'Rhapsody in Blue' was performed live for the first time on this date 90 years ago

Today's music is from 90 years ago today when "Rhapsody in Blue" was performed live for the first time.

Just a few weeks earlier, Paul Whiteman had commissioned George Gershwin to create a concerto-like piece for an all-jazz concert.

It was played by Whiteman's orchestra with Gershwin on piano at Aeolian Hall in New York City. This recording of Gershwin and the Whiteman Orchestra was made just a few months after that first performance in 1924.

Gershwin told a biographer that "Rhapsody in Blue" was conceived while he was riding on a train, listening to its rhythms.

"I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise.... and there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper - the complete construction of the Rhapsody, from beginning to end. I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness," said.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.