Almost everyone knows Thomas Lauderdale as the leader of Pink Martini, the popular Portland-based band that performs a unique blend of classical, Latin, jazz, and classic pop music. But being a classically trained pianist, Lauderdale has kept his keyboard chops and occasionally makes a foray into the traditional classical music world. Such is the case this weekend when he will perform George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Vancouver Symphony.
I visited with Lauderdale at his home in downtown Portland the day after he had returned with his band from a tour of California. Instead of begin tired and sullen, Lauderdale was energetic and charismatic. He even paced about his living room with large, quick strides when he took a call on his cellphone. Then he would sit on a sofa for a few minutes before getting up and bounding away to find a score or a recording.
“I love to play the piano, but I never intended to play it for a living,” said Lauderdale. “I chose not to go to the conservatory in part because I didn’t want to be trapped in a practice room all day. I like to interact with people. Pink Martini allows me to use elements of classical music in a more popular way.”
Lauderdale grew up in Portland after his family moved there in 1982 and graduated from Grant High School before matriculating to Harvard, where he earned a degree in history and literature.
If You Go
• What: Thomas Lauderdale performs “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Vancouver Symphony.
• When: 3 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: Skyview High School Concert Hall, 1300 N.W. 139th St., Vancouver.
• Cost: $50 for reserved seats, $37 for general admission, $32 for seniors and $10 for students.
“I started studying ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ when I was 13,” remarked Lauderdale. “The first time I played it in public, I was probably 15 or 16. My teacher, Sylvia Killman, played the orchestral part and I played the piano solo part. I love the piece. It’s a great intersection that blends jazz and classical music.”
In parts of “Rhapsody in Blue,” the pianist has to keep a different rhythm going in each hand. When I asked him how he does this, Lauderdale replied that you have to understand where the melody is, and the rest just follows. Then he demonstrated it on the Steinway grand that occupies a rehearsal space in his home.
Lauderdale’s favorite recording of Gershwin’s iconic piece is the one by Leonard Bernstein with the Columbia Symphony.
“Bernstein brings out the essence of the piece,” said Lauderdale. “No one else does it so well.”
Lauderdale has been so intoxicated by “Rhapsody in Blue” that he has made two unreleased recordings of the piece in an abbreviated version with alternative bands. One group, called Sneakin’ Out, does the orchestral part with mandolin, upright bass, glockenspiel, and percussion. The other group, Satan’s Pilgrims, collaborates with Lauderdale to create a surfer version that will take you back to the Sixties.
In addition to “Rhapsody in Blue,” the orchestra will also perform Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” in an arrangement by Robert Russell Bennett. This arrangement has all of the famous numbers from the opera, including “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttn’,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “Oh, Lawd, I’m on My Way.” It will be interesting to hear which instruments in the orchestra receive the parts that are sung.
Another iconic piece on the VSO’s all-American program is Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring.” Copland originally wrote it as a ballet score for Martha Graham and then rearranged it as an orchestral suite. The piece includes the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts,” which is quoted in the music.
Interestingly enough, “Simple Gifts” was almost completely unknown before Copland got hold of it. In 1945, Copland received the Pulitzer Prize in music for writing “Appalachian Spring,” and it is now probably performed every day by an orchestra somewhere in the world.
The concert will conclude with Copland’s “El Salón México,” a one-movement work that was inspired by Mexican folk music. It’s a very lively piece that portrays an imaginary dance hall in Mexico City, and the dances progress from a more stilted and refined music for the upper classes to the fun and carefree tunes of the peasants.
Copland visited Mexico often in the 1930s and completed the score in 1936.
“El Salón México” received its world premiere in 1937 under the baton of Carlos Chávez, the composer and conductor then the dominant figure in Mexican art music, and national Director of Fine Arts. In the United States, “El Salón México” was first heard in 1938 in a radio broadcast with Adrian Boult leading the NBC Symphony.
It will be interesting to see what Salvador Brotons and the orchestra will bring to this piece. Olé!
