‘Rhapsody in Blue’ came to the Irem Temple

On August 5, 1924, Mayor Dan Hart of Wilkes-Barre proposed a new law.

The Record newspaper said it was an ordinance “penalizing the playing of jazz on the streets and in public places, his purpose being to get back to high-toned music.”

The very next month, famous bandleader Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra came to town with a program including the mega-hit “Rhapsody in Blue,” which Whiteman had described as a fusion of traditional American music and the newly emerging genre of jazz.

Apparently, there was no problem with the concert at Irem Temple.

In the century since its composition, “Rhapsody in Blue,” by pianist and composer George Gershwin, has become what many call an “American standard.” It has been played in concert and recorded endlessly. The Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic was scheduled to play it this season, recognizing the work’s 100th anniversary.

Whiteman had introduced “Rhapsody” to the world in a concert at Aeolian Hall, in New York City, just seven months earlier, with Gershwin himself as pianist.

It had been an instant hit. Within days Whiteman had recorded the piece, though in an abbreviated version because the 78 rpm records of the time could not accommodate a work of that length.

In September, Whiteman and his orchestra opened an eight-month tour that would include about 200 concerts in cities all across America. This time with Harry Perrella as pianist. That tour brought them to Wilkes-Barre.

The program would be substantially that of the earlier New York City concert, including a blend of pop tunes such as “Yes, We Have No Bananas” and “Kitten on the Keys.”

While “Rhapsody in Blue” has been popular with concert audiences and buyers of recordings, some musicologists and critics were cool toward it, complaining that it lacked good structure.

Whiteman, though, apparently saw it as a pioneering work. He even entitled the New York City concert as “An Experiment in Modern Music.” Audiences evidently agreed with him.

How did Wilkes-Barre snag the great Paul Whiteman and his orchestra? Looking back at those days, it appears that the community was well blessed with musical events, most of which took place at Irem Temple before highly appreciative crowds.

In other words, lots of outstanding musicians made the trek here to perform in the 1920s. Our area had a vibrant artistic culture that brought the famous here time and again.

That year of 1924 alone, the community enjoyed appearances by titans like pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski, violinists Fritz Kreisler and Jascha Heifetz and contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink. The New York Symphony also gave a concert. Already booked for next year was composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Want to hear the rhapsody as it would have sounded to audiences in the 1920s? Search for it by name online and you’ll find some old performances, probably cut-down versions. There are modern recordings as well. Modern ones, though, have tended to emphasize the symphonic rather than the jazzier 1920s style.

Composer Gershwin (1898-1937) went on to still more fame with his orchestral work “An American in Paris” (eventually adapted as a movie musical) and the opera “Porgy and Bess,” performed in many venues, including the Metropolitan Opera.

Bandleader Whiteman (1890-1967) continued to record and tour, working in the late 1920s with jazz arranger Bill Challis, a Wilkes-Barre native.

Mayor Dan Hart (1866-1933) won four terms as Wilkes-Barre’s chief executive and entered into history as one of the most beloved public officials in the city’s history.

Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history and genealogy writer. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com