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What instruments did George Gershwin use to create Cuban rhythms in Cuban Overture?
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George Gershwin
American composer George Gershwin working on the score for Porgy and Bess, 1935.
To create the distinct Cuban rhythms in his 1932 work Cuban Overture, George Gershwin incorporated several percussion instruments that were largely unfamiliar to audiences in the United States at the time. These instruments included:
- Claves
- Maracas
- Bongo drums
- Gourds1
Inspired by a trip to Cuba, Gershwin utilized these specific instruments to evoke the rhumba rhythms that define the piece's energetic, festival-like atmosphere.1