Mayor Wu Plays Gershwin

Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops: Please! Let's take another break from the harsh, terrible, sorrowful news of the day. Yes, Abq Jew fully recognizes that there are many - too many - who cannot take such a break. But let's, while we can.

From Steady, the Substack newsletter of Dan Rather - the American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. To which (especially his Reason to Smile columns) and to whom Abq Jew has referred many times in the past.

More Than a Mayor

In an attempt to remind us all that there are still elected officials out there who believe in serving their constituents and their communities, we have found a reason to smile: Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston. And lest you think we are moving away from a musical focus, just wait.

Wu is the first woman and first person of color to hold the job. A daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she is a self-described “pragmatic progressive.”

Her campaign website lays out her vision: “This moment is a call to action. To me, that means thinking big about how to build a more resilient, healthy, and fair Boston, and then having the courage and political will to fight for all of our families.” By most accounts, she is making good on those promises.

While doing all she can for the residents of Boston, Wu is also an accomplished musician. She started taking piano lessons at the age of four and has been playing ever since. On her first day at City Hall, she had a piano placed in her office. Wu must have found time to use it, if her performance with the Boston Pops is any measure.

Last September, Wu performed with the famed orchestra as part of Concert for the City, an free annual concert for the people of Boston.

The YouTube intro to the performance tells us:

At the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2024 Concert for the City, Mayor Michelle Wu performed George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Boston Pops. 

The Concert for the City is a free event that showcases all that the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops have to offer, alongside arts and music education partners and programs from throughout Greater Boston.

At the 2023 Concert for the City, Mayor Michelle Wu performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467 (2nd movement, Andante).

Mayor Wu returned to Symphony Hall this year to perform one of her favorite pieces, Georgie Gershwin's 1924 solo piano and jazz band musical composition, "Rhapsody in Blue."

Mayor Wu is a champion of the arts and music in Boston, helping to make arts education more accessible to young people through her Connect, Learn, Explore summer learning initiative and BPS Sundays, a program making certain museums, zoos, and cultural institutions free for Boston Public Schools students on the first and second Sundays of each month.

Click here for video 

After her performance, Mayor Wu wrote:

I had a wonderful time performing “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Boston Pops at the @bostonsymphony’s Concert for the City, alongside many incredibly talented musicians like the @bostonchildrenschorus, the @bforchestra, @veronicaroblesmariachi and more!

Events like this are what make Boston so special—seeing so much of the incredible talent and artistry that exists in our city, all in one place and entirely free.

I want to thank the BSO for opening their doors to our communities every year, and creating this opportunity for all of us to share in the magic of music’s company together.

Congratulations to all of the musicians on their incredible performances! Honored to share the stage with you and our Boston Pops!

Surely you, Abq Jew's loyal readers, know the answer to this one! But just in case, Wikipedia reminds us all -  

George Gershwin (/ˈɡɜːrʃ.wɪn/; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs "Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), which included the hit "Summertime".

And of Rhapsody in Blue, Wikipedia tells us:

Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City. Whiteman's band performed the rhapsody with Gershwin playing the piano. 

So. About Boston. 

As Abq Jew has pointed out (see July 2024's Our House), Mr & Mrs Abq Jew no longer have close family who live in New York City or in New York State. 

And here in Albuquerque, New Mexico - where our own Mayor Tim Keller celebrates music in his own way - well, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew do not, despite their best efforts over 15 years, have close family who live here. Alas.

But Mr & Mrs Abq Jew now have very close family who live in Rhode Island. Just a short drive to Boston, half-way to NH - where (see May 2021's Portsmouth Parking & The Jews) they also have very close family.