When I did my retirement home tours, feisty tunes were more well-received than the melancholy Prelude no. 2 in C# minor. Everybody knew Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” and “Rhapsody in Blue,” plus a truckload of Hoagy Carmichael favorites.

So, looking back, I should have thought twice about featuring this musical gem as my opener. (as lackluster as it was without color coating at the time)

About Prelude #2:

Published in 1927, the work was first performed by George Gershwin in a concert at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City. A challenge to play, it doesn’t fit easily under the fingers because of large note spans, and it requires a tasteful amount of tempo rubato of a bluesy, moody character.

Part of a Prelude trio, the composition is framed by the more spirited #1 and #3.

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Try romancing the over 75 crowd with a somber tune of obscure identity…