Rhapsody in Blue

Oh! That opening solo! 

Gershwin's Rhapsody is up there at the top of my list with Baker Street. To my ears its a mix of classical and jazz. I remember watching a late evening tv move about it, American in Paris, I think it was called.  

Rhapsody in Blue has been interpreted as a musical portrait of New York City. It was used in a segment from the film Fantasia 2000, and also used in the opening sequence of Woody Allen's 1979 film Manhattan.


Brian Wilson, leader of The Beach Boys, has said on multiple occasions that Rhapsody in Blue is one of his favorite pieces. He first heard it when he was two years old, and recalls that he "loved" it. It was also a heavy influence on his Smile album. He also came to think of "Good Vibrations" as "a smaller, psychedelic version of Rhapsody in Blue".

Rhapsody in Blue was played simultaneously by 84 pianists at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

 George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue - Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1976)