Promenade (“Walking the Dog”) (1936)

Composer: GERSHWIN, George
  • Gershwin originally composed this piece as an interlude entitled “Walking the Dog” for two pianos and orchestra, for the 1937 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Shall We Dance.1
  • It was entitled “Promenade” when arranged for piano solo.2
  • In the film, this piece underscores a scene where Fred and Ginger are each walking a dog on the deck of an ocean liner.3
  • George Gershwin was a dog lover. He had a wire-haired terrier named Tony who apparently was constantly getting lost and found again when Gershwin lived in New York and eventually moved to Hollywood with him. Cute pictures and anecdotes here.

Sources

  1. “Greshwin – Walking the Dog,” Classic FM, accessed October 9, 2019, https://www.classicfm.com/composers/gershwin/music/walking-the-dog/.
  2. Richard Crawford and Wayne J. Schneider, “Gershwin, George,” Grove Music Online (October 16, 2013), accessed October 9, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002252861.
  3. Cait Miller, “Furry Friends of Music: “Walking the Dog” with Gershwin,” Library of Congress (September 26, 2016), accessed October 9, 2019, https://blogs.loc.gov/music/2016/09/furry-friends-of-music-walking-the-dog-with-gershwin/.

Cut IDs

14359