Maurice Ravel’s best known musical work Boléro was a balletic piece created for a Russian dancer, but by the time it premiered, his interests had already moved elsewhere. Ravel traveled to New York, to take in vintage Americana in musical form, everything from spirituals to rhythm and blues to jazz. He was particularly struck by the stylings of George Gershwin, whom he visited during the trip. A mutual admiration developed, with Gershwin taking part of the following year to visit Paris and take in Maurice Ravel – at one point, much to Ravel’s amazement, asking him for lessons. Gershwin’s impressions from the trip were recorded in his new composition.

On this day, December 13, in 1928, George Gershwin’s An American in Paris opened at Carnegie Hall, played by the New York Philharmonic. This was the first Gershwin work not composed for the piano.

Gershwin said he wanted his musical piece to reflect the sense of “an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city and listens to various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere.” To add to the sense of authenticity, Gershwin used air horns purchased in Parisian taxi garages. The work became one of his best known, particularly after its adaptation into a major Hollywood picture starring Gene Kelly.