Composer, born in New York City, New York, USA. From a Russian-Jewish immigrant family, he began playing both popular and classical piano in childhood, and was soon writing tunes. He left school in 1913 to pursue music, becoming a Tin Pan Alley song plugger and composer. His first hit song was Swanee in 1919, the same year he saw his first Broadway musical, La, La, Lucille. During the next 18 years, he produced an astonishing amount of music including (in collaboration with his lyricist brother Ira Gershwin) a celebrated series of musicals, such as Lady Be Good (1924), Funny Face (1927), Girl Crazy (1929), and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Of Thee I Sing (1931). For the stage and otherwise, he composed some of the most sophisticated American popular songs, among them I Got Rhythm, They Can't Take That Away From Me, and Someone to Watch Over Me. Beyond his immense achievements in popular music, however, he also pursued an ambitious goal of uniting commercial and classical genres (at one point even seeking to study under Ravel), and the result was his historic jazz-oriented concert works such as Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), as well as the folk opera Porgy and Bess (1935). Despite his premature death, he left a body of work whose sheer melody and inventiveness guarantee its appeal to music-lovers of all persuasions.
| George Gershwin | |
|---|---|
| George Gershwin photographed by Edward Steichen in 1927. This photo was said to be Ira's favorite | |
| Born |
September 26, 1898 Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Died |
July 11, 1937 Hollywood, California, USA |
George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer who wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother lyricist Ira Gershwin. Gershwin composed both for Broadway and for the classical concert hall.
Many of his compositions have been used on television and in numerous films, and many became jazz standards; the jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald recorded many of the Gershwins' songs on her 1959 Gershwin Songbook (arranged by Nelson Riddle), and the very greatest singers and musicians have recorded Gershwin songs, most notably John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Judy Garland, Nina Simone, John Fahey, and countless others.
Biography
He was born Jacob Gershovitz in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, the second of four children. In 1910, the Gershowitzes had acquired a piano for Ira's music lessons, but younger brother George took over, since he was learning silently at his aunt's house. Hambitzer taught George conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European classical tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestral concerts.
His first job as a performer was as a piano pounder for Remick's, a publishing company on Tin Pan Alley. 1916 was the year he started working for Aeolian Company and Standard Music Rolls in New York, recording and arranging piano rolls. He produced dozens if not hundreds of rolls under his own and assumed names (pseudonyms attributed to Gershwin include Fred Murtha and Bert Wynn.) He also recorded rolls of his own compositions for the Welte-Mignon reproducing piano of M.
In 1924, George and Ira collaborated on a musical comedy, Lady Be Good which included such future standards as "Fascinating Rhythm" and "The Man I Love." In the same year, Gershwin composed his first classical work, Rhapsody in Blue for orchestra with piano, which was premièred with Paul Whiteman's concert band in New York. Gershwin stayed in Paris for a short period of time where he wrote An American in Paris. This work received mixed reviews. Though he hugely admired the French style of music - and did until the day he died - Gershwin remained thoroughly American. Called by Gershwin himself a "folk opera," the piece premiered in a Broadway theater and is now widely regarded as the most important American opera of the 20th century.
Early in 1937, Gershwin began to complain of blinding headaches and a recurring impression that he was smelling burned rubber.
Gershwin had a 10-year affair with composer Kay Swift, and frequently consulted her about his music. Gershwin had also had an affair with Paulette Goddard.
Gershwin could be generous, warm, and a friend-in-need, but he could also be vain and more than a trifle egotistical.
Gershwin died intestate, and all his property passed to his mother. The Gershwin estate continues to bring in significant royalties from licensing the copyrights on Gershwin's work. The estate supported the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act because its 1923 cutoff date was shortly before Gershwin had begun to create his most popular works.
George Gershwin was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. There is also a theatre named after him called the George Gershwin Theatre where the Hit Broadway Musical Wicked is now playing.
Contributions to the 1920s
George Gershwin was responsible for a number of significant developments in the 1920s. Also in 1924, Gershwin introduced his now famous Rhapsody in Blue. This work was recognized as “An Experiment in Modern Music.” With the Rhapsody, Gershwin became known as the man who brought Jazz into the concert hall and, along with bandleader Paul Whiteman "made a lady of out of Jazz".
Musical style and influence
Gershwin was influenced very much by French composers of the early twentieth century. Ravel was quite impressed with the ability of Gershwin, commenting, "Personally I find jazz most interesting: the rhythms, the way the melodies are handled, the melodies themselves. I have heard of George Gershwin's works and I find them intriguing." (Mawer 42) The orchestrations in Gershwin's symphonic works often seem similar to those of Ravel; likewise, Ravel's two piano concertos evince an influence of Gershwin. when Ravel heard how much Gershwin earned, he replied "How about you give me some lessons?"
Gershwin's own Concerto in F was criticized as being strongly rooted in the work of Claude Debussy, more so than in the jazz style which was expected. The comparison didn't deter Gershwin from continuing to explore French styles. (Hyland 126)
Gershwin was intrigued by the works of Alban Berg, Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud and Arnold Schoenberg. Schoenberg refused, saying "I would only make you a bad Schoenberg, and you're such a good Gershwin already" .
Russian Joseph Schillinger's influence as his teacher of composition (1932-1936) was substantial in providing him with a method to his composition. There has been some disagreement about the nature of Schillinger's influence on Gershwin. A third account of Gershwin's musical relationship with his teacher was written by Gershwin's close friend and another Schillinger student, Vernon Duke, in an article for the Musical Quarterly in 1947. It was Schillinger's impression that Gershwin was at the end of his very short rope as a technician--not as a composer." Schillinger more or less influenced Gershwin's technique through over four years of study before he moved to California, starting with and including Cuban Overture.
What set Gershwin apart was his ability to manipulate forms of music into his own unique voice.
George Gershwin's first published song was "When You Want 'Em You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em." It was published in 1916 when Gershwin was only 17 years old and earned him a sum total of $5.00.
Summary of Gershwin's Life
George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. Gershwin also worked very closely with his brother Ira. Gershwin also traveled to Paris for some time where he wrote An American in Paris. During this time, however Gershwin began to develop a brain tumor. On July 11, 1937, George Gershwin died while working on the set of Goldwyn Follies in Hollywood.
Recordings
Many fans of George Gershwin have complained that he made so few recordings.
Gershwin did record an abridged version of Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1924, soon after the world premiere. Gershwin made a number of solo piano recordings of tunes from some of his musicals, some includign the vocals of Fred and Adele Astaire, as well as his Three Preludes for piano. In 1929, Gershwin "supervised" the world premiere recording of An American in Paris with Nathaniel Shilkret and the Victor Symphony Orchestra (usually drawn from the Philadelphia Orchestra); Gershwin's role in the recording was rather limited, particularly because Shilkret was conducting and had his own ideas about the music. Then someone realized they had not hired anyone to play the brief celesta solo, so they asked Gershwin if he would or could play the instrument and he agreed. So, Gershwin can actually be heard, rather briefly, on the recording during the slow section.
Gershwin also appeared on various radio broadcasts, some of which have been preserved on transcription discs. In 1934, in an an effort to earn money to finance his planned folk opera, he hosted his own radio program titled "Music by Gershwin" in which he presented his own work as well as the work of other composers. A similar thing happened with Porgy and Bess, when Gershwin played and sang a bit during the opening piano solo, then conducted (and even introduced) some of the soloists.
Compositions
Classical
Rhapsody in Blue (for piano and orchestra) Concerto in F (for piano and orchestra) Second Rhapsody, originally titled Rhapsody in Rivets (for piano and orchestra) An American in Paris (for orchestra) Cuban Overture, originally titled Rumba(for orchestra) Three Preludes (for solo piano) Variations on "I Got Rhythm" (for piano and orchestra) Porgy and Bess Lullaby (for orchestra, originally composed as a string quartet)
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