As an addendum to Debbie's note about "An American in Paris" - Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony, commissioned Gershwin's Concerto in F. Gershwin gave Damrosch the right of first refusal for the premiere of "An American in Paris" for the 1928-29 season. The New York Symphony and the New York Philharmonic boards merged in 1928 and called the new organization the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, which is still the official corporate name of the New York Philharmonic. Damrosch conducted the premiere with the Philharmonic-Symphony on December 13, 1928 in Carnegie Hall. The 1st half of the program consisted of Franck's Symphony in D Minor. The Gershwin was in the middle of the 2nd half, preceded by Lekeu's Adagio for Strings and followed by The Magic Fire Music from Die Walkuere.
BTW - I taught a 5 session seminar on Gershwin last September using many rare historic recordings and films. Cheers, Steve Steven Ovitsky Executive Director Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival www.santafechambermusic.com =============================== Just as a side note Wikipedia states that "American in Paris" was a NY Philharmonic commission and in fact they did the premier but no one did the commission. Wikipedia is not always a good source Debbie Schmidt Tisch Center for the Arts _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/sotone%40cybermesa.com _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
