"Do you think that now I am capable of grand opera? Because, you know, all I've got is a lot of talent and plenty of chutzpah."
Gershwin made this remark to Jerome Kern, the songwriter who had been his boyhood idol.
Rodney Greenberg features music from the true successor to Kern's Show Boat
- the folk opera Porgy and Bess.
Gershwin called it his labour of love, but he did not live to see it gain acceptance in opera houses worldwide. The programme also includes his last concert piece - the Variations on "I Got Rhythm".
Gershwin died in Hollywood at the age of only 38. Excerpts from his film scores show that his mastery of the popular song remained undimmed. As his brother Ira remarked, "He went back to his first love and did that better than ever before."
Repeated next Friday 12 midnight See also 11.30pm