The Gershwin Piano Quartet sheds new light on the music of George Gershwin. It features 4 pianists on 4 grand
pianos, playing, arranging and improvising on some of Gershwin’s most popular songs and orchestral works, such
as „Rhapsody in Blue“, „An American in Paris“ and „Summertime“. The originals are rescored for the unfamiliar
combination of 4 pianos by the members of the quartet themselves and make for a novel and exciting listening and
viewing experience.
The Gershwin Piano Quartet was founded by André Desponds in 1996 and has presented its program all over Europe as
well as in South America and China. Some of the places where the Quartet has performed include the Schleswig-Holstein Music
Festival, (Germany), the Festival de Menton (France), the Athens Festival (Greece) and the Mozarteo Brasileiro in
São Paulo (Brazil).
In its new program, the quartet does not limit itself solely to the music of Gershwin but also includes important
works by some of Gershwin’s contemporaries, namely Igor Stravinsky’s „Petrushka“ and Maurice Ravel’s „La Valse“.
In this way, the many cross-references between the old world and the new, between classical music and jazz, classical
ballet and Broadway theater, become apparent, thus creating a lively and highly virtuosic concert evening.
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