On June 30, 2023, renowned pianist Jeffrey Biegel performed the world premiere of Peter Boyer’s “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue” during the opening concert of the Utah Symphony’s 2023 Deer Valley Music Festival at the Snow Park Amphitheater.  The performance marked the culmination up t o that point of the Rhapsody National Initiative, a campaign Biegel had started to recruit symphony orchestras from all 50 states to perform the work that pays tribute to George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”  At that time, 45 orchestras from 42 states had joined the project, which was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” which premiered in 1924. Last week, Biegel announced more than 72 orchestras from all 50 states have joined the throng. “The Rhapsody National Initiative has now become the largest consortium of orchestras ever assembled for a new work in the history of music,” he said. The participating orchestras aren’t just professional, Biegel said. “This has become a national statement of how orchestras, from youth orchestras, community orchestras, university orchestras and semi-professional orchestras, share in this exceptional new work,” he said.  “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue” is also the first full symphonic composition about the American flag by an American composer, according to Biegel. “The only other composition written about the American flag symphonically was written by (Czech composer) Antonin Dvorak,” he said. “Dvorak composed a cantata in the 1890s for a symphony and chorus called ‘The American Flag.’” Other works, such as the “Star-spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key that was set to the music of a British song called “The Anacreontic Song,” by John Stafford Smith and “You’re a Grand Old Flag” by George M. Cohan, are not full symphonies, Biegel said. “Symphonically, as far as I know, there is nothing called ‘Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue,’” he said. “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue,” composed by Peter Boyer, began as a tribute to Gershwin, Biegel said. “As time went on, it became a multi-functional endeavor for everybody, and America’s 250th anniversary sure came into play,” he said. “But the work soon became something greater than those, which, to me, are merely labels. I think what happened is rather than conductors and orchestras attaching themselves to a centennial, anniversary or birthday, (the piece) became more of a unification of people through music.” That unification supersedes any of the celebrations, Biegel said. “It’s easy to say, ‘Let’s do this for the country’s birthday,’ but on July 5 that won’t matter anymore,” he said. “What matters is this project goes through the end of the 2027-28 concert season, and that’s because I can’t fit all of the performances in less time.” Biegel is still adding orchestras. “Any orchestra that joins the consortium in 2028 but can’t perform the work until 2029 will still be listed in the project’s conductor’s score,” he said. Although the initiative is national, it is well within the stages of becoming global, Biegel said. “The London Symphony Orchestra gave me permission to list them as the orchestra to perform the first recording of the music,” he said. The orchestra, known for its recordings of John Williams’ “Star Wars” soundtracks, recorded “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue” with Boyer conducting and Biegel on the piano in 2023. The recording was released on the Naxos label in 2024, the year the initiative reached its 50-state goal.  The Utah Symphony also had a hand in inspiring the recording because of the Deer Valley Music Festival, Biegel said. “I wanted the premiere to take place outside, not inside, because America is so beautiful,” he said back then. “I envisioned a lawn packed with people together in a beautiful setting.” Steven Brosvik, Utah Symphony’s president and chief executive officer, saw that potential, Biegel said. “I am so very grateful to Steven for channeling (his) team to perform the work, which catapulted the project to a national tour,” he said. “That is when Peter Boyer came up with the notion of having the piece recorded.” If orchestras outside the United States sign on to perform the work by 2027 and 2028, they will also be listed in the conductor’s scores, and the title will officially change to “Rhapsody Global Initiative,” Biegel said. “I’m trying to get countries who have red, white and blue in their flags to get involved,” he said. “I’m trying to get orchestras to be a part of something they ordinarily would not be able to.” Biegel confessed that at first he didn’t think to ask Boyer to compose the work. “I was thinking about other composers I had worked with, and then I remember Peter and I talked about doing something together years ago,” Biegel said.  Boyer composed “Ellis Island: The Dream of America,” a project for actors and musicians, in 2002, Biegel said. “That project has since been performed more than 300 times since,” Biegel said. Biegel decided to contact Boyer. “I knew I wanted to do this new work with a composer that I had not worked with before,” he said. “Peter cites Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin and John Williams as his gods of the kingdom, and he writes music that appeals to people of all ages and levels, which is important.” At first, Boyer wasn’t too sure about taking on the project, according to Biegel. “He told me that he didn’t want to be compared to George Gershwin on this, and I told him what Gershwin said when he went to Paris to meet Maurice Ravel,” Biegel said. “Ravel told him, ‘It’s better to be a first-rate Gershwin than a second-rate Ravel.’ And I said, ‘It’s better to be a first-rate Boyer than a second-rate Gershwin.’ And that’s one of the things that made Peter want to do this.” Biegel gave Boyer free rein in composing “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue.” “I gave him the title, and he ran with it,” he said. “(The music) basically takes off where Gershwin left off, and people get to feel what America has evolved to since Gershwin’s time. It’s a totally original piece, which I think makes it a success.” Biegel, who is now 65, said he hopes people will view the initiative as his legacy. “If I’m going to be remembered for anything, I think it should be how we collectively utilized the power of music to bring people together,” he said. “I hope in years to come, people will look back on this historic and most-divisive period in America and see how we people pulled together through the strength of music. This is for future generations to look back to and see what we accomplished.” For information about Jeffrey Biegel and the Rhapsody National Initiative, visit jeffreybiegel.com. The post Rhapsody National Initiative celebrates America’s 250 and beyond appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less