America meets Paris this Sunday morning: piano sensation Anna Fedorova brings you a thrilling, high-energy take on Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue, while French masters Debussy and Ravel bring elegance and vivid imagery to the stage.

-----

“Music should be a celebration of life.”
When George Gershwin asked Maurice Ravel if he could study under him, Ravel was taken aback: “Why be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?” Gershwin took that note to heart. He built his own musical language, blending jazz and classical like nobody else. Rhapsody in Blue, starting with that legendary clarinet slide, is the ultimate, swinging proof of how Gershwin brought jazz straight into the classical concert hall.

Maurice Ravel caught the jazz bug too, splashing it all over La valse. This piece balances beautifully between smooth 19th-century melodies and biting sarcasm. Is it a tribute to waltz king Johann Strauss Jr., or a jab at the decadent post-WWI bourgeoisie dancing on the edge of a volcano? Finally, Debussy dives into the deep end: his La mer captures the raw power of the ocean, making it clear that the sea is not to be messed with.