My good friend Genadi Zagor joined us at the WCFSO a few weeks ago for a scintillating rendition of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, presented alongside a suite of indelible images created for the occasion by Gary Kelley. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at our rehearsal and performance, from photographer Noah Henscheid. [View the set on Flickr.]
The A-Train
Gary Kelley, 2009
George Gershwin claimed that he conceived the ‘metropolitan madness’ of Rhapsody in Blue ‘on a train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang.’ That same raw rhythmic inspiration was at the heart of our recent period-orchestra rendition at the WCFSO with pianist Genadi Zagor. The image by Gary Kelley is one of a series commissioned for this concert and shown in a narrative video piece alongside the performance.
Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue with Genadi Zagor
WCFSO - February 2010
A celebration of African-American music, featuring works by William Grant Still, Duke Ellington and J Dilla and art by Gary Kelley. Read a concert preview by Melody Parker of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
African Dancer
Gary Kelley, 2009
From Michael Morain’s Des Moines Register preview of tomorrow’s WCFSO concert:
Weinberger pointed out that the hip-hop tradition of borrowing, or sampling, ideas from other artists isn’t so different from what happened in the era of Beethoven or Brahms, and that’s what he finds so interesting.
‘I’m totally fascinated with influence in the artistic process, with the concept of creating sound from other sounds.’
