from Kurt Weill and Jerome Kern to Harold Arlen, Burton Lane, Vernon Duke and Harry Warren, among others, writing such standards as Long Ago (and Far Away) and The Man That Got Away, both nominated for Academy Awards. George Gershwin s Paris Described by George Gershwin as an extended symphonic tone poem, the 1928 music composition, An American in Paris, was written by Gershwin on commission from the New York Philharmonic and soon became one of his most famous compositions. Inspired by his time spent in Paris during the 1920s, Gershwin noted, My purpose here is to portray the impression of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city and listens to various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere. At approximately 20 minutes in length, the composition premiered on 13th December 1928 at Carnegie Hall under the orchestration of Walter Damrosch. The piece was hailed by the critic Isaac Goldberg as being an American Afternoon of a Faun. An American in Paris, the Musical The creators of An American in Paris were allowed to look through the entire Gershwin catalogue to find music that best fit the story adapted from the 1951 film. This long and exacting process resulted in a mixed selection that includes some of Ira s most famous lyrics in songs like I Got Rhythm, They Can t Take That Away from Me and S Wonderful as well as George s orchestral compositions like the American in Paris ballet, the Second Rhapsody and the Cuban Overture. For a clear timeline of the Gershwin brother s life and works see here: SECTION 2: HISTORY OF THE MUSIC 09

10 GEORGE GERSHWIN: FURTHER READING The images and text below are taken from the official George and Ira Gershwin website, with permission of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts. THE JAZZ AGE METEOR A young George Gershwin, ca George Gershwin, born in Brooklyn, New York on September 26, 1898, was the second son of Russian immigrants. As a boy, George was anything but studious, and it came as a wonderful surprise to his family that he had secretly been learning to play the piano. In 1914, Gershwin left high school to work as a Tin Pan Alley song plugger and within three years, When You Want Em, You Can t Get Em; When You Have Em, You Don t Want Em, was published. Though this initial effort created little interest, Swanee (lyrics by Irving Caesar) turned into a smash hit by Al Jolson in 1919 brought Gershwin his first real fame. In 1924, when George teamed up with his older brother Ira, the Gershwins became the dominant Broadway songwriters, creating infectious rhythm numbers and poignant ballads, fashioning the words to fit the melodies with a glove-like fidelity. This extraordinary combination created a succession of musical comedies, including Lady, Be Good! (1924), Oh, Kay! (1926), Funny Face (1927), Strike Up The Band (1927 and 1930), Girl Crazy (1930), and Of Thee I Sing (1931), the first musical comedy to win a Pulitzer Prize. Over the years, Gershwin songs have also been used in numerous films, including Shall We Dance (1937), A Damsel In Distress (1937), and An American In Paris (1951). Later years produced the award-winning new stage musicals My One and Only (1983) and Crazy For You (1992), which ran for four years on Broadway. George Gershwin in Europe, EARLY DAYS Starting with his early days as a song composer, Gershwin had ambitions to compose serious music. Asked by Paul Whiteman to write an original work for a concert of modern music to be presented at Aeolian Hall in New York on February 12, 1924, George, who was hard at work on a musical comedy, Sweet Little Devil, barely completed his composition in time. Commencing with the first low trill of the solo clarinet and its spine-tingling run up the scale, Rhapsody In Blue caught the public s fancy and opened a new era in American music. In 1925, conductor Walter Damrosch commissioned Gershwin to compose a piano concerto for the New York Symphony Society. Many feel that the Concerto in F is Gershwin s finest orchestral work. Others opt for his An American in Paris (1928) or his Second Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, which he introduced with himself as pianist with the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzsky in George Gershwin with Al Jolson and friends, ca In 1926 Gershwin read Porgy, DuBose Heyward s novel of the South Carolina Gullah culture, and immediately recognized it as a perfect vehicle for a folk opera using blues and jazz idioms. Porgy and Bess (co-written with Heyward and Ira) was Gershwin s most ambitious undertaking, integrating unforgettable songs with dramatic incident. Porgy and Bess previewed in Boston on September 30, 1935 and opened its Broadway run on October 10. The opera had major revivals in 1942, 1952, 1976, and 1983 and has toured the world. It was made into a major motion picture by Samuel Goldwyn in 1959, while Trevor Nunn s landmark Glyndebourne Opera production was taped for television in George Gershwin at the piano, Paris, Images courtesy of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts GEORGE GERSHWIN 10

11 GEORGE'S CAREER George Gershwin rehearsing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, George Gershwin was at the height of his career in His symphonic works and three Preludes for piano were becoming part of the standard repertoire for concerts and recitals, and his show songs had brought him increasing fame and fortune. It was in Hollywood, while working on the score of The Goldwyn Follies, that George Gershwin died of a brain tumor; he was not quite 39 years old. Countless people throughout the world, who knew Gershwin only through his work, were stunned by the news as if they had suffered a personal loss. Some years later, the writer John O Hara summed up their feelings: George Gershwin died July 11, 1937, but I don t have to believe it if I don t want to. Gershwin s works are performed today with greater frequency than they were during his brief lifetime. His songs and concert pieces continue to fill the pages of discographies and orchestra calendars. The Trustees of Columbia University recognized Gershwin s influence and made up for his not receiving a Pulitzer for Of Thee I Sing in 1932 when they awarded him a special posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1998, the centennial of his birth. George Gershwin and Ginger Rogers on the set of Shall We Dance, There s a Boat Dat s Leavin Soon for New York Sheet music cover from the original production of Porgy and Bess, Images courtesy of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts GEORGE GERSHWIN 11

12 IRA GERSHWIN: FURTHER READING The images and text below are taken from the official George and Ira Gershwin website, with permission of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts. A young Ira Gershwin, ca THE CONTEMPLATIVE CRAFTSMAN Ira Gershwin, the first lyricist to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Of Thee I Sing in 1932 was born in New York City on December 6, While attending the College of the City of New York, Ira began demonstrating his lifelong interest in light verse and contributed quatrains and squibs to newspaper columnists. In 1918, while working as the desk attendant in a Turkish bath, he tentatively began a collaboration with his brother George, and their The Real American Folk Song (Is a Rag) was heard in Nora Bayes Ladies First. Not wanting to trade on the success of his already famous brother, Ira adopted the nom de plume of Arthur Francis, combining the names of his youngest brother Arthur and sister Frances. Under this pen name, Ira supplied lyrics for his first Broadway show, Two Little Girls In Blue (1921), with music by Vincent Youmans. Ira Gershwin in the early 1920s. By 1924 Ira was ready to begin his successful and lifelong collaboration with George and dropped the pseudonym. The Gershwins created their first joint hit, Lady, Be Good!, for Fred and Adele Astaire and followed it with more than 20 scores for stage and screen, including Oh, Kay! for Gertrude Lawrence; two versions of Strike Up The Band (1927 and 1930); Ethel Merman s introduction to Broadway, Girl Crazy (1930); Shall We Dance (1937), one of Hollywood s stylish pairings of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; and the triumphant folk opera, Porgy and Bess, written with DuBose Heyward. Before and after George s death in 1937, Ira collaborated with such composers as Harold Arlen (A Star Is Born, 1954), Vernon Duke (Ziegfield Follies 1936), Kurt Weill (Lady In The Dark, 1941), Jerome Kern (Cover Girl, 1944), Harry Warren (The Barkleys of Broadway, 1949; the final Astaire/Rogers picture), Arthur Schwartz (Park Avenue, 1946), and Burton Lane (Give A Girl A Break, 1953) THE JEWELLER Ira Gershwin, Beverly Hills, California, For his film achievements, Ira Gershwin was nominated three times for an Academy Award : for the songs They Can t Take That Away From Me, Long Ago (and Far Away) (his biggest song hit in any one year), and The Man That Got Away. In 1966 he received a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Maryland, confirming the judgment of so many of his literary admirers writers such as Dashiell Hammett, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, S. N. Behrman, P. G. Wodehouse, W. H. Auden, Ogden Nash, and Lorenz Hart, to name only a few that his work was not only of the first rank, but that the Gershwin standards set new standards for the American musical theatre. Small wonder that their songs have been taken up by a younger generation delighted by the new Gershwin musicals, My One And Only (1983) and the 1992 Tony Award winner for best musical, Crazy For You. In the years after George s death, Ira attended to the Gershwin legacy of songs, show and film scores, and concert works. Ira annotated all the materials that pertained to the careers of his brother and himself before donating them to the Library of Congress to become part of our national heritage. In 1985 the United States Congress recognized this legacy by awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to George and Ira, only the third time in our nation s history that songwriters had been so honored. On August 17, 1983, Ira Gershwin died at the Gershwin Plantation, the Beverly Hills home that he shared with his wife Leonore, to whom he had dedicated his unique collection of lyrics, musings, observations, and anecdotes, and the critically acclaimed Lyrics on Several Occasions (1959, 1997). Images courtesy of the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts IRA GERSHWIN 12

13 SECTION 3: MUSIC IN AN AMERICAN IN PARIS OUTLINE OF SONGS, COMPOSITIONS AND DATES KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER Song or composition title Performed by Written by Original date Concerto in F Orchestra George Gershwin 1925 I Got Rhythm Henri, Adam, Jerry, Company Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1930 Second Prelude Orchestra George Gershwin 1926 I ve Got Beginner s Luck Jerry Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1937 The Man I Love Lise Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1924 Liza Jerry Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn 1929 'S Wonderful Adam, Henri, Jerry, Company Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1927 Shall We Dance? Milo Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1937 MUSIC IN AN AMERICAN IN PARIS 13

14 Second Rhapsody/ Cuban Overture Orchestra George Gershwin Fidgety Feet Jerry Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1926 Who Cares? Milo, Adam, Henri Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1931 For You, For Me, For Evermore Lise, Henri, Jerry, Milo Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin But Not For Me Adam, Milo Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1930 I ll Build A Stairway To Paradise Henri, Adam, Company Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and B.G DeSylva 1922 An American In Paris Orchestra George Gershwin 1928 They Can t Take That Away From Me Adam, Jerry, Henri Composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1937 MUSIC IN AN AMERICAN IN PARIS 14

15 CHARACTER VOCAL PARTS LISE DASSIN Female Lead Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano JERRY MULLIGAN Male Lead Tenor ADAM HOCHBERG Male Lead Tenor MILO DAVENPORT Female Lead Mezzo-Soprano HENRI BAUREL Male Lead Tenor MADAME BAUREL Female Supporting Mezzo-Soprano ENSEMBLE Either Gender Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass ENSEMBLE Either Gender Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass Original Broadway Production photography by Matthew Murphy CHARACTER VOCAL PARTS 15

16 ARTICLE: AN AMERICAN LOST IN PARIS: GERSHWIN NAVIGATING THE CLASSICAL SPHERE George Gershwin is well-known for his mixed use of popular and traditional idioms. But what was his personal attitude towards contemporary composers, and how did this influence his approach towards composition? Take a look at how An American in Paris, situated at a critical point in George s career, reflects both his developing tastes and shifting musical ambitions. (This blog post was written by Cassidy Goldblatt and posted on The Gershwin Initiative s website on September 21, It is reproduced in this pack with the permission of Cassidy and the University of Michigan.) George Gershwin began his career in the streets of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway, writing songs inspired by his love of jazz. Yet popular genres could only capture his attention for so long, and he soon felt the itch to expand his compositional abilities by exploring concert music. (1) Gershwin had not only admired established composers such as Bach, Wagner, Beethoven, and Debussy, but he had also developed a taste for contemporary classical composers such as Ravel, Stravinsky, and Berg, and tried his own hand at writing lengthier works. (2) So was born Rhapsody in Blue, a piece which captured many audiences attentions because of its unusual juxtaposition of highand low-brow genres. While many (including critics, composers, and conductors) were struck by his creativity, however, others were unimpressed with his lack of musical training and felt that such a popular composer had no place in the refined and educated compositional world. (3) But what of Gershwin himself? His behavior in the late '20s and '30s shows that he had no intention of being shunted aside so lightly. In fact, Gershwin was insatiably curious, actively involved with contemporary composers, and eager to learn his craft from the best teachers possible. Not only did he follow his American peers works and publications, but he also visited Paris in 1926 to seek lessons from Maurice Ravel, a highly admired composer and a key figure in 20th century composition. (4) Ravel, however, did not relish spoiling Gershwin s musical voice and referred him to Nadia Boulanger, who also refused to tutor him. Despite these rejections, Gershwin met others in Paris such as Stravinsky, Milhaud, and Auric and reportedly made quite a stir. (5) He returned home after only a week abroad but remained undaunted and more ambitious than ever. Gershwin in New York with Ravel in 1928 George began studying music theory with experimental American composer Henry Cowell, likely sometime in (6) That very year, he began writing an orchestral ballet An American in Paris. (7) Thus, An American in Paris was not only Gershwin s first major work after the 1925 Concerto in F, but it also paralleled his first attempts to truly break into the classical world and learn his craft from established composers. By 1928, he decided to make perhaps his most notable attempt to enter their circle, taking a three-month trip to Europe to finish An American in Paris and benefit [his] technic [sic] as much as possible from a study of European orchestral methods. (8) Ira, who was traveling with George, recorded in his diary that his brother was spending considerable time networking, sharing his progress with composers and publishers, and learning about European music circles. (9) ARTICLE: GERSHWIN NAVIGATING THE CLASSICAL SPHERE 16

17 In fact, George mingled with composers from all across Europe, including young artists such as William Walton and Vladimir Dukelsky (his American pen name was Vernon Duke) along with established figures such as Milhaud, Honegger, and Prokofiev. (10) Gershwin not only performed for them but also developed relationships with, and was exposed to the music of, many of these composers. composers such as these often admired the young composer s character but could not ignore his distinct lack of a refined musical education. A 1927 photo of the Golden Arrow, a famous luxury train that ran between London and Paris. The Gershwins passed a pleasant journey aboard it in late March of 1928, as they embarked upon the second portion of their European adventure: a stay in Paris. George worked feverishly on An American in Paris while abroad and finished the sketch soon after returning home. He described the work as the most modern music I ve yet attempted, its beginning being developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and the Six. (11) Scholars have also cited Gershwin s intentional use of the bi-tonal Petrushka chord as indicative of Stravinsky s and possibly Berg s influences. (12) Clearly, the young composer s time in Europe had impacted his taste and craft; yet he was still deeply affected by his jazz roots, juxtaposing the piece s European style with American blues and even a Charleston dance section. An American in Paris garnered critical attention for its vibrancy and its overall improvement from Rhapsody, and American audiences were once more thrilled with Gershwin s sparkling artistic flair. (13) During his time in Europe, foreign audiences had been equally impressed with his spirited music and brilliant playing. (14) Yet some composers such as Glazunov and Prokofiev still considered Gershwin s orchestration and counterpoint to be considerably lacking. Glazunov, whom Gershwin admired immensely, remarked on George s dream of studying orchestration with him: He wants to study orchestration? He hasn t the slightest knowledge of counterpoint. (15) Established Still operating today, Théâtre Mogador was the grand hall in which George heard Rhapsodie in Blue (according to the French program) performed in Paris. Although its technical difficulty rendered the piece somewhat unrecognizable in this performance, it proved to be a smashing hit with the Parisian audience, who cheered Gershwin right onto stage and demanded a duet between him and the performing pianist (M. Wiener) as an encore. George, then, achieved only part of his goal with An American in Paris. He placed himself at the center of European composition circles, learned what he could from their writing, and improved his own craft considerably. As a result, he secured renewed public interest in his work and even gained the respect of some composers who developed an appreciation for this quirky and vivacious American artist. Yet Gershwin was still outside the circle, and all his efforts had not granted him the respect that Europeans and even American Modernists held for their own. (16) An American in Paris, however, was only among the first of Gershwin s forays into large-scale contemporary composition, and his next several years saw an even greater shift in stylistic interests and musical capability.ing: ARTICLE: GERSHWIN NAVIGATING THE CLASSICAL SPHERE 17

18 FURTHER READING: Duke, Vernon. Gershwin, Schillinger, and Dukelsky. The Musical Quarterly 75.4 (Winter 1991): Forte, Allen. Reflections Upon the Gershwin-Berg Connection. The Musical Quarterly 83.2 (Summer 1999): Gershwin, Ira. Diary: Four Americans in Paris Oja, Carol J. Gershwin and American Modernists of the 1920s. The Musical Quarterly 78.4 (Winter 1994): Pollack, Howard. George Gershwin : His Life and Work. Berkeley, US: University of California Press, ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cassidy Goldblatt recently graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in Violin Performance and Musicology. Her performance passions center around contemporary classical music, while her musicological interests include 13th-14th century Iberian sacred music. Cassidy began working with the Gershwin Initiative in 2016 as a blog writer, research assistant, and music editor. Original Broadway Production photography by Angela Sterling. ARTICLE: GERSHWIN NAVIGATING THE CLASSICAL SPHERE 18

19 Notes: 1. Gershwin claimed in 1925 that to express the richness of [American] life fully a composer must employ melody, harmony and counterpoint as every great composer of the past has employed them ; he believed that every composer of the past who had added anything vital to music had been a well-trained musician (Pollack 118). Later, in 1935, he stated, I m going to try to develop my brains more in music to match my emotional development. Bach, Mozart and Beethoven did that and therefore they are more powerful than such composers as Grieg and Tchaikovsky, who neglected intellect (Pollack 137). Such statements evidence Gershwin s genuine ambition to become musically educated. 2. Gershwin described Debussy, Liszt, and Chopin as the composers who have shaped my career (Pollack 28). In addition, he particularly admired Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Debussy, and Stravinsky, even commissioning personal caricatures of them. In 1927 he declared that my idea of music is Bach, Wagner, Beethoven and Debussy, including Stravinsky and Debussy in a later statement describing great concert music (Pollack 136). He developed an appreciation for Berg during his 1928 trip to Vienna, where he heard Berg s Lyric Suite performed and promptly retrieved a copy of the score along with a personal autograph. (Forte 151). *For Gershwin s more specific thoughts on Bach, Ravel, and Debussy, see Pollack After Rhapsody in Blue s premiere, many critics and composers reacted approvingly. Conductor Willem Mengelberg argued that Gershwin had succeeded in doing what Stravinsky was trying to do (Oja 652). [*For more on the significance of Gershwin s Rhapsody in Blue premiere coinciding with Stravinsky s Le sacre du printemps New York premiere, see Oja ]. Critic Carl Van Vechten, known for his deep disappointment with contemporary American music, was a surprisingly avid supporter of Gershwin s music (Oja 653). E. B. Hill, an older composer from Harvard, claimed that Gershwin s Rhapsody in Blue was an astonishing piece for a novice in this field. He elaborated, that [Gershwin] is uneasy in a piece of this length is obvious, but despite its defects it is better than the illusory jazz of some high-brow composers (Oja 654). Gershwin s works were admired later by French composers as well. Jacques Ibert remembered of his 1928 meeting with Gershwin, I was dazzled by his prodigious technique and amazed at his melodic sense, at the boldness of his modulations, and by his audacious and often unexpected harmonic inventions (Pollack 121). Vladimir Dukelsy recorded that Ravel, after meeting Gershwin in 1926, adored his piano playing and was quite affected by the young composer (Duke 121). Others, however, who felt that Gershwin s work threatened the American Modernist school of composition, criticized Rhapsody in Blue heavily. Virgil Thompson described it as some scraps of bully jazz sewed together with oratory and cadenzas out of Liszt, at best a piece of aesthetic snobbery (Oja 656). George Anthiel called the Rhapsody a very mediocre piece, comparing it to his own Jazz Symphony which, in his words, would certainly put Gershwin in the shade (Oja 656). Once Copland became more prominent, critics began comparing the two harshly: Oja writes that Copland was depicted as elevating jazz into art, while Gershwin kept it at the base level of popular entertainment (656). 4. Gershwin not only held interest in contemporary European music, collecting recordings of Stravinsky, Berg, and Schoenberg, but also stayed abreast with developments in American Modernist composition. He followed Cowell s New Music editions as well as the League of Composers activities (Oja 648). 5. This according to Vernon Duke, a fellow composer and close friend of Gershwin s (Duke 121). 6. Pollack Pollack Pollack 432 & Ira reported that George was interviewed by several editors (one a man from a musical monthly [3/29/28], another a head of a German publishing company [4/23/28]), had his Rhapsodie in Blue performed to huge ovations and some encore performances by George himself (3/21/28 & 4/16/28), attended parties wherein he met composers and even made an impression on the Austrian Minister (4/6/28, 4/20/28, & 5/23/28), and even signed paid contracts (4/21/28). See Ira Gershwin s Diary. 10. Ira Gershwin 4/6/28 & Pollack Pollack Forte 161. See Pollack 438 about additional Stravinskian influence in a section cut from the sketch score. 13. Edward Cushing from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote that the audience responded with a demonstration of enthusiasm impressively genuine in contrast to the conventional applause which new music, good and bad, ordinarily arouses (Pollack 439). The Musical Courier praised his work for cop[ying] nothing European, claiming that Gershwin with his music s unavoidable optimism surely is creating original music. Lawrence Gilman from the Herald-Tribune wrote that the music was, with its gusto and naivete, its tang of a new and urgent world, engaging, urgent, unpredictable. Olin Downes from the Times did point out the work s lack of convincing form, but he also admitted that Gershwin had combined melodic fragments with genuinely contrapuntal results (Pollack ). 14. Ira writes that George s own playing as well as performances of Rhapsody in Blue were met with substantial ovations, sometimes with George taking three bows and performing an encore. In fact, after one performance at the Opera, George s Concerto was described as an enormous success in the New York Herald s Paris edition. Ira wrote that George was compelled as usual to do his nightly dozen on the stage from the hips down (5/29/28). (Gershwin 3/31/28, 4/4/28, 4/16/28, 4/23/28, & 5/29/28). 15. For Glazunov s comment, see Pollack 123. Prokofiev, who had previously stated, His [Gershwin s] piano playing is full of amusing tricks, but the music is amateurish (Pollack 141), journaled in 1930 that The operetta God of America, Gershwin also attempts to compose serious music, and sometimes he even does that with a certain flair, but not always successfully (Pollack 142). Even Gershwin s close friend Vernon Dukelsky later wrote that An American in Paris contain[s] much sparkling sound, and even some pretty dazzling fireworks (inspired by Ravel and early Stravinsky), yet the over-all effect is not altogether what the composer intended. Dukelsky described this mid/early orchestration as brilliant in spots, adequate in others, but on the whole top-heavy and with too much doubling and padding, comparing this technique with Gershwin s later improvement under Schillinger (Duke 121). (Note that in 1928, although likely before An American in Paris was premiered, Stravinsky also declined Gershwin s request for lessons much like Ravel and Boulanger had [Pollack 121].) 16. See Oja ARTICLE: GERSHWIN NAVIGATING THE CLASSICAL SPHERE 19

20 ACTIVITY: INFLUENCE AND COMPOSITION Use Cassidy Goldblatt s article to answer these questions about George Gershwin s changing approach to composition and the influences of Europe on his work. KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER 1. Which two musical styles most influenced George Gershwin s compositions? 2. Name at least three composers that George admired. 3. In which two separate years did George Gershwin travel to Paris, and how long did he spend there? 4. Who did George seek to gain advice from in Paris? 5. Why was George Gershwin considered too populist by some of his contemporary composers? 6. Which two works did he work on immediately before writing An American in Paris? 7. What was George s main objective on his second trip to Paris? INFLUENCE AND COMPOSITION 20

21 SYNOPSIS AND SCENE BY SCENE BREAKDOWN ACT ONE KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER 1. Prologue. Adam an American GI, sets the scene in Paris and introduces the City of Light after the Second World War. 1.1 Paris. Paris comes to life after its liberation from the Nazis. Jerry Milligan, an American GI and aspiring artist, decides whether her should stay in the city or leave for home. Amidst the celebrations, turmoil and excitement of the city emerging, Jerry catches glimpse of Lise, a local girl, and is captivated by her beauty. Music: Concerto in F 1.2 Dutois Café After missing his train, Jerry ends up in Dutois Café, introducing himself to the owner and fellow American, Adam. They are joined by Parisian Henri Baurel, an aspiring singer and dancer. Henri tells Adam and Jerry about his aspirations to perform, as well as his desires to marry the girl he loves. The three men strike up an instant friendship. Music: I Got Rhythm 1.3 Ballet du Châtelet Adam invites Jerry to sketch the dancers as they audition at the Ballet du Châtelet, where he accompanies the dancers. Adam meets Milo Davenport, a wealthy gallery owner and arts philanthropist. Adam sketches the dancers as a latecomer rushes in to join the auditions - it is Lise. Music: Second Prelude 1.4 Galeries Lafayette Lise arrives at her day job at the department store Galeries Lafayette. Jerry pays her a visit and ends up causing chaos on the shopfloor. Madame Baurel tells Lise the good news that she is to be hired as the principal dancer at the Ballet du Châtelet. Music: Beginner s Luck 1.5 Baurel Manse, Quiet Café (Letters) Madame Baurel shares the good news about Lise with her son, Henri. She also urges him to propose to Lise before it s too late. Henri writes to Lise to declare his love and proposal. Lise writes to her mother to tell her about her new job and her doubts about marrying Henri. Music: The Man I Love 1.6 Along the Seine Lise and Jerry meet on the banks of the Seine on Lise s way home. Jerry shows her the sketch he has drawn of her and tries to befriend her further. Lise is reluctant but starts to fall for his charm. Music: Liza 1.7 Baurel Manse Lise meets the Baurels and Henri at their house. Henri is left to propose to Lise but finds it difficult to express himself. SYNOPSIS AND SCENE BY SCENE BREAKDOWN 21

22 1.8 Dutois Café, Paris Streets, Jerry s Room Jerry, Adam and Henri reflect on the events of the past few days. They discuss Henri s confusing proposal to Lise. Music: 'S Wonderful 1.9 The Ritz Jerry visits Milo to show her his recent picture. Milo informs Jerry that she has enquired if he can design the ballet. She also invites him to the Bal des Beaux Arts, the annual costume ball. She takes his hand and they walk out into the night together. Music: Second Rhapsody ballet & Cuban Overture 1.10 Paris (Second Rhapsody Ballet) Music: Second Rhapsody ballet throughout scenes a-g (a) Gallery Opening, same night Milo s gallery opening. Milo introduces Jerry to Parisian high society (b) Along the Seine, next afternoon Jerry sketches Lise on page after page. They get closer, enjoying each others company and frolicking like teenagers. When he makes a move, Lise runs off to rehearsal, deflecting his growing ardor (c) Ballet Studio Adam accompanies Lise as she dances. She loves his music, and he basks in her praise. She comments on his markedlyimproved appearance; new haircut, new clothes. Adam is inspired by Lise s whole being; her dancing, the feeling in the room, everything happening to him. Jerry arrives with his new sketches for the ballet. He and Lise pretend not to know each other. Mr. Z takes a look at Jerry s sketch for the design, hates what he sees and tears up the sketch. Jerry leaves defeated. Milo picks up the pieces of the sketches, rearranges them, and chases after Jerry (d) Nightclub, later that evening Jerry is drowning his sorrows. Milo arrives with his design rearranged. He perks up, inspired by the shapes of the cabaret dancers. He leaves Milo and rushes home to paint (e) Three locations at once: Dutois Café, Ballet Studio, the Ritz Henri is alive, living as his true self. Adam s mind is elsewhere, thinking about Lise & Mr. Z rehearsing. Jerry is furiously sketching, watched over by Milo. Jerry is completely entranced, and watching this excites Milo. In the ballet rehearsal, Lise is unable to successfully execute a lift Mr. Z has choreographed. He asks another female dancer to demonstrate, and she does it perfectly. Lise is humiliated and Adam tries to console her (f) Along the Seine, sunset Along the Seine, Lise races to Jerry for comfort. Their love duet ends in a kiss, but Lise stops it from continuing. Jerry is left alone, dancing his frustration out as he heads off to the Bal des Beaux Arts (g) Bal des Beaux Arts: the costume ball Milo and Jerry attend the Bal des Beaux Arts together, unaware that Henri and Lise are there as well. Of course, Lise and Jerry are drawn to each other, but Jerry is not the only man who notices Lise. Other men are pulled in around her by her allure, and she gets whisked up in a dance frenzy and lifted high into the air, reminiscent of her lift in the ballet. Following this, Lise and Henri run out of the masquerade and off into the night. Frustrated, Jerry finds Milo. He rips off his own mask, rips hers off, then kisses her. SYNOPSIS AND SCENE BY SCENE BREAKDOWN 22

23 ACT TWO 2.1 Baurel Manse, evening The Baurels hold a party for the board of the ballet, hosted by Milo. Adam, Lise, Jerry and Henri all attend, unaware that the others will be there. Adam nearly confesses his love for Lise and Henri is desperately trying to cover his nightclub singing experience from his parents. Jerry unsubtly avoids being close to Milo once he realises Lise is there. Madame Baurel uses the opportunity to announce Lise and Henri s marriage. Jerry is distraught but cannot show it. Lise sees Jerry and Milo kiss and walks off from Henri, distracted. Jerry chases after her, leaving Milo to dance with Henri. Jerry and Lise meet on the terrace at moonlight. As he confronts her, Milo, Henri and Adam watch through ballroom windows. Jerry confesses his love for Lise, and eventually she admits it back to him. Music: For Lily Pons and Fidgety Feet 2.2 Three Locations At Once: Baurel Manse, Ritz, Dutois Café Music: Who Cares?, For You, For Me, For Evermore and But Not For Me Medley - throughout scenes a-c 2.2 (a) Baurel Manse Lise and Henri talk about what Henri has heard earlier in the night between Lise and Jerry. 2.2 (b) The Ritz Milo and Jerry talk about what Milo has heard earlier in the night between Lise and Jerry. Jerry is honest with Milo and says she deserves someone who loves her equally. 2.2 (c) The Dutois Café Adam and Milo sing But Not For Me Medley, wallowing in unrequited love. 2.3 Montmartre Cabaret, evening Music: I ll Build A Stairway To Paradise 2.3 (a) Dressing Room, Backstage Henri and Adam prepare for their performance. Adam confronts Henri about taking Lise to America. Henri reveals his family connections with Lise s parents and how the Baurel s helped to hide Lise during the Nazi occupation. Adam gives Henri an ultimatum to tell Lise the truth about her family s past. 2.3 (b) Front of House, Montmartre Cabaret Lise sits alone until Jerry comes in to tell her that he has ended his relationship with Milo. Henri performs his cabaret with encouragement from Adam at the piano. After the performance the Baurels are brought in and led to a table. Madame Baurel is distraught but Monsieur Baurel congratulates his son. The couple leave and Lise follows. Adam and Jerry fight, and then Henri steps in to confront Jerry. Jerry confesses his love for Lise to his friends while Adam tells him about the Baurel s commitment to Lise s family. Lise collects Henri and they leave. Milo watches on. 2.4 Ballet du Châtelet 2.4 (a) Lise s Dressing Room Jerry tries to deliver his sketches of Lise by the Seine to her. Milo passes them on to Lise. Lise opens them and is captivated by what she sees. She is nervous about her performance and Milo offers words of advice. 2.4 (b) Onstage - ballet performed. Music: An American In Paris ballet SYNOPSIS AND SCENE BY SCENE BREAKDOWN 23

24 2.4 (c) After show party Jerry congratulates Lise. Milo toasts the dancers and the Baurels for their support. Lise congratulates Adam, but Adam tells Lise to think about her decision with Henri. He says that love is even more important than art. Music: They Can t Take That Away From Me Dance styles explored:»» Lyrical contemporary/jazz: flowing arms 2.5 The Seine Jerry sits alone on the bench, as Lise appears to meet him. They are finally together and rush toward one another and embrace; they begin to dance. And dance. Music: They Can t Take That Away From Me Original Broadway Production photography by Angela Sterling. SYNOPSIS AND SCENE BY SCENE BREAKDOWN 24

25 SECTION 4: FURTHER STUDENT ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY 1: LISTENING AND APPRAISING Listen to two pieces from An American in Paris. An American In Paris by George Gershwin 'S Wonderful by George Gershwin (instrumental only) Focus on technical musical elements, musical contexts and musical language for each piece. Do any of the following musical features appear in the two pieces?»» Staccato»» Sustained notes»» Glissando»» Ostinato»» Repetition»» Sequence Musical elements: Describe how the following musical elements are used in this composition.»» Rhythm and Metre»» Harmony and Tonality Compare and contrast each piece looking at form and structure, stylistic features, conventions. Give opinions and preferences comparing the works to other 20th century music for stage and screen. You can also listen to another version of the soundtrack from An American in Paris here: KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER Use this to identify different musical elements in each cover of the song, that differs to the original, or the version played in the West End production. ACTIVITY 2: APPRAISING AND COMPOSING Analyse 2-3 short extracts from the Gershwin s work. Use this collection of musical clips again - (scroll to bottom of page). Use the variety of different styles (both in the composition itself and the performance styles of the artists to inspire your own Gershwin style composition) Use relevant Gershwin musical elements and language FURTHER STUDENT ACTIVITIES 25

26 ACTIVITY 3: COMPOSING Listen to An American In Paris by George Gershwin. This tone poem s form developed in the nineteenth century usually refers to a large-scale composition for orchestra whose structure is based on a story. In Paris in 1926 he was first inspired by the sounds of taxi horns along the Paris boulevards, and he went shopping for those horns in the automobile shops along the Avenue de la Grande Armee when he returned in TASK: Compose your own short 'tone poem' from your own environment. Pick out an unusual non-instrument sound and incorporate in your composition (e.g. a car horn). Remember to state who your audience is, or what the occasion is. Be creative and use your immediate environment as inspiration. Listen for unique and subtle sounds around you. Use this video to help: Hear the New (Old) Taxi-Horns from George Gershwin's An American in Paris! : You could use a storyboard template to sketch out your story first, while thinking about the melody and structure of your composition. For further reading please see Mark Clague s article on the following pages about the mystery of the pitch and composition of the original taxi horns. Original Broadway Production photography by Matthew Murphy. FURTHER STUDENT ACTIVITIES 26

27 ARTICLE: 1929 GERSHWIN TAXI HORN PHOTO CLARIFIES MYSTERY (The orginal article was written by Mark Clague and is taken from The Gershwin Initiative, at The University of Michigan blogpost here: It is reproduced in this pack with the permission of Mark and the University of Michigan.) A photo uncovered in the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Archive sheds a revealing light on the question of what pitches composer George Gershwin intended to be used for his iconic taxi horn passages in the symphonic tone poem An American in Paris (1928). As described in an article by Michael Cooper in The New York Times as well as on NPR s All Things Considered, the forthcoming George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition of An American in Paris suggests that the traditional realization of the iconic taxi horn parts used by orchestras today is incorrect. Rather than sounding the pitches A, B, C, and D, I argue that the correct pitches are captured on a Feb. 4, 1929 Victor Recording supervised by the composer and should be Ab and Bb (above middle C), high D (a third above that) and low A (a third below middle C). Composer George Gershwin (left) and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra percussionist James Rosenberg holding the four taxi horns used in the orchestra s March 1 & 2, 1929 performances of An American in Paris. Photo courtesy of Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts. Gershwin's handwritten notation for the first appearance of a taxi horn in measure 30 of An American in Paris. Courtesy George Gershwin Family Trusts. At issue is the composer s ambiguous notation in which a single-line of music notation instructs one of the orchestra s percussionists to sound each taxi horn blast. While clearly indicating rhythm, the notation does not use a full 5-line staff that indicates pitch. Instead a circled letter identifies which of the four taxi horns George purchased in Paris is to be used. The letters used are A, B, C, & D. The composer offers no explanation of the notation in his handwritten or published scores and musicians since at least the 1930s have assumed that the letters indicate the sounding musical pitches (as if on a piano and thus forming the first four notes of an A-minor scale). I think instead that George simply labeled his four souvenir horns with a letter and handed them to the performers for the New York Philharmonic premier and subsequent Cincinnati Symphony performances with the simple instructions when the score says A play that first one labeled A, when the score says D, play the fourth one labeled D. Unfortunately, George s original taxi horns have been lost and the composer left no description of the pitches, at least nothing that has yet been found, before his death at the age of 38. Snapped in the same month the Victor recording was made, the February 1929 photo depicts composer George Gershwin at left with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra percussionist James Rosenberg, who played the taxi horns for the orchestra s performance of An American in Paris. The taxi horns shown, especially the small and large horns, are fully consistent with the pitches heard on the 1929 recording and contradict the traditional A, B, C, D pitch sequence. ARTICLE: 1929 GERSHWIN TAXI HORN PHOTO CLARIFIES MYSTERY 27

28 When squeezed, taxi horns sound only a single inflexible tone and this pitch is generally proportional to instrument size (with adjustments for tuning the metal reed of the horn). If the composer s A, B, C, D notations of the taxi horn part were meant to indicate pitches A through D, the taxi horns should be in a gradual sequence of size from large to small. Instead they are both too varied in size and in the wrong order. The horns depicted in the photograph support a preference for the 1929 recording s pitches in that two horns are of similar size, one is significantly smaller, and a fourth is dramatically larger. This is consistent with the interpretation of Gershwin s alphabet notation not as pitch names, but as simple labels for the sequence of taxi horns to be used by the percussionist. In this case the two horns of similar size would have sounded Ab and Bb which are adjacent steps on the musical scale. The small horn would sound the high D, and the unusually large horn would sound the low A. The ordering of the horns is also revealing. The taxi horns are secured to a wooden board and (if read from the player s left to right) are placed in the precise ordering of medium large, medium small, small, and very large that would sound the same Ab, Bb, high D, low A pitches heard on the 1929 recording. This precisely matches the sequence of labels (A, B, C, & D) given in the score. It suggests that Gershwin took care to mount the taxi horns to reduce the chances that a percussionist would make an error sounding the unusual effect. Gershwin taxi horns showing label and pitch as identified by editor Mark Clague as consistent with the new critical edition. Labels indicated in Gershwin s score are given in blue; resulting pitches heard on the 1929 recording are in red. Mystery solved? It would seem both that the horns depicted confirm the sequence of pitches heard on the 1929 recording, and maybe more importantly that they unequivocally affirm that the alphabet notation names did not indicate pitch. Original Broadway Production photography by Matthew Murphy. ARTICLE: 1929 GERSHWIN TAXI HORN PHOTO CLARIFIES MYSTERY 28

29 SECTION 5: REFLECTING ON AND REVIEWING MUSIC IN AN AMERICAN IN PARIS REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANALYSIS Use this worksheet after seeing the live performance to analyse and appraise the musical elements in An American in Paris 1. OVERVIEW: 1a. Summarise the plot in 5-10 sentences 1b. Describe the style of the production 1c. Did it remind you of any other productions you have seen or know? 1d. What was your instant personal response to the music? 1e. What theatrical devices and conventions were used? REFLECTING AND REVIEWING MUSIC 29

30 2. DIRECTION AND MUSIC: 2a. Was the music interesting and varied? 2b. What do you think the musical director was trying to convey through the music? 2c. Name three ways in which the music is important to the narrative? 2d. How does the music enhance the production elements (set, lighting, projections, costume) 2e. Name three ways in which the Gershwins music affects the performers? 2f. How was the mood of excitement and apprehension created in the opening composition during the prologue. ESSAY QUESTIONS Gershwin incorporated elements of jazz and popular music into his classical concert works for orchestra. Demonstrate and discuss how successful he was in reconciling his jazz and popular music influences with those from the western classical tradition, as found in An American in Paris. REFLECTING AND REVIEWING MUSIC 30

31 COSTUMES Jerry Adam Madame Baurel Lise Henri Baurel Copyright Bob Crowley COSTUMES 31

32 COSTUMES Prologue street scenes Milo Madame Baurel The Baurels Baurel s party guests Copyright Bob Crowley COSTUMES 32

33 COSTUMES Lise work place- Galeries Lafayette Galeries Lafayette - Fantasy Fashion Galeries Lafayette - Fantasy swimwear Galeries Lafayette - Ladies who lunch / customers Baurel workers and shop workers Copyright Bob Crowley COSTUMES 33

34 COSTUMES An American in Paris ballet Ballet de Paris Baurel party- Russian ballet Copyright Bob Crowley COSTUMES 34

35 COSTUMES Copyright Bob Crowley COSTUMES 35

36 SET MODELS Ballet sets Copyright Bob Crowley SET MODELS 36

37 SET MODELS Parisian street scenes Copyright Bob Crowley SET MODELS 37

38 SET MODELS Other scenes Copyright Bob Crowley SET MODELS 38

39 KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER REHEARSAL PHOTOS REHEARSAL PHOTOS 39

40 PRODUCTION PHOTOS Original Broadway Production photography by Angela Sterling. Original Broadway Production photography by Matthew Murphy. PRODUCTION PHOTOS 40

41 SECTION 7: FURTHER INFORMATION: WATCHING, READING AND LISTENING WATCH: KS4 KS5 BTEC HE TEACHER The Greene Space: Cast and Creatives: Christopher Wheeldon, Rob Fisher and Stuart Oken Rob Fisher, Musical Score Adaptation, is interviewed throughout but use the timecodes above for relevant comments on musical style and process. T/C: 18: 48, 25:06, 26:58, 59:53 The Gershwin Initiative, University of Michigan: Kristen Clough, from The Gershwin Initiative talking about George Gershwin's time visiting Paris the 1920s and his relationships with French composers. Clough also speaks in detail about the historical and political situation in France that would have affected George Gershwin s musical style at this time. T/C: 00:54:00-01:03:30 Theatre Talk: Robert Kimble - Theatre Historian - and Rob Fisher An American in Paris is coming to Broadway as a new musical adaptation of the 1951 Academy Award winning film, itself inspired by George Gershwin's 1928 symphonic poem. The guests are theatre historian Robert Kimball (author of The Gershwins ), and Rob Fisher, Musical Score adaptor and supervisor of the show, to discuss the composer and how his work is being adapted anew. LISTEN: Interview with Mark Clague Mark Clague is Associate Professor of Musicology at the U of M School of Music, Theatre and Dance, and he will be the editor-in-chief of the George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition. Please go to to search through the musical archive of both Gershwin brothers. RESOURCES: List of musical terms id=1&dotcache=no&dotcache=refresh See Appendix C pg 433 WATCHING, READING AND LISTENING 41

42 MUSICAL CREATIVE INPUT: ROB FISHER MUSICAL SCORE ADAPTATION Role: For An American in Paris, Fisher had the central role of taking the compositions of George Gershwin and arranging and adapting the scores for use within the musical. A musical score adaptation is necessary when a production is using existing compositions in a new way. Biography: Rob Fisher is an internationally recognised music director, conductor and pianist, and a leading figure in American music and musical theatre. He has been a guest of nearly every major orchestra in the US as conductor or pianist. Fisher is currently represented on Broadway as the score supervisor and arranger for An American in Paris (Grammy nomination). Links: The Greene Space: Cast and Creatives: Christopher Wheeldon, Rob Fisher and Stuart Oken (Producer) Rob is interviewed throughout but particular moments include: T/C: 18: 48, 25:06, 26:58, 59:53. Sitzprobe at the Théâtre du Châtelet CHRISTOPHER AUSTIN ORCHESTRATOR Role: An orchestrator writes scores based on a composer s drafts. They also transpose music originally written for one voice or instrument to be performed by another or multiple voice types or instruments. Biography: Christopher Austin is a conductor and orchestrator whose career includes credits from the Royal Opera House. Austin has worked with Christopher Wheeldon previously on Wheeldon s adaptation of Alice s Adventures in Wonderland. Austin is a professor in composition, orchestration and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2009 his work there was the subject of the BBC documentary How to Be a Composer. Links: Sitzprobe at the Théâtre du Châtelet Theatre Talk: Robert Kimble (Theatre Historian) and Rob Fisher The Greene Space: Cast and Creatives Print Royal Opera House profile MUSICAL CREATIVE INPUT 42