Lord Jim of Dilling - Diplomat Magazine

DELIGHTS|CANADIANAThe woman behind Gershwin’s careerBy Betty Nygaard KingMost of us have heard and enjoyedGeorge Gershw i n’sworld-famous piano concertoRhapsody in Blue. The jazz rhythms andevocative melodies are so widely lovedthat it is easy to forget that, at one time,jazz was new and suspect, and GeorgeGershwin was unknown as a seriouscomposer. It was an expatriate Canadiansinger in New York who introduced Gershwinto the classical music world that hesoon took by storm.The mezzo-soprano Eva Gauthier wasahead of her time. Born in Ottawa in 1885,she was the daughter of a civil engineerwith the Dominion Observatory, and theniece of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Lady ZoëLaurier. After studying voice in Francewith the Lauriers’ help, she toured theUnited Kingdom and Canada with fellowCanadian soprano Dame Emma Albani,and became the protégé of Lord Strathcona,Canada’s high commissioner in London.A stay in Java followed; it was herethat her love of exotic music was formed.In 1915, she settled in New York where shebecame known for premiering new songsin her annual concerts in Aeolian Hall.Gauthier’s concert on Nov. 1, 1923was an historical event because she didwhat no musician had dared do beforebut has since become commonplace. Sheannounced she would perform Americanjazz and popular songs along with seriousclassical works – all in a concert hallreserved for classical music. She hopedto elevate her audience’s respect for jazz,which to that point was denounced andfeared in many quarters. She entitled herexperimental concert “Recital of ancientand modern music for voice.”Gauthier, clad in a black gown wornback-to-front, began her concert withsongs of previous centuries by Belliniand Purcell, and by living composers likeFrance’s Darius Milhaud and Hungary’sBela Bartok. Then, the visibly nervousGeorge Gershwin took his seat at the piano– the first time the 25-year-old had playeda formal concert. He was an experiencedrehearsal accompanist and Broadwaycomposer, but no singer had yet taken himor his songs seriously enough to engagehim for such a performance. Gauthierand Gershwin began with Irving Berlin’sjazz song Alexander’s Ragtime Band. Gershwinsoon abandoned his sheet music infavour of spontaneousjazz rhythmsand melodic improvisations.Aftermore jazz songs byJerome Kern and Walter Donaldson,Gauthier introduced Gershwin’s own jazzcompositions I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,Innocent Ingenue Baby, and Swanee,the latter already made famous by AlJolson. The audience then demanded anencore; Gauthier and Gershwin obligedwith his Do It Again.The legacy of this single concert haslasted 85 years, because the popular bigband leader, Paul Whiteman, was in theEva Gauthieraudience. He knew Gershwin’s reputation,and decided then and there to commissionhim to compose a piano concerto.The result was the now-famous Rhapsodyin Blue, which innovatively blended jazzrhythms with classical forms. Gershwinwent on to pen the masterpieces Concertoin F, American in Paris, and Porgy andBess. Eva Gauthier’s belief in the value ofAmerican popular song had launched thecareer of this beloved composer.Eva Gauthier and George Gershwinrepeated their experimental concert inBoston in 1924 and London, England thefollowing year.By the end of her career, Gauthier hadsung over 180 world premieres. Criticsand composers praised her, calling her apioneer. For introducing Gershwin to theconcert world, and for making popularmusic respectable, she occupies an importantplace in 20th-century music history.Betty Nygaard King is a subject editorwith the Encyclopedia of Music in Canadain Ottawa.30 SPRING 09 | APR–JUN