Hoctor's Ballet
Hoctor's Ballet is a composition by George Gershwin for full orchestra written in 1937, originally from the score for Shall We Dance. Performance time runs about 10 minutes.
Composed by Gershwin specifically for the ballerina Harriet Hoctor, the piece features string glissandos, rapid shifts in key, and the most extensive parts are written for the harp. It consists of a dramatic introduction followed by a fast waltz, a stately procession, an extended pas de deux, and a climactic reprise (also noted in some books as a separate "Shall We Dance", "Masks" or "Finale and Coda" scene.)
This is the only published music from the Shall We Dance score available besides the Walking the Dog sequence, and is significant as the last long composition written by Gershwin for the symphony orchestra.
The premiere live concert performance of Hoctor's Ballet took place on July 28, 2007 at the Severance Hall Pavilion in Cleveland, Ohio, with Loras John Schissel conducting the Blossom Festival Orchestra.
Preservation status
On September 22, 2013 it was announced that a musicological critical edition of the full orchestral score will be eventually released. The Gershwin family, working in conjunction with the Library of Congress and the University of Michigan, are working to make scores available to the public that represent Gershwin's true intent. The entire Gershwin project may take 30 to 40 years to complete, and it is unclear when the score to Shall We Dance (which includes Hoctor's Ballet) will be released.[1][2]
* See specifically Gershwin: A New Critical Biography, by Edward Jablonski (1998) pg. 300-304 and Gershwin: His Life and Work, by Howard Pollack (2006) pg. 671 for specific discussions on the genesis of this piece.
References
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- Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
- An American in Paris
- Gershwin Piano Concerto
- Three Preludes
- Who Cares?
- Blue Monday (1922)
- Porgy and Bess (1935)
- Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
- Concerto in F (1925)
- An American in Paris (1928)
- Second Rhapsody (1931)
- Cuban Overture (1932)
- Strike Up the Band (1934)
- Hoctor's Ballet (1937)
- Three Preludes (1926)
- French Ballet Class (1937)
- "Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did?"
- "(I've Got) Beginner's Luck"
- "Bidin' My Time"
- "Blah Blah Blah"
- "Boy Wanted"
- "Boy! What Love Has Done to Me!"
- "But Not for Me"
- "By Strauss"
- "Clap Yo' Hands"
- "Do It Again"
- "Doin' Time"
- "Embraceable You"
- "Fascinating Rhythm"
- "A Foggy Day"
- "For You, For Me, For Evermore"
- "Funny Face"
- "'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues"
- "He Loves and She Loves"
- "How Long Has This Been Going On?"
- "I Can't Be Bothered Now"
- "I Got Rhythm"
- "I Was Doing All Right"
- "I've Got a Crush on You"
- "Isn't It a Pity?"
- "Just Another Rhumba"
- "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"
- "Let's Kiss and Make Up"
- "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)"
- "Looking for a Boy"
- "Lorelei"
- "Love Is Here to Stay"
- "Love Is Sweeping the Country"
- "Love Walked In"
- "The Man I Love"
- "My Cousin in Milwaukee"
- "My One and Only"
- "Nice Work If You Can Get It"
- "Of Thee I Sing"
- "Oh, Lady Be Good!"
- "Oh, So Nice!"
- "The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag)"
- "'S Wonderful"
- "Sam and Delilah"
- "Slap That Bass"
- "Somebody from Somewhere"
- "Somebody Loves Me"
- "Someone to Watch Over Me"
- "Soon"
- "Stairway to Paradise"
- "Stiff Upper Lip"
- "Strike Up the Band"
- "Summertime"
- "Swanee"
- "That Certain Feeling"
- "They All Laughed"
- "They Can't Take That Away from Me"
- "Things Are Looking Up"
- "Tra-la-la"
- "Treat Me Rough"
- "Walking the Dog"
- "Who Cares?"
- "You've Got What Gets Me"
- Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin
- By George
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
- Ella Sings Gershwin
- Gershwin Live!
- Gershwin's World
- The Glory of Gershwin
- Ira, George and Joe
- Nice Work If You Can Get It
- Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook
- Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove
- Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gershwin
- Gershwin Prize
- Ira Gershwin (brother)
- Arthur Gershwin (brother)
- Frances Gershwin (sister)
- Gershwin Theatre
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