5. George Gershwin and the Lewisohn Stadium Concerts
Financier and philanthropist Adolph Lewisohn funded the construction of a stadium on the campus of the City College of New York. The stadium opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1973. One of the uses of the stadium was for classical concerts that began in the summer of 1918 and ended nearly 50 years later. Attendance to the concerts was in the thousands.
Figure 13. Cover of Booklet.
The premiere of Rhapsody in Blue in Lewisohn stadium took place on July 25, 1927. As seen in the program,
George Gershwin himself was the pianist. The concert was attended by 16,000 people.
Figure 14. Program for Lewisohn Stadum Concert of July 25, 1927.
The next appearance of George Gershwin in the Lewisohn stadium was on August 26, 1929. In addition to being the pianist in the performance of Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin was guest conductor for his composition An American in Paris.
Figure 15. Program for Lewisohn Stadum Concert of August 26, 1929.
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