This suite, extracted from Gershwin's magnum opus Porgy and Bess, was done by Robert Russell Bennett, better known in the 1920s and the three decades following for his orchestrations of the music of others than for his own considerably large body of works. Bennett fashioned A Symphonic Picture in 1942 on commission from conductor Fritz Reiner and made a second version of it to include soloists and chorus. But it is the orchestral rendition here that is most commonly heard. From Bennett's atmospheric opening, where he invests the scoring with snatches of Stravinsky and Ravel, to his handling of Gershwin's famous tunes, this is a masterful arrangement. Gershwin's jazzy flavors do not emerge until about three minutes into the work, when the saxophone is first heard. Even then, they only become gradually dominant. "Summertime," probably the opera's most famous number, comes across with all the bluesy sensuality of the vocal rendition. Dreamy strings, and later the oboe, render its melody with lushness and gentle grace. The other famous numbers in the score, "It Ain't Necessarily So," "I Loves You Porgy," and "I Got Plenty of Nuttin'," are given deliciously colorful treatments. The instrumentation, particularly the imaginative banjo writing, in the latter number brilliantly captures the music's deft wit and utter joy. Among the several arrangements of Porgy, including Gershwin's own called Catfish Row, this Bennett effort is probably the best way to hear the music next to the opera itself.

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