Rhapsody in Blue

Alvah

Life is what you make of it.
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If Rhapsody in Blue had been performed in 18 century Vienna...in Mozart's time, how would it have been received?
Would Viennese people have recognized high quality music, or would it have been too strange for them?
Would those 18th century folk cheer or boo?
 

Xelebes

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Music is not much without context. Would a Gershwin living in Vienna know about the traditions behind the blue note? Would he have to be exposed to music from Ghana, an empire that had long since been consumed by the Ottoman Empire and all the black folk who would be considered nothing more than slaves in Europe and Americas? Would the musicians in the orchestra understand why their oboes could not play that odd flat fifth?

That said, Mozart did experiment with music from that region. Rondo Alla Turca is perhaps the most famous example.