ESO Gershwin Rhapsodies

This program, with guest pianist Yana Reznik, who was born in Moscow and now lives in Chicago, features Cuban Overture, written after Gershwin’s visit to Havana in 1932; Lullaby for Strings, highlighting the spectacular strings of the ESO; and 2nd Rhapsody, which may be the most experimental of his works. The concerts also hold Rhapsody in Blue, described by Gershwin as a “musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot.” The program concludes with his iconic tone poem American in Paris, which depicts busy Parisian streets traversed by an American tourist in the 1920s.