100 years of Rhapsody In Blue

Celebrate the centenary of George Gershwin’s tuneful hit, Rhapsody In Blue, and fasten your seatbelts for a fun ride!

Composed in 1924 and controversial from the first, Rhapsody In Blue challenged notions regarding the divide between classical and popular music.  Its relatively free form flew in the face of symphonic structure; and it combined freshness and originality with an irresistible accessibility. First performed on 12 February 1924, our concert is (almost) to the day a century on!

Well-known Canberra identity Carl Rafferty (piano) is joined by his virtuosic and rambunctious friends on saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, flute, and percussion, to play jazz infused renditions of music by Gershwin, Ravel, Bernstein, Shostakovich, and others.

The programme will include Debussy’s Clair de Lune, Bernstein’s overture to Candide, Copeland’s El Salon Mexico, Ravel’s Pavane… and, of course, Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue!