"An evening with George Gershwin," Oscar Levant once quipped, "is a George Gershwin evening." The life of every party and inevitably at the piano, Gershwin never tired of delighting his friends by composing complicated variations on his own songs. Someone suggested that he transcribe and publish these efforts, which he did in his well-known Transcriptions for Piano (later renamed "18 Song Hits Arranged by the Composer").

Well-known for their own duo piano improvisations, Dick Hyman and Derek Smith will introduce selections from this famous collection, presenting each variation first in its original published form (as re-arranged for 2 pianos) before proceding with their own variations.