An American in Paris 1

An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a symphonic composition by American
composer George Gershwin, composed in 1928. Inspired by time
Gershwin had spent in Paris, it is in the form of an extended tone poem A theme from George Gershwin orchestral
composition, An American in Paris
evoking the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is
one of Gershwin's best-known compositions.
Gershwin composed the piece on commission from the New York Philharmonic. He also did the orchestration. (He
did not orchestrate his musicals.) Gershwin scored An American in Paris for the standard instruments of the
symphony orchestra plus celesta, saxophone, and automobile horns. Gershwin brought back some Parisian taxi horns
for the New York premiere of the composition which took place on December 13, 1928 in Carnegie Hall with Walter
Damrosch conducting the New York Philharmonic.
Gershwin collaborated on the original program notes with the critic and composer Deems Taylor, noting that: "My
purpose here is to portray the impression of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city and listens to
various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere." When the tone poem moves into the blues, "our American
friend ... has succumbed to a spasm of homesickness." But, "nostalgia is not a fatal disease." The American visitor
"once again is an alert spectator of Parisian life" and "the street noises and French atmosphere are triumphant."

Instrumentation
An American in Paris is scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B flat,
bass clarinet in B flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B flat, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass
drum, triangle, wood block, cymbals, low and high tom-toms, xylophone, glockenspiel, celesta, 4 taxi horns, alto
saxophone/soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone/soprano saxophone/alto saxophone, baritone saxophone/soprano
saxophone/alto saxophone, and strings.
The revised edition by F Campbell-Watson calls for three saxophones, alto, tenor and baritone. In this arrangement
the soprano and alto doublings have been rewritten to avoid changing instruments.

Recordings
An American in Paris has been frequently recorded over the years. The very first recording was made for RCA
Victor in 1929 with Nathaniel Shilkret conducting the Victor Symphony Orchestra, drawn from members of the
Philadelphia Orchestra. Gershwin was on hand to "supervise" the recording; however, Shilkret was reported to be in
charge and eventually asked the composer to leave the recording studio. Then, a little later, Shilkret discovered there
was no one to play the brief celesta solo during the slow section, so he hastily asked Gershwin if he might play the
solo; Gershwin said he could and so he briefly participated in the actual recording. The radio broadcast of the
September 8, 1937 Hollywood Bowl George Gershwin Memorial Concert, in which An American in Paris, also
conducted by Shilkret, was second on the program, was recorded and was released in 1998 in a two-CD set. Arthur
Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra recorded the work for RCA Victor, including one of the first stereo recordings
of the music. In 1945, Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra recorded the music in Carnegie Hall, one
of the few commercial recordings Toscanini made of music by an American composer. The Seattle Symphony also
recorded a version in the 1980's of Gershwin's original score, before he committed to numerous edits resulting in the
score as we hear it today.
In 1951, MGM released a musical comedy, An American in Paris, featuring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. Winner of
numerous awards, including the 1951 Best Picture Oscar, the film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, featured many
tunes of Gershwin, and concluded with an extensive, elaborate dance sequence built around Gershwin's symphonic
An American in Paris 2

poem (arranged for the film by Johnny Green).

A part of the symphonic composition is also featured in As Good as It Gets, released in 1997.

External links
• 1944 recording [1] by The New York Philharmonic conducted by Artur Rodzinsky.

References
[1] http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ AnAmericanInParis
Article Sources and Contributors 3

Article Sources and Contributors

An American in Paris  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=391614620  Contributors: 23skidoo, Addaick, Alro, Bishzilla, CS42, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Cburnett, Ckatz,
Clarityfiend, CommonsDelinker, Conversion script, Danny, Deb, Dmn, Dono, Eclecticology, FordPrefect42, Gamaliel, Grenavitar, Hyacinth, ILike2BeAnonymous, Infrogmation, JackofOz,
Japanese Searobin, Jetman, Jordgubbe, Justin Tokke, Ken Gallager, KoyaanisQatsi, Lawrence S C TAM, Liftarn, Lucas R, MegA, Mllefifi, Mzajac, Netziv, Nmpenguin, Pearle, Poorpete,
Qmwne235, Rfc1394, Rich Farmbrough, Robertgreer, Rossrs, Russ jackson88, Sallyrob, SimonP, Sketchee, Skiminal, Sligocki, Slysplace, Stefania.saccani, SteinbDJ, Szalax, TBHecht,
Tjmayerinsf, Traveler100, Tregoweth, Trivialist, Vicshil, Werdna, Wizardman, Zoe, Zoicon5, 33 anonymous edits

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