This album presents three classic Gershwin pieces heard in premiere recordings of the new Gershwin Critical Edition. The edition seeks to create the most accurate representation of the composer's intentions using all existing manuscripts and other sources, such as piano rolls. In the case of Rhapsody in Blue the edition is based on Ferde Grofé's svmphonic arrangement though 44 measures from the original jazz band version are included. Also featured are the Second Rhapsody and the Cuban Overture, alongside Joan Tower's propulsive study in rhythm and texture, and Steven Stucky's ghostly waltz evocations.

This is the first recording of Rhapsody in Blue in the Gershwin Critical Edition. It is released in the 2024 centennial of the work’s first performance.

Pianist Kevin Cole is a leading Gershwin interpreter who has given sold-out performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and appearances with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. In November 2020 he recorded Gershwin’s Concerto in F, coupled with works by Joan Tower and Walter Piston, on 8559875 with the same accompanists as here, David Alan Miller and the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic.

Fanfare wrote of the release: ‘Kevin Cole’s piano playing is filled with fiery energy, the rhythms clearly articulated and overall perfectly balanced with the transparent opulence of Miller’s orchestra…This is a satisfying release combining the old and the new, showing the diversity of style in American orchestral music’.

David Alan Miller is one of the leading American conductors of his generation. The two-time Grammy Award-winning music director of the Albany Symphony has reaffirmed the orchestra’s reputation as the nation’s leading champion of American symphonic music. Miller received Grammy Awards in January 2021 for his recording of Christopher Theofanidis’s Viola Concerto, and in 2014 for his Naxos recording of John Corigliano’s Conjurer, with the Albany Symphony and Dame Evelyn Glennie. In addition to his work with the Albany Symphony, Miller currently serves as artistic advisor to the Sarasota Orchestra and the Little Orchestra Society of New York.