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The Gershwin biographer Isaac Goldberg wrote in 1931 that with the Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin "fired the jazz shot heard round the world." This symphonic jazz concerto may be the most famous piece of American classical music. Undoubtedly the most famous classical work of its own time, it was a serious concert work that contained elements of popular music in the 1920s including the style of jazz. Gershwin's Rhapsody even remains a part of American popular culture today; its famous themes are heard from the big screen in Disney's Fantasia 2000 to the television screen in United Airlines commercials. While the popularity of the Rhapsody cannot be questioned, one can ask the question to what extent does Gershwin actually employ elements of jazz music in his so-called "symphonic jazz concerto?" After all, it would seem that the Rhapsody does not contain many of jazz's most important aspects, such as swing or improvisation. Why, then, was the Rhapsody labeled a "jazz concerto?"......

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Approximate Word Count: 3474
Approximate Pages: 14 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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