December 6th at 2:00PM in the Britten Recital Hall, Earl V. Moore Building

Cole Anderson presents arrangements of several of George and Ira Gershwin’s songs, George’s Preludes for Piano, and joined by pianists Siyuan Li and Nick Susi the Concerto in F.  Anderson will perform on George Gershwin’s Steinway Model A piano which has been recently restored at UofM.  Posted on our blog is our interview with Anderson about his upcoming recital and his thoughts on playing the Gershwin piano.

Cole Anderson will present several Gershwin pieces on December 6th at 2:00PM in the Britten Recital Hall of the Earl V. Moore Building.  Anderson said he chose December 6th “in commemoration of Ira’s birthday.  I wanted to choose some of the brother’s greatest songs to highlight their collaboration as one of the most memorable composer/lyricist teams of all time.”  The concert will feature piano arrangements of their most beloved songs, including “Embraceable You,” “The Man I Love,” and “I Got Rhythm.”  Also on the program are two of George Gershwin’s Preludes for Piano (1927).  Pianists Siyuan Li and Nick Susi will join for a performance of the Concerto in F, which is also celebrating a recent “birthday,” having premiered on December 3rd in 1925.

We caught up with Anderson and asked him how he came to know the work of the Gershwin brothers.  While he certainly knew Gershwin, and his major works like Rhapsody in Blue, in his teenage years, it was Professor Mark Clague’s course on the Gershwins that got Anderson interested in the brothers’ song literature and George’s concert pieces–interests clearly reflected in his recital program.

In selecting his repertoire, Anderson chose a variety of arrangements “to demonstrate how influential these songs have been on a wide spectrum of exceptional musicians.  People as diverse as Australian composer/inventor Percy Grainger, concert pianist Earl Wild and British avant-garde composer Michael Finnissy have all tried their hand at reworking these exceptional songs.  By also including the preludes and the concerto, George’s contributions to the concert world (which were growing increasingly effective and original at the time of his death) are also given a hearing.”

Anderson will play George’s own Steinway Model A piano at the recital.  Gershwin’s nephew, Marc Gershwin, generously donated the piano to UM and it was restored here in our piano technology lab. For Anderson, “it’s been a very moving experience to get to use Gershwin’s own instrument…you know that he must have played almost the same notes himself countless times on this piano.  It’s really an honor to turn back the clock a little and get to know an instrument like this that was close to him during his compositional work.  I am very grateful that Marc Gershwin generously made this priceless instrument available to the students at UM.”

The audience can expect to hear music that still shines with all of the vitality and enthusiasm it had in the 1920s and 30s–the Gershwin brothers’ infectious compositional style hasn’t aged a day. As Anderson put it, “Music that is this honest and direct can be hard to find these days, and I think we should be careful to treasure this legacy that Gershwin left us…. I would be very surprised if people in the audience at this concert don’t walk away humming a few of the tunes afterwards!  It’s that kind of music, and it still has the power to bring out some sunshine on a cloudy day.”

Toi toi toi Cole, from all of us at the Gershwin Initiative!

The recital is open to the public; no tickets required.

 

Kristen Clough is currently pursuing her PhD in Musicology at the University of Michigan. She has published on the operas of Francis Poulenc and researches the intersections of music, politics, and religion in 20th century France.  She joined the Gershwin Initiative team this fall as Coordinator of Public Musicology and Education Outreach.