Here are a couple Gershwin songs that I like: "The Man I Love" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me." "The Man I Love" is probably played more contemplatively than some people may like it, but I don't care. This is how I feel it.

And now I'm going to put on a beaded gown and pour myself a martini....

Gershwin - They Can't Take That Away From Me

Gershwin - The Man I Love


p.s. I want to record another of my favorites, "Someone to Watch Over Me", but I can't find a decent version that I like, so if someone has a good one, I'd be most interested.

Beautiful sounds as always. The first one seems just a touch too careful and 'classical', and the seconds one is IMO much too slow - it really drags and loses all its swing like this. But I'm no expert on Gershwin and could well be wrong on this. In any case, quality playing.

As for the sound I agree with Chris in that it is very good. I am not sure the fisrt one insperes me very much (it is not one of those arranged by Gershwin if I am not mistaken.) but that might be the arrangement itself. As for the second... I made a recording of it some time ago and ditched it because it was too slow, Listening to your playing, it sounded rather similar. The 1st section works even at that speed, but the middle one loses all its snap. The coda could fly a little more, The way I feel it is like a will'o'-the-wisp that soars and vanishes.

"They Can't Take...." I sort of arranged myself; I have two different versions but didn't like either of them as a whole, so I took the parts I liked and combined them into a 'new' arrangement.

"The Man I Love" - I do not care for fast versions of this piece at all! It loses the whole mood. One must play this piece while thinking and longing for someone (the man/women you love?), and therefore it would naturally go on the slow-side. I recently heard Diane Krall sing it even slower than my rendition here. Plus, my score says "Slowly in a singing style". It's funny though; I made two recordings last night and the first one I felt I had played the middle section too fast. Listening back to this version here I do now agree that the middle section is too slow, so I'll re-record this again tonight and try to find a happy medium.

That is it: A is slow and B is livelier. When I play this one I think of Ella Fitzgerald singing it and that is just how she does it. My score says "Slow and in singing style." Funny that, since the publisher is obviously the same.

Ella Fitzgerald is great - I've always liked her very much!

I like these (and your sound is very nice), but I find it hard to get Earl Wild's Gershwin arrangements out of my mind. I was surprised to find the recording on youtube, but you might find this interesting to hear. Really lovely. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTo-Nk6G79g

Hi Monica,

I enjoyed listening to these Gershwin pieces. In "They Can't Take That Away From Me", the introduction goes over a minute! And it seems to bear little relationship to the main theme. Was that actually composed by Gershwin or an arranger? If not, is the intro in the other score any more convincing? As you were playing this it, my sense was that your playing was tentative. But I suspect that's is actually due to the music in that intro, not you.

"The Man I Love" was played well, but I agree with the others that it could be at a slightly faster pace--not much. Very nostalgic and with a sense of longing.

Thanks for posting these.

David

Hey That's kind of neat. I like your arrangement or rearrangement. I know of one artist, Richard Glazier, who kind of does the same thing.

I actually spent quite a bit of time learning to make my own arrangements of these type of things. I even took lessons from a prominent bebop jazz pianist in my area. I know it takes a lot of work, and in some ways much harder then just playing from a written score.

I also thought the tempo could of been a bit faster and maybe more steady but that really is just my preference. I thought it sounded nice.

I was sort of hoping nobody would mention Earl Wild's transcription..... I am so far below his standard that it's not even funny. But Andrew, indeed that link is a very beautiful and amazing recording. I can only dream.....

David, I'm not totally sure what you mean about the intro to "They Can't Take That Away From Me" being over a minute long. In my rendition, the introduction is only about 4 bars or so. However, I know that most versions of this piece start right at the place, "the way you wear your hat...". Mine starts a little before that place and is taken from the 1937 movie, "Shall We Dance" starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Here is a clip from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMqXXdBlvZE.

Well anyway, thank you all for your thoughts and kind words. I've re-recorded "The Man I Love" and shaved off about 20 seconds but perhaps it is still too slow for some people. I pretty much like it like this though. For now, anyway....

Hi Monica,



Exactly! In your rendition that occurs around 1.08. Back in those days many songs had long lead-ins and this was one of them. If I had to listen to just the lead-in by itself without the main theme, I don't think I could identify the song to be honest. That's probably why, without the benefit of the lyrics in the lead-in, I thought it might be a long piano introduction. I watched the link you gave me where Astaire sings to Rogers under the street lamp. Hadn't seen that for years! They used to do some fabulous dance routines in the movies, didn't they? I remember one episode where Astaire danced his way down an ornate staircase. It had to be very dangerous, but he did it smoothly as if there were nothing to it. I don't believe anyone else has ever been able to duplicate that maneuver.

Thanks for the memories!

David

Still slow but it seems to flow better now and it doesn't give the impression of dragging along.

This is better, yes, I agree, and the right speed.

Take it this way: Earl Wild plays Earl Wilde's arrangement while you play Gershwin's. Is that not better?

Charming performances, Monica. I didn't listen to the first take, but the tempo seemed fine to me here. Tempo can lie in the shadow of a musically convincing performance. In other words, it won't break your performance if you have something special to say. If that's how you hear AND sing it, then that's how a piece should go.

I had a dentist that worked for me and she secretly learned "The Man I Love" when her husband wasn't home. She learned the piece just in time to perform it as a surprise birthday gift for him...

If you were accompanying a singer, the original Gershwin version would be more appropriate. I am not opposed to transcriptions as long as it adds to the character of the music, and not create a distraction. I remember mentioning my partiality to Wild's transcriptions in another thread. I feel that they are more colorful from a pianistic point of view. His Etudes convincingly inject life without sounding like a pyrotechnical display. In the suite, I also like "Fascinating Rhythm." It's a good extension of the Preludes. Hey, you've already recorded the Preludes, so I think you underestimate your abilities to learn the Wild transcription Etudes. BTW, I liked your arrangement of "They Can't Take..." It was seamless and smooth. You should do more arranging?!

In any arrangement, these songs will always be a part of the American musical culture whether it's in movies or musical circles. Your performance was evocative and the music was conveyed with deep feeling.

George

Ok, thanks everybody! I might go right now and make another recording of "They Can't Take That Away From Me", but just the regular way - no lead-in, or middle part, and no 'arranging' by me. It will be a very short piece then. I guess I could have both versions up. I don't really know what I want to do....

Anyway, David, Fred Astaire is wonderful to watch. Can you perhaps find a video clip of him dancing down the stairs? I also like this one of the Nicholas Brothers. Great music too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBb9hTyLjfM

It's really fabulous - I can't get over how those men can dance like that! And wait to you see what they do on the stairs near the end of the video.

Ouch!