An American in Paris was composed by which American composer?

• A. Copland
• B. Gershwin
• C. Ives
• D. Bernstein

Answer: (B)

This piece is a prime example of a composer who blends jazz elements with orchestral writing, a hallmark of American music that sits between popular and classical traditions. George Gershwin, an American composer renowned for merging jazz idioms with symphonic form, wrote An American in Paris in 1928. The work captures the hustle and color of Paris with a swinging, jazzy energy woven into a full orchestral texture, reflecting Gershwin’s knack for cross-genre appeal and vivid urban storytelling.

Copland is known for expansive, often rural American landscapes and more austere, open textures; Ives experimented with complex, often experimental techniques; Bernstein is celebrated for works that blend Broadway and concert music and for his conducting career. None of these align with the specific piece that Gershwin crafted to evoke Paris in a distinctly jazzy, cinematic orchestration.