". The creative rise of the musician fell on the 20-30s of the last century, at that time in America they called the "jazz era". This musical style had a huge impact on Gershwin, who tried to express with the help of music the spirit of modernity and the way of life of ordinary Americans. The composer has repeatedly stated that jazz is the music of the people, in which he hears the national life impulse and the boiling river of life in the United States. Musical and public figure V. Damrosh wrote that many composers were fascinated, but at the same time frightened by jazz, so they did not dare to work in this style. George Gershwin made a real musical revolution. The critic compared the man to a prince who took Cinderella by the hand and declared to the whole world that now she is a real princess. The biography of the maestro has many amazing ups and no less grandiose falls, his whole life seems to embody the American dream. Gershwin achieved everything through hard work, found his calling and during his lifetime reached incomprehensible heights and world fame.
Read a brief biography of George Gershwin and many interesting facts about the composer on our page.
Brief biography of Gershwin
The future virtuoso American pianist and composer George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. The boy was originally named Jacob. His parents had Jewish roots, and even before the birth of their children, they left to live in the United States. The composer's father, Moishe Gershowitz, left St. Petersburg in 1890, and then changed his name to Morris Gershwin and worked all his life in a shoe factory. Mother - Roza Bruskina was born in Odessa, left for the United States a little earlier than her future husband. The Gershwins raised four children, of whom George was the second, he also had brothers Ira and Arthur and sister Frances.
The family did not have much wealth and huddled in a small wooden apartment. George, unlike his brothers and sister, was very wayward and had a complex character. At school, he did not differ in particular aspirations for learning, which greatly upset Rosa, who dreamed that her children would study well and become teachers. But George made progress in skating and even won the "title" of the street champion. From childhood, the boy's friends noticed that for some time he could completely withdraw into himself and not pay attention to the world around him. Music was the cause. When the future composer heard beautiful tunes, he froze and forgot about everything in the world.
Gershwin's biography says that at the age of 8, George got to a school concert, where musician Mark Rosenzweig performed with the musical play Humoresque. The boy was so impressed by the violinist's performance that he waited for him for an hour and a half in the pouring rain. And when he found out that Mark had left through the back door, he went straight to his house. Gershwin found a common language with Rosenzweig and often went to visit him. At home, the violinist had a piano that seemed to beckon the boy. It was Mark who showed little George the wonderful world of art and introduced him to brilliant pieces of music. The future composer began to take his first professional lessons, and tried to reproduce familiar melodies by ear. Even then, George's elder brother Ira dreamed of becoming a musician and studied at a specialized school, his parents were very surprised by the fact that their youngest son mastered the piano without outside help and overtook his brother. Morris and Rosa realized that the boy, too, needed to be given into the hands of professionals.
The beginning of a musical career
With the music school, things did not work out for young George. The study of boring scales, solfeggio and regular classes made the boy sad. Gershwin was trained in several places - at first, elderly teachers studied with him, and one of the teachers even had a special teaching technique, and the boy almost did not play the piano. George did not graduate from any of the musical educational institutions. Parents saw their son as a businessman, but life chose a completely different path for him.
In 1915, one of the most important events in the life of a young man took place - he met the musician Charles Hambitzer, with whom he instantly became friends. The maestro gave him a lot of invaluable advice and ideas, and also offered excellent teachers. By the age of seventeen, George was well versed in the art of music, played the piano brilliantly and wrote his first works. He diligently studied classical motives, but he especially liked the popular style in music. Despite his young age, Gershwin got a job at Jerome Remick's music publishing house, where he held a position as a popular pianist. The young musician earned money by performing in restaurants, and wrote a large number of compositions. In 1926, George presented to the public one of his first "musical offspring" called "When You Want". Despite the fact that the composition did not become very popular, with its help Gershwin was able to attract the attention of directors from Broadway. The song was very liked by the famous singer of those days - Sophie Tucker. After her brilliant performance, George received recognition on Broadway. His name began to appear frequently in the press, and the Hungarian composer Sigmund Romberg took his compositions into his revue. Then the directors of Broadway staged several musicals withGershwin's music, and one of the most famous American composers said that George has a spark of genius.
creative path
Since 1918, the man stopped taking part-time jobs and giving individual lessons - now he could completely do what he loved and get a tidy sum for it. George wrote compositions for stage performances on Broadway and worked as an author in Paul Whiteman's jazz group. In just a year, he "revived" 10 musicals with his music, which thundered throughout America. A large number of eminent guests came to the premiere of Rhapsody in Blues in 1924 - the brilliant musicians Rachmaninov, Godovsky and Stravinsky sat in the front row. The musical became very successful, and George received real recognition from the public. After a glory brought material well-being. The composer bought a five-story house and left to travel around Europe for three whole years. The man personally compiled a route that began in England and France, and ended in Austria. When Gershwin returned to America, he presented the symphonic poem "An American in Paris" to the public. The success of the work was stunning, after which many teams began to perform it. The music of George Gershwin was a mixture of completely different musical genres. It also contained the classics, the latest Negro rhythms, folklore motifs,
extravagant melodies. All this was seasoned with incredible expression and bold rhythms.
When George gained great popularity, he began to cooperate with his own brother Ire. The man subsequently called himself Arthur Francis (the names of their younger brother and sister), because he was sure that in the world of music the name Gershwin should be the only and unique one. The creative union of the two brothers was a great success, together they created several dozen compositions for Broadway performances and movies. In those days, it was a truly sought-after duet. The most triumphant composition of George and Arthur was the musical "Lady, Be Good". One of his songs was recognized as the best love ballad of the last century.
last years of life
According to Gershwin's biography, the composer went to Hollywood in 1936 to write music for the film Shall We Dance, which featured popular actors of the time. The musician's compositions, which combined ballet and jazz, take about an hour of film. To create the perfect union of completely different styles, George wrote and arranged the compositions for several months. At the beginning of the fateful year 1937, Gershwin performed a unique musical concert together with a symphony orchestra led by French maestro Pierre Monte. Right on the stage, the man began to be pursued by "musical blackouts." In June, Gershwin fell during another performance, and they could no longer save him. The well-coordinated work of the two brothers George and Ira, prosperity, fame - everything collapsed in one moment, in a tragic and unexpected way. George worked so hard on his legendary opera that he suffered a severe nervous breakdown and was completely exhausted. As a result, his appetite and normal sleep left him. The doctors insisted that the composer move to more favorable climatic conditions and forget about work for a while. Gershwin took the first advice, but could not leave the music.
Outwardly, the man practically did not change, but morally he was very tired and was very depressed. In 1937, doctors found the composer had symptoms that are associated with oncological diseases. After a medical examination, a brain tumor was diagnosed. Specialists did everything to save the life of a popular musician; in one of the best American clinics, a malignant tumor was removed. Unfortunately, all the efforts of the doctors were in vain, and George died on July 11, 1937, right on the operating table. Gershwin did not live long enough to be 39 years old, and yet he had so many large-scale plans and ideas that he never managed to bring to life.
Interesting Facts
- The musician was buried at the Westchester Hills Cemetery, which is located in the suburbs of New York.
- Gershwin was never married, he also did not have children. George did not write a will, so his mother got his property. The heirs for a long time collected profits from the copyright of his musical works. However, they lost their power in 2007, when 70 years have passed since the death of the musician. In 2005, journalists conducted an investigation and concluded that Gershwin was one of the richest composers in the world.
- Gershwin won an Academy Award in 1937 for "They Can't Take That Away from Me", which he and his brother wrote for Shall We Dance. The legendary statuette was awarded posthumously, George passed away a couple of months after the premiere of the film.
- Gershwin's musical language can be described as spontaneous, colorful, with hints of humor. The main place in his creative career was occupied by musicals, which he loved very much, and in which he put his whole soul.
- In all the composer's musical masterpieces there is a peculiar form, the reality of stage situations and confrontations, the vigor of the development of the script, a duet of tragic and comedic scenes.
- In 1918-1919, Gershwin's music was already booming on the Broadway stage. The composition "Swanee", which was taken to his show "Sinbad" by Al Johnson, was a real success. As a result, the singer recorded it several times on records and repeatedly sang in films.
- Gershwin's first teacher, Joseph Schillinger, was famous for his unique approach to composing music - the composer perceived the creative process from a mathematical point of view and tried to find a universal musical algorithm.
- Gershwin was very fond of painting and literature.
- George's older brother and co-author Ira Gershwin took the stage name Arthur Francis, which was made up of the names of their brother and sister.
- In 1945, a picture dedicated to the composer appeared on the screens. The film was called Rhapsody in Blues.
- The prototype of Gershwin was also used in the popular TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. The composer was played by actor Tom Beckett.
- The composer's most impressive work was the opera Porgy and Bess. The author of the literary source personally took part in the process of writing the masterpiece.
- There is a theater in New York that was named after the amazing creative union of two brothers - George Gershwin and Francis Arthur.
Personal life
Despite world recognition, George was very worried that he could not get a normal musical education. He practiced the piano diligently several times a week to fill this shameful, in his opinion, gap in his life. It is also known that George was often tormented by nervous breakdowns and stomach ailments. The musician was constantly on a strict diet, which was built on a balanced diet. In addition, the man often attended the sessions of a psychoanalyst, who helped him deal with personal experiences.
Despite illness and regular depression, the composer was not always gloomy. He loved fun gatherings and instantly jumped at new ideas that caught his attention. His life was always seething and in full swing. Gershwin simply bathed in female attention, because he was rich, had a beautiful appearance and a good figure. Often he did not have enough of those ladies who themselves hung on him, and then he came to brothels. One day, George did not hesitate to ask his friend how much money you need to give in order to take a woman to support. However, having heard a shocking amount in response, he never asked himself such questions again.
During his lifetime, the composer was famous for his love affairs, he was credited with novels with the most beautiful women of that era. George was especially in love with his student Alexandra Belykh. Gershwin's ten-year relationship with composer Kay Swift, who gave him valuable music advice, is also widely known. Unfortunately, they never became legal spouses, although for the sake of her lover, Kay left her husband James Warburg. Swift's granddaughter, Katherine Weber, believes that their breakup was initiated by Gershwin's mother, who wanted to see a Jewish daughter-in-law. The man dedicated the song "Oh, Kay" to his former girlfriend, which he named after her. After the composer's death, Swift wrote arrangements for several of his songs and worked with his brother Ire on numerous occasions. George was known as a real womanizer and heartthrob. In his life there were many bright loves and high-profile novels. However, Gershwin could not fall in love with any of his beautiful chosen ones as much as music.
The birth of a legend. "Porgy and Bess" creation story
One night in 1926, when George couldn't sleep, he decided to read DuBose Hayward's Porgy. The work so impressed the man that he instantly began to invent musical melodies in his head. The composer forgot about the dream and could not tear himself away from the book until dawn, and then sent the writer a letter in which he admitted that he dreamed of writing an opera based on his work. Dubose Hayward kindly agreed to the musician's proposal, but the music of the opera " Porgy and Bess» Gershwin began to write only in 1934, as he was very busy creating other compositions and the work of a conductor.
From the biography of Gershwin, we learn that George left New York and settled in a remote village in South Carolina to fully immerse himself in work on a grandiose work. In general, the musician spent almost 2 years creating the opera. The long work justified itself and the work "Porgy and Bess" became a truly significant and famous work of the maestro. George was able to create a stunning masterpiece in which jazz fantasies, folklore motifs and orchestral parts converge flawlessly. Americans first heard opera at Boston's Colonial Theater in 1935. The audience liked the premiere so much that they applauded and shouted enthusiastic words for 15 minutes. "Porgy and Bess" went down in American history as the first show that people of different races could attend. In early 1963, the opera went on tour in the United States, and appeared in Europe only after 1945.
Posted on September 23, 2012 02:43 PM (George Gershwin) is an American composer and pianist known for his compositions in both popular and classical genres. Among his most famous works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, as well as the opera Porgy and Bess.
Biography
George Gershwin, named at the beginning Jacob was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 26, 1898. His parents were Jews from Odessa (Ukraine). His father, Morris (Moshe) Gershowitz, changed his surname to "Gershwin" sometime after immigrating to the United States from St. Petersburg, Russia in the early 1890s. Gershwin's mother Rosa Bruskin had previously emigrated from Russia. She met Gershwin in New York and they married on July 21, 1895. George changed the spelling of his last name to Gershwin after he became a professional musician. Other members of his family followed suit.
early years
George Gershwin was the second of four children, the others being Ira (1896-1983), Arthur (1900-1981) and Francis (1906-1999). He first showed interest in music at the age of ten, when he was intrigued by hearing a violin concerto by his friend Maxi Rosenzweig. The sounds and the way the friend played captivated him. Gershwin's parents bought a piano for his older brother Ira, but to his parents' surprise and Ira's relief, George took over. Although his younger sister Frances Gershwin was the first in the family to earn money from her musical talent, she soon married and became a mother and housewife. She abandoned her performing career, but became interested in painting. Paintings were also a hobby of George Gershwin.
Gershwin tried various piano teachers for two years and was then introduced by Jack Miller to Charles Gambitzer, pianist of the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. Until his death in 1918, Hambitzer acted as Gershwin's mentor. He taught Gershwin the traditional piano technique, introduced him to the music of the European classical tradition, and encouraged him to take part in the orchestra's concerts. At home, after such concerts, the young Gershwin would try to reproduce on the piano the music he had heard. He later studied with the classical composer Rubin Goldmark and the avant-garde theoretical composer Henry Cowell.
Tin Pan Alley
Upon leaving school at the age of 15, Gershwin found his first job as a "plugger song" for Jerome H. Remick and Company, a publishing firm in New York's Tin Pan Alley, where he earned $15 a week. His 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, and brought him $ 5. His novelty of 1917 - the reg "Rialto Ripples" was a commercial success, and in 1919 Gershwin achieved his first big national hit with the song "Swanee" with lyrics by Irving Caesar Al Jolson (Al Jolson), famous Broadway singer, heard George perform "Swanee" at a party and decided to sing it in one of his shows.In 1916, Gershwin began working for the Aeolian Company and Standard Music Rolls in New York, making recordings and arrangements.He created dozens, (Gershwin's pseudonyms included Fred Murtha and Bert Wynn.) He also recorded his compositions on rollers for Duo-Art and Welte-Mignon mechanical pianos. rolls, Gershwin made brief forays into vaudeville, accompanying Nora Bayes and Louise Dresser on piano.
In the early 1920s, George Gershwin often worked with the poet Buddy DeSylva. Together they created an experimental jazz one-act opera. Blue Monday in Harlem, which can be considered the forerunner of the pioneering Porgy and Bess.
In 1924, George and Ira Gershwin created the musical comedy Lady Be Good, which included future standards such as "Fascinating Rhythm" and "Oh, Lady Be Good!".
This was followed by Oh, Kay! (1926); Funny Face (1927); Strike Up the Band (1927 and 1930); football player song "Strike Up The Band for UCLA", Show Girl (1929), Girl Crazy (1930) which set the standard "I Got Rhythm", and Of Thee I Sing (1931) - the first musical comedy to win a Pulitzer Prize (for drama).
Europe and classical music
In 1924 Gershwin wrote his first major classical work Rhapsody in Blue for orchestra and piano. It was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé and premiered at the Paul Whiteman Band concert in New York. Rhapsody in Blue proved to be Gershwin's most popular work.
Gershwin moved to Paris, where he briefly studied composition with renowned instructor Nadia Boulanger, who, along with several other would-be tutors such as Maurice Ravel, rejected him for fear that rigorous classical study would destroy his jazz style. At the time, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. This work received mixed reviews upon his first performance at Carnegie Hall on December 13, 1928, but nevertheless became part of the standard repertoire in Europe and the United States. Tired of the Parisian music scene, Gershwin returned to the United States.
In 1929, George Gershwin signed a contract with the Fox Film Corporation to compose music for the motion picture Delicious. Only two songs were used at the end of the film, five minutes of "Dream Sequence" and six minutes of "Manhattan Rhapsody". Gershwin was furious when the rest of the tracks were rejected by the Fox Film Corporation.
Opera
Gershwin's most ambitious composition was Porgy and Bess(1935). Gershwin himself called it a "folk opera" and it is now considered one of the most important American operas of the 20th century. "From the very beginning, the best was considered the best another -" Rhapsody in Blue. Even critics couldn't figure out how to judge if it was an opera or just an ambitious Broadway musical? It crossed all barriers," says theater historian Robert Kimball. "It wasn't a piece of music per se, and it wasn't a drama per se - it was out of the category."
Based on the novel Porgy by DuBose by Hayward, set in a fictional all-black location in Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina. With the exception of a few minor roles, all artists are black. The music combines elements of popular music, heavily influenced by African music, with typical opera techniques such as recitative, composition and an extensive system of leitmotifs. Porgy and Bess contains some of the more complex elements in Gershwin's music, including the fugue, passacaglia, use of atonality, polytonality and polyrhythm, and a range of tones. Even the set of numbers (of which "Summertime", "I Got Plenty O "Nuttin" and "It Ain't Necessarily So" are well-known examples) are some of George Gershwin's most refined and ingenious works. For performances, Gershwin collaborated with Eva Jessye, whom he chose as music director. One of the prominent musical alumni of Western University in Kansas, she created and performed with her own choir in New York. This work was first performed in 1935 but failed to make a box office success.
Last years
After the failure of Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin moved to Hollywood, California. He was commissioned by RKO Pictures in 1936 to score the film Shall We Dance, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The extended compositions by Gershwin, who marries ballet and jazz, take up more than an hour in the film. Gershwin took several months to write and arrange them.
In early 1937, Gershwin began to complain of headaches and blinding recurring impressions that he smelled of burnt rubber. Doctors discovered he had an overgrown cystic type of malignant brain tumor.
In January 1937, George Gershwin performed a special concert of his music with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the French maestro Pierre Monteux. Gershwin suffered "musical blackouts" during his last performance. In early June, Gershwin collapsed while working at the Goldwyn Follies in Hollywood and was taken to the hospital. He died on July 11 at the age of 38 in hospital after surgery for a tumor. George Gershwin was buried at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. A memorial concert was held at the Hollywood Bowl on September 8, 1937, in which Otto Klemperer conducted his own orchestration of the second of Gershwin's Three Piano Preludes.
Gershwin received his only Best Song Academy Award nomination in 1937 for "They Can't Take That Away from Me", written with brother Ira for Shall We Dance.The nomination was posthumous; Gershwin died two months after the film's release. to the screens.
Gershwin had a ten-year affair with composer Kay Swift, with whom he often consulted about his music. They never married, although Kay eventually divorced her husband James Warburg in order to make it possible. Swift's granddaughter, Katherine Weber, suggested that the couple did not marry because Gershwin's mother, Rose, was "unhappy that Kay Swift was not Jewish." The song Oh, Kay was named after her. After Gershwin's death, Kay Swift arranged some of his works, recorded several of his own recordings, and collaborated with his brother Ira on several projects.
Gershwin died intestate and his estate passed to his mother. The heirs continued to collect significant royalties from the copyright licensing of his works. The copyright for all of Gershwin's solo works expired at the end of 2007 in the European Union, 70 years after his death.
In 2005, The Guardian determined, using "an estimate of income accrued during the composer's lifetime", that George Gershwin was the richest composer of all time.
Countless singers and musicians have recorded Gershwin songs, including Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin, Al Jolson, Bobby Darin, Percy Granger Grainger), Art Tatum, Yehudi Menuhin, Bing Crosby, The Moody Blues, Janis Joplin, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Chalk Mel Tormé, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sam Cooke, Diana Ross, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Hiromi Uehara (Hiromi Uehara), Madonna (Madonna), Judy Garland (Judy Garland), Julie Andrews (Julie Andrews), Barbra Streisand (Barbra Streisand), Marni Nixon (Marni Nixon), Natalie Cole (Natalie Cole), Patti Austin (Patti Austin ), Nina Simone, Maureen McGovern, John Fahey, The Residents, Kate Bush, Sublime, Sting, Amy Winehouse and Liquid Tension Experiment .
Gershwin's works
classic works
Note: All orchestral/operatic pieces are orchestrated by Gershwin unless otherwise specified.
Lullaby (1919), a meditative piece for string quartet. Originally, a class assignment from his music theory teacher.
Blue Monday, a one-act opera featured in George White's Scandals of 1922 at the Globe Theatre, Paul Whiteman conducting, orchestrated by Will Vodery.
A Suite from Blue Monday for piano was later arranged by Pianist and Gershwin Scholar Alicia Zizzo and has been recorded.
Reorchestrated by Ferde Grofé and retitled 135th Street in 1925 for a performance at Carnegie Hall.
Rhapsody in Blue, (1924), his most famous work, a symphonic jazz composition for Paul Whiteman's jazz band & piano, premiered at Aeolian Hall, New York, better known in the form orchestrated for full symphonic orchestra. Both versions were orchestrated by Ferde Grofé Featured in numerous films and commercials.
Short Story, (1925), for violin and piano, an arrangement of two other short pieces originally intended to be included with the Three Preludes. Premiered by Samuel Dushkin at The University Club of New York in New York City.
Concerto in F, (1925), three movements, for piano and orchestra, premiered in Carnegie Hall by the New York Symphony Orchestra, Walter Damrosch conducting.
II. Adagio - Andante con moto - Adagio
III. Allegro agitato
An American in Paris (1928), a symphonic tone poem with elements of jazz and realistic Parisian sound effects, premiered in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic, Walter Damrosch conducting.
Dream Sequence (1929) A five minute instrumental interlude, meant to portray a mind reeling into the dream state. Different music than the "Rhapsody in Rivets" sequence, which was later expanded and rescored into the Second Rhapsody. Other musical sequences went unused that Gershwin created for Delicious (film), Fox Film Corporation declined to use the rest of his score.
Second Rhapsody (1931), for piano and orchestra, based on the score for a musical sequence from Delicious (film). Working title for the work was Rhapsody in Rivets. Premiered at the Boston Symphony Hall by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky conducting.
Cuban Overture (1932), originally titled Rumba, a tone poem featuring elements of native Cuban dance and folk music; score specifies usage of native Cuban instruments, premiered at the Lewisohn Stadium of the City University of New York, Gershwin conducting.
Overture to Strike Up the Band (1934), the longest and most complex of the overtures for Gershwin's broadway shows, several sections are polytonal/atonal
March from Strike Up the Band (1934) is a very popular musical interlude from the 1927 stage musical of the same title.
Variations on "I Got Rhythm" (1934), a set of interesting variations on his famous song, for piano and orchestra. Premiered at the Boston Symphony Hall by the Leo Reisman Orchestra, conducted by Charles Previn.
Includes a waltz, an atonal fugue, and experimentation with Asian and jazz influences
Porgy and Bess, a folk opera (1935) (from the book by DuBose Heyward) about African-American life, now considered a definitive work of the American theater, premiered at Boston's Colonial Theater, Alexander Smallens conducting.
Contains the famous aria "Summertime", in addition to hits like "I Got Plenty o" Nuttin"" and "It Ain"t Necessarily So".
Porgy and Bess has also been frequently heard in the concert hall, one suite fashioned by Robert Russell Bennett, Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture is relatively popular.
Catfish Row (1936), a five movement suite based on material cut from Porgy and Bess before its Broadway premiere.
V. Good Morning, Brother
Score to Shall We Dance (1937 film), (1937) ENTIRE SCORE: This was the first full movie score composed and orchestrated by Gershwin, excluding the score for Delicious (film) which was almost completely rejected by Fox Studios. This massive score includes a final extended 8-minute orchestral passage based on the title song with an intruiging coda hinting at Gershwin forging a new musical path.
Hoctor's Ballet, this piece features glissandos, rapid shifts in key, and the most extensive parts Gershwin wrote for the harp; written by Gershwin specifically for the ballerina Harriet Hoctor
Premiere live concert performance of Hoctor's Ballet occurred on July 28, 2007 at the Severance Hall Pavilion in Cleveland, Ohio; Loras John Schissel conducting the Blossom Festival Orchestra.
Walking the Dog, a humorous piece for chamber orchestra featuring the clarinet and the piano. Besides Hoctor's Ballet, this is the only published musical sequence from the movie Shall We Dance. Originally entitled "Promenade."
Other purely orchestral pieces from the score that remain unpublished include:
Overture to Shall We Dance, a propulsive, frenetic movement in Gershwin's urban music mode
Waltz of the Red Balloons, a waltz with unusual tonalities
Rehearsal Fragments
Rumba Sequence, completely different music than the Cuban Overture
(I "ve Got) Beginner"s Luck (dance), written to accompany a scene of Astaire"s rehearing to a "record" which eventually skips
They Can "t Take That Away from Me: this sequence is in the form of a foxtrot, one of Gershwin" s favorites from the score
Slap that Bass, a sparse musical sequence focusing on the rhythm sections of the orchestra
They All Laughed
Dance of the Waves, a barcarole
Graceful and Elegant, a pas de deux
French Ballet Class (for two pianos), a galop, only about 20 seconds of this was used for the film
Shall We Dance/Finale & Coda, technically a continuation of the Hoctor's Ballet scene, but often noted as a separate musical number
Unknown Spanish Sequence, Gershwin composed a movement for the finale that went unused after he played it for the director, only exists in short score
The score is over 1 hour in length, the longest of all of Gershwin's orchestral works. Other musical numbers not listed here have vocals, but these can be omitted for live performance as vocal lines are doubled on other instruments. All other vocal/ orchestral arrangements in the rest of the numbers were by Gershwin, with Robert Russell Bennett and Nat Shilkret acting under Gershwin's direction as assistants in the orchestration process of a few scenes in order to meet deadlines. It is unknown why none of these compositions have seen the light of day in the concert hall.
Most of the musicals Gershwin wrote are also known for their instrumental music, especially the overtures to many of his later shows.
Solo works for piano
Tango, (1915) for solo piano. Written when he was 15.
Rialto Ripples, (1917) a short ragtime piece for piano.
Limehouse Nights (unknown date, early) a short ragtime piece for piano.
Three-Quarter Blues, (1923) also known as the Irish Waltz.
Prelude (unnumbered), (1923) - Rubato - Gershwin originally intended this prelude to be included with the Three Preludes. unpublished.
Novelette in Fourths, (1924) another piece originally intended to be included with the Three Preludes. Some of the music was rearranged and used as part of Short Story, a piece written for piano and solo violin.
Romantic, (1925) Short piano fragment. Also known as Melody #55. unpublished.
Melody no. 17 (1925–1926) Another piece originally intended to be included with the Piano Preludes.
Three Preludes, (1926) first performed by Gershwin at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.
I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
II. Andante con moto e poco rubato
III. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
Swiss Miss, (1926) arrangement of a song from Lady Be Good
Machinery Gone Mad, (1927) unpublished
Blue Monday, (1927) a piano suite based on Gershwin's one-act opera of the same name
Merry Andrew, (1928) arrangement of a dance piece from Rosalie
Three-Note Waltz, (1931) Also known as Melody #36. unpublished.
Piano Transcriptions of Eight Songs (1932)
For Lily Pons, (1934) unpublished piece originally intended as accompaniment to an unwritten operatic solo.
George Gershwin's Song-Book (1934), complex arrangements of eighteen Gershwin songs
French Ballet Class (for two pianos) (1937), for two pianos, unpublished music from the film score for Shall We Dance
Impromptu in Two Keys, published posthumously in (1973), for piano
Two Waltzes in C, published posthumously in (1975), for piano
Originally a two-piano interlude in Pardon My English on Broadway.
Sleepless Night, unpublished
Sutton Place, unpublished (Melody #59)
Works for musical theater
Note: All works are musicals produced on Broadway unless specified otherwise.
1919 - La La Lucille (lyrics by Arthur Jackson, B. G. DeSylva and Irving Caesar)
1919 - Morris Gest's "Midnight Whirl" (lyrics by B. G. DeSylva and John Henry Mears)
1920 - George White's Scandals of 1920 (lyrics by Arthur Jackson)
1921 - A Dangerous Maid (lyrics by Ira Gershwin). Premiered in Atlantic City.
1921 - The Broadway Whirl (co-composed with Harry Tierney, lyrics by Buddy DeSylva, Joseph McCarthy, Richard Carle and John Henry Mears)
1921 - George White's Scandals of 1921 (lyrics by Arthur Jackson, features the song South Sea Isles)
1922 - George White's Scandals of 1922 (lyrics by E. Ray Goetz, Ira Gershwin and B. G. DeSylva)
The premiere performance featured the one-act opera Blue Monday with libretto and lyrics by B. G. DeSylva, set in Harlem in a jazz idiom. However, after only one performance, the opera was withdrawn from the show. Gershwin also wrote seven other songs for the show.
1922 - Our Nell (co-composed with William Daly, lyrics co-written by Gershwin and Daly)
1922 - By and By (lyrics by Brian Hooker)
1923 - Innocent Ingenue Baby (co-composed with William Daly, lyrics by Brian Hooker)
1923 - Walking Home with Angeline (lyrics by Brian Hooker)
1923 - The Rainbow (lyrics by Clifford Gray and Brian Hooker). Premiered in London.
1923 - George White's Scandals of 1923 (lyrics by E. Ray Goetz, B. G. DeSylva and Ballard MacDonald)
1924 - Sweet Little Devil (lyrics by B. G. DeSylva)
1924 - George White's Scandals of 1924 (lyrics by B. G. DeSylva and Ballard MacDonald)
1924 - Primrose (lyrics by Desmond Carter and Ira Gershwin). Premiered in London.
1924 - Lady, Be Good! (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1925 - Tell Me More! (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and B. G. DeSylva)
1925 - Tip-Toes (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1925 - Song of the Flame (operetta, lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, and musical collaboration by Herbert Stothart)
1926 - Oh, Kay! (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Howard Dietz)
Includes the famous song, "Someone to Watch Over Me"
Revived in 1928 and 1990 (the latter with an all-Black cast)
1927 - Strike Up the Band (lyrics by Ira Gershwin). Premiere in Philadelphia.
Revised and produced on Broadway in 1930
1927 - Funny Face (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1928 - Rosalie (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and P. G. Wodehouse, co-composed with Sigmund Romberg)
1928 - Treasure Girl (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1929 - Show Girl (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn)
1930 - Girl Crazy (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1931 - Of Thee I Sing (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for 1932 and was the first musical to win that award, although only Ira Gershwin and the bookwriters were awarded the Prize and not George Gershwin
Revived in 1933 and 1952
1933 - Pardon My English (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1933 - Let 'Em Eat Cake (lyrics by Ira Gershwin), sequel to Of Thee I Sing
1935 - Porgy and Bess (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward)
Revived on Broadway in 1942, 1943, 1953, 1976 (Houston Grand Opera winner of the Tony Award for Most Innovative Revival of a Musical), and 1983
Gershwin original songs for shows by other composers
1916 - The Passing Show of 1916 - "The Making of a Girl" (co-composed with Sigmund Romberg, lyrics by Harold Atteridge); "My Runaway Girl" (lyrics by Murray Roth)
1918 - Hitchy-Koo of 1918 - "You-oo Just You" (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1918 - Ladies First - "The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag)" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin); "Some Wonderful Sort of Someone" (lyrics by Schuyler Greene)
1918 - Half-Past Eight - "There's Magic in the Air" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin); "The Ten Commandments of Love", "Cupid" and "Hong Kong" (lyrics by Edward B. Perkins)
1919 - Good Morning, Judge - "I Was So Young (You Were So Beautiful)" (lyrics by Irving Caesar and Alfred Bryan); "There's More to the Kiss than the X-X-X" (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1919 - The Lady in Red - "Some Wonderful Sort of Someone" (lyrics by Schyler Greene); "Something About Love" (lyrics by Lou Paley)
1919 - Capitol Revue - "Come to the Moon" (lyrics by Lou Paley and Ned Wayburn); "Swanee" (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1920 - Dere Mabel - "We're Pals" (lyrics by Irving Caesar), first performed in Baltimore; "Back Home" and "I Don't Know Why (When I Dance with You)" (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1920 - Ed Wynn's Carnival - "Oo, How I Love You To Be Loved by You" (lyrics by Lou Paley)
1920 - The Sweetheart Shop - "Waiting for the Sun to Come Out" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1920 - Sinbad - "Swanee" (lyrics by Irving Caesar). As performed by Al Jolson
1920 - Broadway Brevities of 1920 - "Lu Lu" and "Snowflakes" (lyrics by Arthur Jackson); "Spanish Love" (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1920 - Piccadilly to Broadway (songs unpublished)
1921 - Blue Eyes (songs unpublished)
1921 - Selwyn's Snapshots of 1921 - "On the Brim of Her Old-Fashioned Bonnet", "The Baby Blues" and "Futuristic Melody" (lyrics by E. Ray Goetz, songs unpublished)
1921 - The Perfect Fool - "My Log-Cabin Home" (lyrics by Irving Caesar and Buddy De Sylva); "No One Else but that Girl of Mine" (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1922 - The French Doll - "Do It Again" (lyrics by Buddy De Sylva)
1922 - For Goodness Sake - "Someone" and "Tra-la-la" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1922 - Spice of 1922 - "The Yankee Doodle Blues" (lyrics by Irving Caesar and Buddy De Sylva)
1922 - The Dancing Girl - "That American Boy of Mine" (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1923 - Little Miss Bluebeard - "I Won't Say I Will, But I Won't Say I Won't" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Buddy De Sylva)
1923 - Nifties of 1923 - "At Half-Past Seven" (lyrics by Buddy De Sylva); "Nashville Nightingale" (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1926 - Americana - "That Lost Barber Shop Chord" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1930 - Nine-Fifteen Revue - "Toddlin' Along" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1936 - The Show is On - "By Strauss" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin). Revived in 1937
Posthumous interpolations of Gershwin songs
1953 - At Home With Ethel Waters - "Oh, Lady be Good!"
1956 - Mr. Wonderful, starring Sammy Davis Jr.
1967 - "I Got Rhythm" a hit single for pop vocal group The Happenings
1983 - My One And Only - an adaptation of the music from Funny Face
1986 - Uptown ... It's Hot! - "Oh, Lady be Good!"
1992 - Crazy for You - musical adapting George and Ira Gershwin Tin Pan Alley and Broadway songs
Awarded the Tony Award for Best Musical
1999 - The Gershwins" Fascinating Rhythm - revue with songs by George and Ira Gershwin
2001 - George Gershwin Alone - one-man play by Hershey Felder, who portrayed Gershwin, incorporating "Swanee" from Sinbad (lyrics by Irving Caesar), "Embraceable You" from Girl Crazy (lyrics by Ira Gershwin), "Someone to Watch Over Me" from Oh, Kay! (lyrics by Ira Gershwin), "Bess, You is My Woman Now" from Porgy and Bess (lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin), An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue.
2002 - Elaine Stritch at Liberty - But Not For Me
2002 - Back From Broadway - one-time concert featuring songs by George Gershwin
2010 - Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin - two incomplete pieces by Gershwin finished by Brian Wilson and 12 other reimagined Gershwin classics
Various songs
1916 - When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em (When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em) (lyrics by Murray Roth)
1917 - Beautiful Bird (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Lou Paley)
1917 - When There's a Chance To Dance (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1918 - Gush-Gush-Gushing (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1918 - When the Armies Disband (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1918 - Good Little Tune (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1919 - The Love of a Wife (lyrics by Arthur Jackson and B. G. DeSylva)
1919 - O Land of Mine, America (lyrics by Michael E. Rourke). A national anthem submission for a New York American competition offering five thousand dollars to the winner. Gershwin received the lowest prize of fifty dollars.
1920 - Yan-Kee (lyrics by Irving Caesar)
1921 - Phoebe (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Lou Paley)
1921 - Something Peculiar (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Lou Paley)
1921 - Dixie Rose (lyrics by Irving Caesar and B. G. DeSylva)
1921 - In the Heart of a Geisha (lyrics by Fred Fisher)
1921 - Swanee Rose (lyrics by Irving Caesar and B. G. DeSylva)
1921 - Tomale (I'm Hot for You) (lyrics by B. G. DeSylva)
c.1921 - Molly-on-the-Shore (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
c.1921 - Mischa, Yascha, Toscha, Sascha (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
This is Gershwin"s only finished work based on a Jewish theme, and the title is a reference to the first names of four Jewish-Russian violinists, Mischa Elman, Jascha Heifetz, Toscha Seidel and Sascha Jacobsen.
1922 - The Flapper (co-composed with William Daly, lyrics by B. G. DeSylva)
1925 - Harlem River Chanty and It's a great little world! (lyrics by Ira Gershwin, originally composed for Tip-Toes on Broadway but not used)
1925 - Murderous Monty (and Light-Fingered Jane) (lyrics by Desmond Carter, composed for London production of Tell Me More.)
1926 - I'd rather charleston (lyrics by Desmond Carter, composed for London production of Lady Be Good.)
1928 - Beautiful gypsy and Rosalie (originally composed for Rosalie on Broadway, but not used)
1929 - Feeling Sentimental (originally composed for Show Girl on Broadway, but not used)
1929 - In the Mandarin's Orchid Garden
1932 - You've got what gets me (composed for the first film version of Girl Crazy.
1933 - Till Then
1936 - King of Swing (lyrics by Al Stillman)
1936 - Strike Up the Band for U.C.L.A (to the same music as the song "Strike Up the Band")
1937 - Hi-Ho! (lyrics by Ira Gershwin, originally composed for Shall We Dance, but not used)
1938 - Just Another Rhumba (lyrics by Ira Gershwin, originally composed for The Goldwyn Follies, but not used)
1938 - Dawn of a New Day
Musical films
1923 - The Sunshine Trail - theme song of the same title (lyrics by Ira Gershwin), as well as accompaniment music for silent film
1931 - Delicious (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1937 - Shall We Dance (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1937 - A Damsel in Distress (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
1938 - Goldwyn Follies (lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
Gershwin died during the filming. Vernon Duke completed and adapted Gerhwin's songs, and composed some additional ones.
1947 - The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (Kay Swift adapted a number of unpublished Gershwin melodies and Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics.)
1951 - An American In Paris - theme song of the same title
1964 - Kiss Me, Stupid (adaptations of unpublished Gershwin songs with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.)
Rhapsody in Blues by George Gershwin
“Lady Jazz, adorned with intriguing rhythms, danced across the world. But nowhere did she meet a knight who would introduce her as a respected guest into the highest musical community. did this miracle. He boldly dressed this highly independent and modern lady in classic concert garb. However, it did not diminish the charm in the least. He is the prince who took Cinderella by the hand and openly proclaimed her a princess, causing the world to wonder and her envious sisters to frenzy,” said American conductor Walter Damrosch about his compatriot.
Music magic
Parents George Gershwin did not violate customs laws when, at the end of the century before last, they moved from Odessa to hospitable New York. The family "violated" another law - the law of social stratification, when, in an incomprehensible way, the family of Maurice, a shoemaker in a women's shoe factory, and Rose, the daughter of a furrier, had children, so to speak, of a completely different flight. George was the second child in the family. Jacob Gershowitz was born in 1898. The parents changed their last name to Gershwin long before their children became famous.
At school George he was not a diligent student and studied mediocrely, which upset his mother, who wanted to see her children as school teachers in the future. In 1912 he was enrolled in the Commercial School, but he did not become a businessman either. 
Fate has prepared a completely different path for the boy.
The boy's friends often observed that the street skating champion sometimes ceases to notice his surroundings. The reason was always the same - music. Deep impression on an 8 year old George produced by Max Rosenzweig, later a well-known violinist in America. He played "Humorescu" at the school concert. I waited an hour and a half after the concert George musician, not paying attention to the pouring rain, but, noticing that he had left in a different way, rushed to his house.
They became friends. At Rosenzweig's house George he himself learned to play the piano, picked up popular melodies by ear. One can imagine the surprise of his parents when it soon became clear that in a short time he had become so successful in playing the piano that he had left his brother Ira far behind. To the great joy of both, the parents decided that music should be George.
George Gershwin's path to a dream
The young musician had to study at several piano "schools". At first he was tormented by three old ladies, the fourth teacher did not deal with technology at all, but brought up his student on a medley of operas. And only Charles Hambitzer turned out to be exactly the musician he needed Gershwin. Since 1915 George, on his recommendations, took lessons in harmony and orchestration.
One fine day, a fifteen-year-old musician appeared before the manager of the Remik and Co publishing house. played the piano, not even counting on success. Surprisingly, however, he was hired as a popular pianist for $15 a week.
"Why do you play fugues, do you want to be a concert pianist?" - asked colleagues at work in the store. “No,” replied George“I study Bach in order to write popular music.”
Debut, failure and faith
In 1916 fashionable revue singer Sophie Tucker became interested in the song Gershwin"When 
you want" and successfully performed it. Gradually he became famous in the musical circles of Broadway. In February 1918, the young composer met with Max Dreyfus, who headed the Kharms publishing house. He offered the composer a job at $35 a week. About the best George At the time, I couldn't even dream. There was no need to sit in an office or learn parts with singers. All you need is to write.
On Monday, December 9, 1918, the Broadway debut George Gershwin, which 
turned into a real torment for him. The stage life of the revue ended the same week - on Friday. The producer was unable to provide the composition of the female troupe announced in the poster, and this decided the fate of the revue.
Name George Gershwin in the 1920s, it began to appear more and more often on the pages of newspapers and magazines. 1922 Beryl Rubinstein, the famous American pianist and teacher, in a newspaper interview called Gershwin"Outstanding Composer" “There is a spark of genius in this young man,” he said. “I really believe that America will be proud of him in the near future…”
Successful Gershwin experiment
From January 7 to February 4, 1924, the apartment Gershwin on 110th Street was under siege. The watchful silence was occasionally interrupted by short remarks. Worked like this: Gershwin wrote a rhapsodic score for two pianos, leaving blank lines for the pianist's solo improvisations. As soon as the next page was finished, Fred Grof (Whiteman's orchestra arranger) would take it and orchestrate the music for the jazz line-up. He then rehearsed them with his orchestra. And finally, "Rhapsody in Blues" was born. 
Never before had there been such a diverse audience at a concert as on that day in 1924. It was written on the posters that the listeners would be presented with an "experiment in modern music." Paul Whiteman looked with pleasure and excitement from behind the curtains at the front rows, where Leopold Godovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky and other well-known persons in the musical world were sitting.
The conductor gave a sign, and Gershwin started solo. Glissando on the clarinet (an unusual technique for this instrument) immediately electrified the hall. There was no trace of the old boredom. The musicians have also changed, playing in a completely different way. Whiteman conducted without noticing that tears of delight were rolling down his cheeks. And then there was such an ovation that no one doubted anymore: Whiteman's predictions about the "success" of the "knockout" rhapsody were completely justified.
fraternal union
With fame came wealth. In 1925, the Gershwins bought a five-story house on 103rd Street. Now it was time to go to Europe. London - Paris - Vienna - such a travel itinerary that George. It ended in 1928.
From a trip to Europe Gershwin returned with a draft of the symphonic poem An American in Paris. It premiered at the New York Philharmonic Society under the direction of Walter Damrosch. Three years later, "An American in Paris" was performed at London's Queens Hall. Soon the "American" entered the permanent repertoire of many orchestras around the world, attracted the attention of not only conductors, but also choreographers.
When George became known as a composer and musician, he asked his older brother to be a co-author of his songs and musicals. Ira agreed, taking the pseudonym Arthur Francis (after the names of his younger brother and sister), so that there would still be one in the art world Gershwin. This creative union has allowed them to create more than 20 musicals staged on Broadway and for cinema.
"Porgy and Bess" Gershwin
Somehow in the night George insomnia tormented him, and he decided to read a little. He opened Hayward's novel and from the first pages felt the amazing power of his poetic images. I read, and in my head, against my will, melodies, chord harmonies arose. Sleep was out of the question. The composer read until four o'clock, and then wrote to Hayward about his intention to compose an opera. It happened in 1926, but Porgy and Bess had to wait.
Finally, in 1932 Hayward received from Gershwin acknowledgment letter: “In search of a plot for a composition, I again returned to the idea of putting Porgy to music. This is an outstanding play about the people." For twenty months the composer wrote an opera and all this time he lived with the confidence that it would be his best work. The date on the last page of the manuscript is 1935. However, work on the opera also continued during rehearsals and was completed only a day before the premiere. 
The premiere took place at the Colonial Theatre, Boston. The audience accepted the new opera with even greater enthusiasm than the previous compositions. Gershwin. For a quarter of an hour a sea of applause and enthusiastic exclamations raged. To accept Porgy and Bess meant not only to appreciate its artistic merit, but also to recognize the right of the operatic genre to reflect the embarrassing contrasts of the Gilded Age. and here he was a pioneer.
For a year and a half, she withstood 124 productions at the Alvin Theater. This is a very solid figure for any opera of the classical repertoire. Despite the good reception, the hopes of the brothers Gershwin they did not materialize for material success: they lost more than 10 thousand dollars invested in the production. George didn't get upset. "When and where did the opera generate income?" he laughed.
Parted ways
Creative duet of brothers Gershwin broke up unexpectedly and tragically. Colossal nervous tension while working on "Porgy and Bess" exhausted forces George. He could neither eat nor sleep. Doctors recommended changing the climate and forgetting about music for a while. The composer accepted the first recommendation with great pleasure. Of course, he could not forget about music. Outwardly, he almost did not change, but he became very irritable and looked tired. In early 1937, doctors found symptoms of a brain tumor in him. George began to treat, but it was not possible to save the composer. 
He died in 1937, before reaching the age of thirty-nine. The composer was in his prime and full of creative plans.
Ira Gershwin until the last day remembered and appreciated his younger brother, the composer, told all kinds of funny stories about him, recalled funny sayings.
DATA
real success George Gershwin On Broadway there was a musical "Lady, Be Good". In this production, the composer first worked with his brother Ira.
brothers Gershwins won the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for their most successful show, Of Thee I Sing. The award was given for the first time to a musical production.
Updated: April 11, 2019 by: Elena
American composer.
Biography of George Gershwin
George Gershwin was born in New York in a family of Jewish immigrants from Russia. My father ran a small restaurant. There were 4 children in the family and George (Yakov) was the second son and was considered a bully in childhood, not promising. At the age of 12, the boy began to learn to play the piano and showed great aptitude for music. His parents found him a private teacher. In addition to music, the young man was fascinated by painting and literature.
Gershwin never studied academic music at the conservatory. He started working early, at the age of 15 he was already playing for money in a music store, attracting the attention of the public. At the age of 17, the young man was invited to work at the music publishing house of Jerome Remick.
George died in 1937 after an operation to remove a brain tumor. In 1945, the film "Rhapsody in Blues" dedicated to the composer was released in Hollywood.
The creative path of George Gershwin
One of Gershwin's most famous works is the opera Porgy and Bess. It was first filmed in 1959, starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge. In 1993 " Porgy and Bess» staged by the director Trevor Nunn. In 2018, the film performance "An American in Paris" based on George's symphonic poem was released. The film stars Robert Fairchild , Leanne Cope , Haydn Oakley , Jane Asher , Ashley Andrews et al.
Filmography of George Gershwin
- An American in Paris (2018)
- Talking Sticks: A Musical Journey (2014)
- 2013 San Francisco Love Story (Short)
- From Shtetl to Swing (TV Movie 2005)
- Porgy and Bess (TV Movie 1993) Porgy and Bess
- Rattlesnake Dozen (TV Movie 1988)
- 1978 Contact (Short)
- 1959 Porgy and Bess
- 1937 A Damsel in Distress
- Delicious (1931)
George Gershwin (1898-1937) was an American composer and musician.
Biography
Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898 in the New York quarter of Brooklyn, in a family of Jewish emigrants from Belarus (Mogilev). The real name and surname of the composer is Jacob Gershowitz. Having absorbed jazz culture since childhood (it is said that Gershwin first heard jazz music at the age of 6), he was a lover of jazz concerts and at the age of 12 began to learn to play the piano on his own. Much later, having become a famous composer, Gershwin did not stop learning and improving his technique. During such studies, he met the unique American composers of those years - Henry Cowell, Wallingford Rigger and Joseph Schillinger (the latter is notable for the fact that he approached the process of composing music from mathematical positions, trying to develop a universal algorithm).
In 1914, Gershwin began to play music professionally, working as an accompanist with Jerome Remick. Two years later, the first author's work of the young Gershwin was released - "When You Want 'Em You Can't Get 'Em". Although it was not particularly successful with the public, Gershwin attracted the attention of some well-known Broadway producers and directors. For example, Sigmund Romberg happily included Gershwin's music in his operetta The Passing Show of 1916. In those years, Gershwin, studying piano, harmony and orchestration, worked as a pianist in restaurants.
In 1918-1919, many of Gershwin's works appeared on Broadway: "Swanee" was included in the musical "Sinbad" and was a resounding success performed by Al Johnson. And the 1919 production of La, La Lucille was based entirely on the writings of Gershwin.
In 1920-1924, George Gershwin created several dozen works for George White's Scandals, and in 1922 he even wrote a real opera - Blue Monday (known as 135th Street), after the premiere of which he was invited to a jazz band Paul Whiteman as composer. It was for Whiteman that George composed the real gem of his work - "Rhapsody in Blue" ("Jazz Rhapsody").
In 1924, Gershwin created the musical Lady, Be Good!, which became the composer's first real success on Broadway. This production marked the first time Gershwin worked with his brother, Ira Gershwin, who wrote all the lyrics. For the next decade, this creative union was the most productive and in demand on Broadway. Their most successful show was Of Thee I Sing, 1931; for it they won the Pulitzer Prize, the first ever awarded to a musical production.
The most ambitious and ambitious work in Gershwin's biography was the "folklore" opera "Porgy and Bess", 1935, based on the novel by Dubos Hayward, who also took part in writing the libretto for the opera.
In early 1937, he showed symptoms of a brain tumor. Gershwin is placed in the Lebenen Clinic, where he died on the morning of July 11, 1937, without regaining consciousness after an operation to remove a tumor.
