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George Gershwin leans foward onto a table, smiling and wearing suit and tie. Black and white head and shoulders photo.

Gershwin’s “Rhapsody” at 100; Still Capturing the American Character

Posted by: Neely Tucker

George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” a rapturous burst of music that has become a motif of the nation’s creative spirit, turns 100 today. It was first performed in New York on the snowy Tuesday afternoon of Feb. 12, 1924. Commissioned and premiered by the popular conductor Paul Whiteman at a concert designed to showcase high-minded …