Rhapsody in Blue

Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition by the American composer George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which synthesizes elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. The composition was commissioned at the request of bandleader Paul Whiteman. The piece received its premiere in the concert, "An Experiment in Modern Music," which was held on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City, by Whiteman and his band with Gershwin playing the piano. The work was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé several times, including the original 1924 scoring, the 1926 "theater orchestra" setting, and the 1942 symphony orchestra scoring.

As Gershwin did not have sufficient knowledge of orchestration in 1924, Ferde Grofé—Whiteman's pianist and chief arranger—was a key figure in enabling the rhapsody's meteoric success, and critics have contended that Grofé's arrangements of the Rhapsody secured its place in American culture. Gershwin's biographer Isaac Goldberg wrote in 1931:

"In the heat of the [premiere's] occasion, the contribution of Ferdie [sic] Grofé, the arranger on the Whiteman staff who had scored the Rhapsody in ten days, was overlooked or ignored. It is true that an appreciable part of the scoring had been indicated by Gershwin; nevertheless, the contribution of Grofé was of prime importance, not only to the composition, but to the jazz scoring of the immediate future.