Starring: Wessel van Wyk, University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra, Eric Rycroft
Brooklyn Theatre TV on www.artmusic.tv presents
Rhapsody in Blue - George Gershwin
Wessel van Wyk (piano)
UPSO - University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra
Eric Rycroft (conductor)
Brooklyn Theatre patrons have been avid supporters of the SA pianist, Wessel van Wyk since the establishment of our online platform. After his highly successful Drawing Room Recital and his Liszt Piano Concerto with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, we are now proud to present his fine rendition of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in concert with the University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra under direction of Eric Rycroft.
Written originally for solo piano and jazz band in 1924, the piano concerto version was orchestrated by the American composer, Ferde Grof in 1942. Since then it has become one of Gershwin's most recognisable creations and as a key composition which defined the historical period known as the "Jazz Age". This work caused the inauguration of a new era in America's musical history. This piece also established Gershwin's reputation as a serious composer.
Salon Music's long standing collaboration with the University of Pretoria included many concerts in the Musaion and Aula, on campus from 1994 till 2009, when Brooklyn Theatre was opened. This affiliation also facilitated considerable job creation for UP music students, graduates and members of staff to this day. Many UP graduates also joined the Gauteng Philharmonic Orchestra.
Prof Wessel van Wyk is the perfect example of a top class SA musician, lecturing at the UP, regularly featured in concert over many years, in various productions for Salon Music and Brooklyn Theatre.