George Gershwin died aged 38 in 1937 but he has been heard playing his famous piano solo from Rhapsody in Blue on stage in Florida.
His ghost was summoned up by the Florida Orchestra who took to the stage without a live piano player but took with them a Yamaha Disklavier Grand Piano.
The Disklavier had been programmed up with a midi file made from a piano roll recorded by George Gershwin himself in 1927. Because the file was made from a piano roll rather than an audio recording some of the subtleties of touch and emotion that the the great American composer brought to the piece were preserved.
It was the first time since his death from a stroke that his piece Rhapsody in Blue has been heard with the piano solo more or less exactly as Gershwin himself played it.
The mix of live and digitally played music is commonplace in pop and dance music but not in the classical music hall. For some it's a step too far but the novelty of hearing the ghost of Gershwin play the piano alongside a full live orchestra is a sure crowd puller.
George Gershwin with his brother Ira Gershwin he wrote some of the best loved songs in the American song book. True music legends.
George and Ira Gershwin Official Site
George Gershwin at American Masters
Geoorge Gershwin Brought Back To Life
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