Autograph musical quotation signed ‘George Gershwin’ from the Second Rhapsody - photo 1

Autograph musical quotation signed ‘George Gershwin’ from the Second Rhapsody

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£ 2 142
Auction dateClassic
28.09.2023 13:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
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ID 1016390
Lot 146 | Autograph musical quotation signed ‘George Gershwin’ from the Second Rhapsody
Autograph musical quotation signed ‘George Gershwin’ from the Second Rhapsody

George Gershwin

GERSHWIN, George (1898-1937). Autograph musical quotation signed ‘George Gershwin’ from the Second Rhapsody, 15 October 1933.



Rare autograph musical quotation from the Second Rhapsody, which Gershwin considered his best work to date. Two bars on a single stave, titled ‘2nd Rhapsody’ with the direction ‘andante’, warmly inscribed to Boston Symphony contrabassoonist Boaz Piller ‘In memory of many happy days (and nights) in Boston’.



While Rhapsody in Blue was often requested in this form, examples of musical quotations from Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody have rarely surfaced at auction. Originally titled Rhapsody in Rivets, ‘for he had hit on the idea of a “rivet” theme to convey a musical image of Manhattan,’ the premiere of the piece was performed in Boston by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on 29 January 1932. Gershwin’s inscription to Boston Symphony contrabassoonist Boaz Piller, written the following year, no doubt refers to memories of the premiere performance. Although the Second Symphony was widely regarded as less successful than the first, Gershwin was proud of the piece, commenting ‘“In many respects, such as orchestration and form, it is the best thing I have ever written.”’ Schwartz, 201.



Octavo sheet, 165 x 139 mm (slight show-through from another signature verso, faint matt-burn); housed in a clothbound folder. Provenance: Boaz Piller (Boston Symphony contrabassoonist; presentation inscription from the composer).

Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
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28.09.2023 – 28.09.2023
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