Anne Akiko Meyers Opens Her Heart to This Timeless Gershwin Blues
The Heifetz violin transcription of 'Summertime' is a visceral experience
I’ve deeply loved George Gershwin’s music for a long time and recently recorded this arrangment for my latest album, Seasons…dreams. I love the Heifetz transcriptions (who knew the violin better than Heifetz?) and have also recorded his transcription of “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”
This glorious piece is actually a lullaby and so full of soul. When Porgy and Bess originally came out in 1935, people didn’t know what to make of it. Was it an opera with popular songs or a musical? In the 1950s, Leontyne Price toured Europe as Bess in a revival of the opera and the role made her a star. Gershwin hoped to have it premiered at the Met, but the Met’s board president died and the production didn’t play there until 1985!
I love that this arrangement has the violin mirror the vocal score, giving the performer a chance to sing.
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