Gershwin – Remembrance and Discovery

Gershwin – Remembrance and Discovery with Richard Glazier, pianist, raconteur, and cultural historian will be presented on Friday, September 28 in the Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m. in collaboration with Central Arkansas Library System’s Arkansas Literary Festival, Arkansas Sounds, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Department of Medical Humanities & Bioethics, and the Society for the History of Medicine and the Health Professions. Tickets are free but must be reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis.

From their days in Tin Pan Alley and Broadway, to Carnegie Hall and the final years in Hollywood, George and Ira Gershwin were popular music royalty – the golden songwriting team that created some of our most memorable and beloved music. Richard Glazier is a master storyteller whose charming, insightful narration is the perfect accompaniment to his brilliant piano performances. Playing rare arrangements of the great Gershwin songs, and the complete solo piano version of Rhapsody in Blue, Glazier brings his audiences entertainment of the highest order.

Every artist has an epiphany. For classically-trained, award-winning pianist Richard Glazier, it happened at age nine, when he saw the film Girl Crazy with a score by George & Ira Gershwin. He was so excited by the music he heard, he was prompted to write a fan letter to famed lyricist Ira Gershwin. After corresponding with each other for three years, Gershwin invited his young friend, then 12, to meet him in Beverly Hills. During their visit, Ira asked Glazier to play a Gershwin tune on the piano that once belonged to his brother, legendary composer George Gershwin.

Glazier’s passion for the rich cultural heritage of early 20th century American music, has led him to create special programs celebrating the golden age of songwriting. He plays incredible piano arrangements and shares fascinating backstage stories. Glazier has had three nationally broadcast television specials on PBS. The shows have won multiple awards, including four Telly Awards for Outstanding Achievement in entertainment. He has been featured on the PBS NewsHour and has produced six CDs for Centaur Records.

Glazier is presenting this concert in memory of his dear friend Cynthia DeHaven Pitcock, PhD. While on tour of Arkansas for the National Federation of Music Clubs in Sept. 1991,  Glazier had the pleasure of meeting Pitcock through her mother Genevive Emmerling. “It was at that time that Cynthia suggested a concert with comments about the life of the Gershwins. Through her enthusiasm and efforts Glazier’s Gershwin performance was presented for the very first time at the UAMS medical school where Cynthia was Assistant Professor of the History of Medicine.  Because of that concert more than 25 years ago I have had the privilege of performing concerts with comments about the Gershwins in almost every state in the country,” Glazier said.

For more about him see www.richardglazier.com