Which jazz-influenced orchestral piece did Walter Johannes Damrosch conduct the world premiere performances of?
An American in Paris
An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by the American composer George Gershwin, written in 1928.
 Inspired by the time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it evokes the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s and is one of his best-known compositions.
Walter Damrosch
Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862 – December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer.
 He is best remembered today as long-time director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and for conducting the world premiere performances of George Gershwin's "Piano Concerto in F" (1925) and "An American in Paris" (1928).
Concerto in F (Gershwin)
Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than the earlier jazz-influenced "Rhapsody in Blue".
 It was written in 1925 on a commission from the conductor and director Walter Damrosch.
 It is just over half an hour long. The Scarlet Letter (Damrosch opera)
The Scarlet Letter is an opera by Walter Damrosch, based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of the same name.
 The libretto was by George Parsons Lathrop, son-in-law of the author.
 The work is Wagnerian in style, Damrosch being a great enthusiast and champion of the composer.
 Excerpts from the opera first premiered at Carnegie Hall on January 4 and 5, 1895; the first fully staged performance was February 10, 1896, in Boston.
 Among those present at the premiere were Charles Eliot Norton, Prince Serge Wolkonsky, Julia Ward Howe, and Nellie Melba. Turangalîla-Symphonie
The Turangalîla-Symphonie is a large-scale piece of orchestral music by Olivier Messiaen (1908–92).
 It was written from 1946 to 1948 on a commission by Serge Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
 The premiere was in Boston on 2 December 1949, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.
 The commission did not specify the duration, orchestral requirements or style of the piece, leaving the decisions to the composer.
 Koussevitzky was billed to conduct the premiere, but fell ill, and the task fell to the young Bernstein.
 Bernstein has been described as "the ideal conductor for it, and it made Messiaen's name more widely known".
 Yvonne Loriod, who later became Messiaen's second wife, was the piano soloist, and Ginette Martenot played the ondes Martenot for the first and several subsequent performances.
 From 1953, Yvonne's sister Jeanne Loriod was the ondes Martenot player in many performances and recordings. Shéhérazade (Ravel)
Shéhérazade is the title of two works by the French composer Maurice Ravel.
 Both have their origins in the composer's fascination with Scheherazade, the heroine and narrator of "The Arabian Nights".
 The first work, an overture (1898), Ravel's earliest surviving orchestral piece, was not well received at its premiere and has not subsequently been among his most popular works.
 Four years later he had a much greater success with a song cycle with the same title, which has remained a standard repertoire piece and has been recorded many times. En saga
En saga (English translation: "A fairy tale" or "A saga") is a tone poem written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in 1892.
 After hearing Sibelius's choral work "Kullervo", the conductor Robert Kajanus encouraged Sibelius to compose a purely orchestral piece, which eventually transpired into this work.
 The evolution of this work is rather vague, although it is known that in 1890–1891 Sibelius had begun composing an octet for strings, flute, and clarinet.
 The octet evolved into a septet by September 1892, and had acquired the title "Ballet Scene" No. 2 by November of that year.
 However, a letter to Adolf Paul dated 10 December 1892 stated that Sibelius had finished "the orchestral piece "En saga"". Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards
Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards is an orchestral piece composed in 1979 by Steve Reich.
 The piece is scored for oboes, flutes, full brass (three trumpets, three trombones, and tuba), strings, pianos, and electric organs.
 "Variations" was Reich's first orchestral piece. Pepperland (song)
"Pepperland" is an instrumental orchestral piece conducted and composed by The Beatles' producer George Martin for the "Yellow Submarine" film and was the introduction to the orchestral Side 2 of the film's soundtrack album by The Beatles, released in 1969.
 The song was recorded by a 41-piece orchestra at Abbey Road Studios on 22–23 October 1968.
 The piece, as with the others in the film, is tailored to the vibrant visuals of the film, so contain novelty sounds, effects, and musical experimentation that are better understood when paired with these visuals for some, however these pieces of music can also be admired for their beauty on their own. City Scape
City Scape is an orchestral piece composed by Jennifer Higdon in 2002 and commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
 On November 14, 2002, the piece was premiered under the direction of Robert Spano.
 This piece dedicated to Robert Spano calls for a concerto grosso, in which 35 instruments are used; yet many of these instruments have featured solos that are scattered throughout the piece.
 The piece lasts a total of 31 minutes.