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Topic: Favorite Performances of "Porgy"?  (Read 2110 times)

Offline nmitchell076

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Favorite Performances of "Porgy"?
on: July 22, 2010, 08:42:26 PM
I have recently become absolutely infatuated with the music of George Gershwin.  I have always enjoyed him, but it was when I first heard his Concerto in F (about a year and a half ago) that I really just fell in love with his music.  I'm actually currently studying the final movement of that Concerto. 

Yet another one of his works I wish I were better acquainted with is Porgy and Bess. I've been looking for some recordings of the Opera, but never imagined the sheer amount of recordings of it available.  The available versions range from Miles Davis; Louis Armstrong with Ella Fitzgerald; and the Modern Jazz Quartet to recorded operatic versions. 

Which ones do you guys enjoy?  And which ones would you suggest me looking into in order to hear the Opera as it would have first been performed (I know that there have been numerous recordings and productions with the recitatives cut and the orchestra reduced, and I'm not really interested in these at the moment)

EDIT: Two I was interested in were the Nashville Symphony Orchestra's 2006 recording or Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 2009 recording.  I love Harnoncourt, but I wonder how a conductor who's known for his Bach interpretation would function in a work like Porgy and Bess.  What are your thoughts?
Pieces:
Beethoven - Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2
Chopin - Nocturne in Bb minor Op. 9 No. 1
Debussy - "La Danse De Puck"
Somers - Sonnet No. 3, "Primeval"
Gershwin - Concerto in F

Offline mikey6

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Re: Favorite Performances of "Porgy"?
Reply #1 on: August 11, 2010, 05:51:42 AM
The classic Porgy recording afaik is Rattle's from Glyndebourne.
There's also excerpts of Gershwin himself accompanying the original cast.
Never look at the trombones. You'll only encourage them.
Richard Strauss
 

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