Cuban Overture
At-A-Glance
Length: 10 mins
Orchestration: 3 flutes (3rd=piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, xylophone, bells, bass drum, cymbals, wood block, claves, guiro, maracas, bongos, and strings
About this Piece
With song hits past counting, numerous successful musical shows, and fame and fortune firmly in his grip, George Gershwin turned to self-improvement in the early 1930s. Following the premieres of Rhapsody in Blue, the Concerto in F, Rhapsody No. 2, and An American in Paris, he focused on the technical skill he knew was lacking in his creative arsenal: orchestration. Enter Joseph Schillinger. Russian-born and -trained, Schillinger immigrated to America in 1928 and settled in New York as a teacher of music, mathematics, art history, and, notably, his own system of composition based on rigid mathematical principles. Receiving a recommendation to study with Schillinger and deadly earnest about improving his orchestration and counterpoint, Gershwin put himself in the Russian master’s hands from 1932 to 1936 (when he left for California and the movies).
The Schillinger System was strong on technique but weak on originality. Clearly, it was a good deal for Gershwin, who lacked technique but was overwhelmingly original. The lessons were done on graph paper with such titles as “Rhythmic Groups Resulting from the Interference of Several Synchronized Periodicities” and “Groups with the Fractioning Around the Axis of Symmetry.” (It’s a testament to Gershwin’s genius that such a curriculum didn’t kill his inspiration.) In addition to Gershwin, Schillinger counted many popular musicians of the day among his students, including Tommy Dorsey, Vernon Duke, Benny Goodman, and Oscar Levant.
The first work Gershwin composed under the Schillinger influence was the Cuban Overture, which he had first titled “Rumba.” It premiered under that name in August 1932 at the first all-Gershwin concert, which was held at New York’s Lewisohn Stadium for a cheering crowd of 18,000 people—a reported 5,000 were turned away. “It was,” Gershwin said, “the most exciting night I have ever had.”
Gershwin’s own analysis of “Rumba” explained: “The composition was inspired by a short visit to Havana…and I endeavored to combine the Cuban rhythms with my original thematic material. The result is a symphonic overture which embodies the essence of the Cuban dance.” On the title page, he indicated that the players of the four Cuban instruments—claves, maracas, guiro, and bongos—should be placed right in front of the conductor’s stand.
Had Gershwin lived longer than the 38 years he was allotted, the Cuban Overture might have become a signpost on the way to a greatly advanced compositional style. No one hearing it would question who the author was, yet the familiar infectious rhythms and distinctive bluesy melodic strains are guided by a considerably more sophisticated and learned hand than the one that had etched the earlier works. —Orrin Howard