0:00:27 > 0:00:31The BBC Proms always show a breathtaking range of music,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and in this programme we're going to feature
0:00:34 > 0:00:36the music of American jazz composer George Gershwin
0:00:36 > 0:00:39from two classic Proms from recent years.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44George Gershwin was remarkable.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49He straddled the worlds of classical music, jazz, Broadway and opera,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53to leave a legacy that is quintessentially American.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57In today's programme we shall hear three example of Gershwin's range,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00from two concerts that feature the BBC Concert Orchestra
0:01:00 > 0:01:03conducted by Charles Hazlewood.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05We start on Broadway,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07and the overture to the musical Strike Up The Band.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Strike Up The Band - the overture from the Broadway musical from 1927
0:03:32 > 0:03:34by George and Ira Gershwin -
0:03:34 > 0:03:37played with considerable panache by
0:03:37 > 0:03:40the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Charles Hazlewood.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47We now come to Gershwin and opera -
0:03:47 > 0:03:50a song from Porgy And Bess.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Porgy and Bess was premiered in 1935
0:03:52 > 0:03:54on Broadway, but has long since been taken on
0:03:54 > 0:03:57by major opera companies around the world.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00So, from Porgy And Bess, we'll hear My Man's Gone Now,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04a great lament, here given a new suit of clothes
0:04:04 > 0:04:07by jazz composer and saxophonist Jason Yarde.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10In this new instrumental arrangement, he's joined by
0:04:10 > 0:04:13the Gwylim Simcock Jazz Trio on stage at the Proms
0:04:13 > 0:04:14with the BBC Concert Orchestra
0:04:14 > 0:04:16and Charles Hazlewood.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:11:07 > 0:11:11My Man's Gone Now, performed by saxophonist Jason Yarde,
0:11:11 > 0:11:12and arranged by him
0:11:12 > 0:11:15for orchestra and jazz trio.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17George Gershwin's great song of sorrow
0:11:17 > 0:11:21lending itself to a particularly personal rendering.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Jason Yarde was accompanied by the Gwylim Simcock Trio
0:11:24 > 0:11:27with the BBC Concert Orchestra and with Charles Hazlewood conducting.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Now let's hear Gershwin in concert hall mode.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41Rhapsody in Blue is one of the great American compositions,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44straddling jazz and classical techniques
0:11:44 > 0:11:46in a rip-roaring virtuosic showpiece.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49And here is Kevin Cole,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52probably the definitive Gershwin interpreter,
0:11:52 > 0:11:53to play the piano solo.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:29:00 > 0:29:01Rhapsody in Blue -
0:29:01 > 0:29:05the swaggering American showpiece for jazz orchestra.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08A fabulous performance there by Kevin Cole.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Cole is acclaimed as an authentic Gershwin interpreter.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14When he was young, he played to many people who had known the composer,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16and they were very moved
0:29:16 > 0:29:19because his playing sounded so similar to Gershwin's own.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24Charles Hazlewood conducted The BBC Concert Orchestra.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28That brings to an end this programme of George Gershwin at the Proms.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30From me, Katie Derham, goodbye.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd