Who composed 'Rhapsody in Blue'?

George Gershwin composed Rhapsody in Blue. Completed in 1924, the work brought together the sounds of concert music and jazz and became one of the defining compositions of the American Jazz Age.

Bandleader Paul Whiteman commissioned Gershwin to write an extended work for an experimental concert in New York. Gershwin began composing in January 1924, and his brother Ira suggested the final title after seeing paintings by James McNeill Whistler with similarly evocative color-based names. Gershwin first considered calling it American Rhapsody.

The premiere took place at Aeolian Hall on February 12, 1924, during Whiteman's “An Experiment in Modern Music.” Gershwin played the solo piano part, while Ferde Grofé prepared the orchestration for Whiteman's ensemble. The famous opening clarinet glissando immediately became one of the work's signature sounds. A common confusion is crediting Grofé as the composer; he arranged and orchestrated the piece, but Gershwin wrote it.