An American in Paris
Gershwin - An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a symphonic composition by American composer George Gershwin, composed in 1928. Inspired by time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it is in the form of an extended tone poem evoking the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is one of Gershwin's best-known compositions.
Gershwin composed the piece on commission from the New York Philharmonic. He also did the orchestration. (He did not orchestrate his musicals.) Gershwin scored An American in Paris for the standard instruments of the symphony orchestra plus celesta, saxophone, and automobile horns. Gershwin brought back some Parisian taxi horns for the New York premiere of the composition which took place on December 13, 1928 in Carnegie Hall with Walter Damrosch conducting the New York Philharmonic.
Gershwin collaborated on the original program notes with the critic and composer Deems Taylor, noting that: "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." When the tone poem moves into the blues, "our American friend ... has succumbed to a spasm of homesickness." But, "nostalgia is not a fatal disease." The American visitor "once again is an alert spectator of Parisian life" and "the street noises and French atmosphere are triumphant."
Instrumentation:
An American in Paris is scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B flat, bass clarinet in B flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B flat, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, low and high tom-toms, xylophone, glockenspiel, celesta, 4 taxi horns, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, and strings.
approximate length: 9 min
Easton - An Australian in Paris
Once in Australia Easton quickly established himself as a practical composer, to responding to commissions of all kinds, as a capable arranger and as an all-round musician. of wide abilities. By 1986 he felt retired from music publishing and devoted himself entirely to work as a free-lance composer. This, however, did not prevent him from forming a notable piano-duo partnership with Len Vorster and contributing many stimulating pre-concert talks to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Music Viva series. He also became known as a provocative music critic for the Melbourne Age and Sunday Herald and frequent contributor to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1990, in partnership with Len Vorster, he founded the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, a concentrated long-weekend that embraces opera, ballet, orchestral and chamber music, jazz, talks and exhibitions, and involves musicians of international status. It is now firmly established as one of the most innovative events in the Australian music calendar.
approximate length: 9 min
Saint-Saëns - Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah
"What gives Sebastian Bach and Mozart a place apart is that these two great expressive composers never sacrificed form to expression. As high as their expression may soar, their musical form remains supreme and all-sufficient."
– Camille Saint-Saëns, from a letter to Camille Bellaigire, 1907
Saint-Saëns began his musical career as a musical pioneer, introducing to France the symphonic poem and championing the radical works of Liszt and Wagner at a time when Bach and Mozart were the norms. By the dawn of the 20th century, Saint-Saëns was an ultra-conservative, fighting the influence of Debussy and Richard Strauss. This is hardly surprising—Saint-Saëns' career began while Chopin and Mendelssohn were in their prime, and ended at the commencement of the Jazz Age; but his image endured for years after his death.
As a composer, Saint-Saëns was often criticized for his refusal to embrace romanticism and at the same time, rather paradoxically, for his adherence to the conventions of 19th-century musical language. He is remembered chiefly for works such as Le Carnaval des Animaux, which was not published in full until after his death; the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra, the opera Samson and Delilah, the Symphony No. 3; the second, fourth and fifth piano concertos; the third violin concerto; the first cello concerto; and the first violin sonata.
approximate length: 8 min
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
"The G-major Concerto took two years of work, you know. The opening theme came to me on a train between
- Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major was composed in the period of 1929–1931. The piece comprises three movements: Allegramente, Adagio assai, and Presto. After his well-received piano tour of America, Ravel wanted to debut this new work himself. However, health issues precluded this possibility with his preparatory practice of Liszt and Chopin etudes leading to fatigue. Instead, Marguerite Long — who was known for her performances of Fauré and Debussy, and had asked Ravel for a new work — debuted the concerto. Ravel dedicated the concerto's score to her. The world premiere was on January 14, 1932 with Ravel conducting the Lamoureux Orchestra. The first North American performances were given simultaneously on the evening of April 22, 1932, by both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra at their home concert halls.
approximate length: 22 min
Debussy - Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (commonly known by its original French title, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune) is a musical composition for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was first performed in
Offenbach - Overture to La vie Parisienne
La vie parisienne (Parisian life) is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henr Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.
This work was Offenbach's first full-length piece to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects. It became one of Offenbach's most popular operettas.
It was first produced in a five-act version at the Palais Royal, Paris on October 31, 1866. The work was revived in four acts (missing the original fourth act) on 25 September 1873 at the Théâtre des Variétés, Paris.
Synopsis:
The story begins at the railway station, where the employees boast of all the wonderful places in France. Soon, Baron and Baroness Gondremarck arrive from frozen Stockholm for a Parisian holiday and ask tour guide Joseph Partout to show them the city's glittering night life. Finally, Pompa di Matadores, a Brazilian millionaire, arrives to spend a fortune in the capitol. In Act II, Metella, a prostitute with a heart of gold, reads a letter from Baron Gondremarck's friend, Baron Frascata asking her to give Gondremarck the same pleasure she once had given him. In Act III, at a party, the guests vow to make their pleasure long lasting as they eye one another, waiting to see who will make the first move. Bobinet rises to greet the crowd with a drinking song. The champagne flows and Baron Gondremarck (and everyone else) gets drunk. The party turns into a wild, sensual debauch. In Act IV, The Brazilian millionaire is offering a masked ball. Metella, anxious to win back Gardefeu, is in league with the Baroness, who wants to extricate her husband from the perils of Parisian life. The Brazilian and Gabrielle the pretty glover discover the virtues of love at first sight. All ends happily.

