A Gershwin score surfaces

An early, forgotten score by George Gershwin will be played for the first time by the Asia America Symphony on a Gershwin program Saturday at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre in Little Tokyo. The piece, called “Japanese,” was found in a garage in 1979 by singer-pianist Michael Feinstein, an assistant to Gershwin’s brother Ira for six years, according to Feng-Hsiu Lee, the orchestra’s operations director and assistant conductor. It’s unclear when it was composed, but it was orchestrated by Frank Sadler around 1918.

“The original manuscript now is lost, but Mr. Feinstein kept a copy and sent another copy to the Library of Congress for its archive,” notes Lee.

The Saturday program, to be conducted by music director David Benoit, will also feature pianist Jon Nakamatsu in Gershwin’s “Concerto in F,” plus “An American in Paris” and works by George and Ira Gershwin.

-- Chris Pasles