GEORGE GERSHWIN 1898-1937

               George Gershwin, an American composer, became famous for his musical comedies, popular songs, symphonic works and the opera “Porgy and Bess”. His “Rhapsody in Blue” is probably the best-known orchestral piece by an American.

               George Gershwin was born in the Brooklyn section of New York City on September 21, 1898, of Russian immigrant parents. He be­gan writing popular songs at the age of 15, but he studied composition and orchestration all his life. He wanted to be a successful com­poser and to follow in the footsteps of the great masters.

              In 1919, Gershwin wrote his first success­ful popular song, “Swanee”. This was a tremendous hit as sung by Al Johnson. The song “Swanee” established Gershwin as a Tin Pan Alley composer. Tin Pan Alley was the pop-music business, especially commer­cial songwriting. The term originated as the nickname of 28^th Street in New York around 1900, when music-publishing offic­es were clustered there. In the same year, Gershwin worked on a string quartet with a blues called Lullaby. Gershwin’s songs are marked by uncommon harmonic inventiveness, and he was one of the first to introduce into popular songs the rhythms and melodic twists of jazz.

             Gershwin rose to fame on Broadway in the 1920s. His sparkling musical comedies include “Lady, Be Good” (1924), “Tip-Toes” (1925), “Funny Face” (1927), and “Girl Cra­zy” (1930). Gershwin then turned to politi­cal satire with the musical comedies “Strike up the Band” (1930); “Of Thee I Sing” (1931), a spoof on presidential elections, and some more. “Of Thee I Sing” was the first musical comedy to win a Pulitzer Prize*.

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* Pulitzer Prizes — series of awards for outstanding achieve­ments in letters and journalism, established by the will of Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), American journalist, publisher of the New York World. They have been presented annually since 1917 by Columbia University on recommendation of the advisory board of the school of journalism.

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             All of Ger­shwin’s musicals had tunes of lasting fame. The words for most of his songs were writ­ten by his brother Ira*.

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* Gershwin, Ira (1896-1983) — American lyricist. Wrote lyrics for songs composed by his brother George, composed lyrics for all the Gershwin brothers’ stage shows.

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            Meanwhile, Gershwin was writing success­ful concert hall music, beginning with Rhapsody in Blue (1924). This piece was written for piano and jazz band and ar­ranged by American composer Ferde Grofe*.

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* Grofe, Ferde, originally Ferdinand Rudolf von GrofB (1892-1972) — American composer and arranger.

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               Grofe later arranged the piece for sympho­ny orchestra. Rhapsody in Blue was writ­ten at the invitation of the bandleader Paul Whiteman*.

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* Whiteman, Paul (1890-1967) — American orchestra conduc­tor. Toured US, England and the Continent (from 1920) with large bands, noted for ensemble and arrangements, that helped popularize jazz.

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              It combined jazz elements with the romantic tradition in classical music. The work profoundly influenced European and American composers to use jazz-derived melodic and rhythmic patterns. The Con­certo in F for piano and orchestra (1925), a larger work in three movements, also used blues and jazz like effect. Gershwin, an ex­cellent pianist, was the soloist in the first performance of both these works. His com­positions in art-music forms are infused with the idioms of jazz and popular music.

              Gershwin continued to display his varied talents with “An American in Paris” (1928). This symphonic poem is tuneful, rhyth­mically exciting, effectively orchestrated, and thoroughly American. Gershwin’s last symphonic work consists of variations on “I Got Rhythm” for piano and orchestra. In 1935, Gershwin composed the black “folk opera” “Porgy and Bess”, the most popular opera ever written by an American.

              Gershwin used the story of Heyward’s* nov­el Porgy (1925) as the basis for his opera.

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*Heyward, DuBose, in full Esdwin DuBose (1885-1940) — American author.

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              The opera portrays life among black people in Charleston, South Carolina, in the 1920s. It specifically deals with the love of the crip­pled Porgy for the beautiful Bess. The story is colourful and highly dramatic, and it has considerable humour. In his score, Gersh­win captured the flavour of the songs sung by black people of the Southern US. “Porgy and Bess” draws on the idioms of the black folk music, jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and Europe­an classical music to produce a work of unique character that is Gershwin’s masterpiece.

           The opera consists largely of individual songs and choral scenes, connected by spo­ken dialogue and some relative. Some of the songs, including “Summertime” have be­come popular hits.

             Gershwin died in Beverly Hills, California, on July 11, 1937.

             Gershwin brought great skill and sinceri­ty not only to symphony jazz but to mod­ern popular song and musical comedy, which are no less important in his hands than more ambitious (in a traditional sense) forms be handled. He helped to bridge the worlds of jazz and classical music. With the immediate public and critical acceptance of Gershwin’s compo­sition Rhapsody in Blue, a so-called jazz concerto, classical music increasingly in­corporated jazz influences, while jazz music began to embrace classical music devices. Gershwin also brought jazz influences to popular song, solidifying his position as one of the most important fig­ures in American music.