Although he died at an early age, Gershwin created a body of work that was not merely extensive, but also enduring. His music is still frequently performed more than 50 years after his death. Gershwin absorbed all the musical developments coming...
[more]Although he died at an early age, Gershwin created a body of work that was not merely extensive, but also enduring. His music is still frequently performed more than 50 years after his death. Gershwin absorbed all the musical developments coming from the jazz world, so it is not surprising that his work is popular among jazz instrumentalists. However, the full glory of his music emerges only when the lyrics are included.
Born in New York City in 1898, Gershwin was an uninspired student. But when his family bought a piano for his brother, Ira, he started playing with it and soon acquired a powerful enthusiasm for music, taking lessons and studying harmony and theory. He listened to classical music, but was particularly drawn to black music, which was gaining in popularity.
In 1912, he became a professional musician playing the piano at holiday resorts in upstate New York, and working as a song-plugger for the renowned Remick Music Company. His early compositions, such as "Rialto Ripples" (1916), were influenced by ragtime, and in 1917 he was hired as a rehearsal pianist for the Broadway show "Miss 1917." It was a collaboration in 1919 with Irving Caesar that produced Gershwin's first hit: "Swanee," and in the same year he collaborated on his first Broadway score, "La, La Lucille." From this point on, Gershwin gained in popularity and influence, creating such eternally popular works as his folk-opera "Porgy and Bess" (1935), the Pulitzer-winning "Of Thee I Sing," the popular "Shall We Dance" (1936), and a host of other musical standards. Gershwin's career was brought to a tragic, early end by a brain tumor, but his works continue to influence songwriters and warm the hearts of audiences to this day.
[show less]
