George Gershwin
Gershwin received only one Oscar nomination, for "They Can't Take That Away From Me" written with his brother Ira for the 1937 film Shall We Dance.[11]
Early in 1937, Gershwin began to complain of blinding headaches and a recurring impression that he was smelling burned rubber. He had developed a type of cystic malignant brain tumor known as glioblastoma multiforme[12]. In June, he performed in a special concert of his music with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under the direction of French maestro Pierre Monteux. It was in Hollywood, while working on the score of The Goldwyn Follies, that he collapsed and, on July 11, 1937, died at the age of 38 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital following surgery for the tumor. Coincidentally, just a few months later in 1937, Gershwin's idol Ravel also died following brain surgery.
Gershwin had a 10-year affair with composer Kay Swift and frequently consulted her about his music. Oh, Kay was named for her.[13] After Gershwin died, Swift arranged some of his music, transcribed some of his recordings, and collaborated with Ira on several projects.[14] Gershwin also had an affair with actress Paulette Goddard.[15]
Gershwin died intestate, and all his property passed to his mother. He is buried in the Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.[16] 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. The copyrights on those works were expired at the end of 2007 in the European Union and will expire between 2019 and 2027 in the United States of America.
According to Fred Astaire's letters to Adele Astaire, Gershwin whispered Astaire's name before passing away.[17]
In 2005, The Guardian determined using "estimates of earnings accrued in a composer's lifetime" that George Gershwin was the richest composer of all time.[18] George Gershwin was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. The George Gershwin Theatre on Broadway is named after him.[19]
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Musical style and influence
Gershwin was influenced very much by French composers of the early twentieth century. Maurice Ravel was quite impressed with the Gershwins' abilities, 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."[20] 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. He also asked Ravel for lessons. When Ravel heard how much Gershwin earned, Ravel replied "How about you give me some lessons?" (some versions of this story feature Igor Stravinsky rather than Ravel as the composer; however Stravinsky himself confirmed that he originally heard the story from Ravel).[21]
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. The title of An American in Paris reflects the very journey that he had consciously taken as a composer: "The opening part will be developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and the Six, though the tunes are original."[22]
Aside from the French influence, Gershwin was intrigued by the works of Alban Berg, Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, and Arnold Schoenberg. He also asked Schoenberg for composition lessons. Schoenberg refused, saying "I would only make you a bad Schoenberg, and you're such a good Gershwin already".[23] (This quote is similar to one credited to Maurice Ravel during Gershwin's 1928 visit to France -- "Why be a second-rate Ravel, when you are a first-rate Gershwin?" See the Wikipedia article for Maurice Ravel.)
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. After the posthumous success of Porgy and Bess, Schillinger claimed he had a large and direct influence in overseeing the creation of the opera; Ira completely denied that his brother had any such assistance for this work. 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.[24]
What set Gershwin apart was his ability to manipulate forms of music into his own unique voice. He took the jazz he discovered on Tin Pan Alley into the mainstream by splicing its rhythms and tonality with that of the popular songs of his era.
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, although he was promised much more.
In 2007, the Library of Congress named their Prize for Popular Song after George and Ira Gershwin. Recognizing the profound and positive effect of popular music on culture, the prize is given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins. On March 1st, 2007, the first Gershwin Prize was awarded to Paul Simon.
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Recordings
Early in his career Gershwin made dozens of player piano piano roll recordings and these were a main source of income for him. Many of these are of popular music of the period and many other are of his own works. Once his theatre-writing career took precedence his regular roll recording sessions dwindled as he was otherwise occupied. He did however record further rolls throughout the 1920s including a complete version of his Rhapsody in Blue.
In comparison to the piano rolls, there are few accessible audio recordings of his playing. His very first recording was his own Swanee with the Fred Van Eps Trio in 1919. The recorded balance highlights the banjo playing of Van Eps, and the piano is overshadowed. The recording took place before Swanee became famous as an Al Jolson specialty in early 1920.
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 and the same orchestra made an electrical recording of the same abridged version for Victor in 1927. However, a dispute in the studio over interpretation angered Paul Whiteman and he left. The conductor's baton was taken over by Victor's staff conductor Nathaniel Shilkret. Gershwin made a number of solo piano recordings of tunes from his musicals, some including 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. Gershwin's role in the recording was rather limited, particularly because Shilkret was conducting and had his own ideas about the music. Then it was realized no one had been hired to play the brief celeste solo, so Gershwin was asked if he could and would play the instrument, and he agreed. Gershwin can be heard, rather briefly, on the recording during the slow section.
He appeared on several radio programs, including Rudy Vallee's program, and played some of his compositions, including the third movement of the Concerto in F with Vallee conducting the studio orchestra. Some of these performances were preserved on transcription discs and have been released on LP and CD.
In 1934, in 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. Recordings from this and other radio broadcasts include his Variations on I Got Rhythm, portions of the Concerto in F, and numerous songs from his musical comedies. He also recorded a run-through of his Second Rhapsody, conducting the orchestra and playing the piano solos. RCA Victor asked him to supervise recordings of highlights from Porgy and Bess in 1935, which were his last recordings.
A 33-second film clip of Gershwin playing I've Got Rhythm has survived, possibly taken from an early 1930s newsreel. There are also silent home movies, some in Kodachrome, of Gershwin that have been featured in tributes to the composer.
In 1975, Columbia Records released an album featuring Gershwin's piano rolls playing the Rhapsody In Blue, accompanied by the Columbia Jazz Band playing the original jazz-band accompaniment of conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. The flip side of the Columbia Masterworks release features Tilson Thomas leading the New York Philharmonic in An American In Paris.
In 1993, a selection of piano rolls originally produced by Gershwin for the Standard Music Roll Company[25] were issued by Nonesuch Records through the efforts of Artis Woodhouse and is entitled Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls[26].
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Compositions
Orchestral
- Rhapsody in Blue (for piano and orchestra, 1924)
- Piano Concerto in F (1925)
- An American in Paris (for orchestra, 1928)
- Second Rhapsody, originally titled Rhapsody in Rivets (for piano and orchestra, 1931)
- Cuban Overture (1932), originally entitled Rumba
- Variations on "I Got Rhythm" (for piano and orchestra) (1934)
- Catfish Row (1936) a suite based on music from Porgy and Bess
Solo Piano
- Preludes For Piano (1926)
- George Gershwin's Songbook (1932) (piano arrangements of eighteen songs)
London Musicals
- Primrose (1924)
Broadway Musicals
- George White's Scandals (1920-1924) (featuring, at one point, the 1922 one-act opera Blue Monday)
- Lady, Be Good (1924)
- Tip-Toes (1925)
- Song of the Flame (1925)
- Tell Me More! (1925)
- Oh, Kay! (1926)
- Strike Up the Band (1927)
- Funny Face (1927)
- Rosalie (1928)
- Show Girl (1929)
- Girl Crazy (1930)
- Of Thee I Sing (1931)
- Pardon My English (1933)
- Let 'Em Eat Cake(1933)
- My One and Only (1983) (an original 1983 musical using previously written Gershwin songs)
- Crazy for You, a revised version of Girl Crazy (1992), written and compiled without the partcipitaion of either George or Ira Gershwin
Opera
- Porgy and Bess (1935; this was, however, first presented on Broadway, rather than in an opera house)
Films for which Gershwin wrote original scores
- Delicious (1931) (portions of the Second Rhapsody were used in this film)
- Shall We Dance (1937) (original orchestral score by Gershwin, no recordings available in modern stereo, some sections have never been recorded)
- A Damsel in Distress (1937)
- The Goldwyn Follies (1938) (posthumously released)
- The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947) (uses songs previously unpublished)
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Videos
- Gershwin: Prelude No. 1 played by Classical Jam
- Gerswhin: Rhapsody in Blue performed by Musicians of the World
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See also
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References
- ^ Slide, Anthony. The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville. Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1994. p. 111.
- ^ Lady, Be Good at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Oh, Kay! at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Funny Face at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Strike Up the Band at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Show Girl at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Girl Crazy at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Of Thee I Sing at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Jablonski, Edward,Gershwin: A Biography. Double Day: New York, 1987. 155-170
- ^ Jablonski, Edward, Gershwin, A Biography.Double Day: New York, 1987. pp.178-180
- ^ Shall We Dance (1937) - Awards
- ^ George Gershwin-illustrious American composer: his fatal glioblastoma. PMID: 231388
- ^ Hyland pp 108
- ^ Kay Swift biography (Kay Swift Memorial Trust) accessed 28 Dec 2007
- ^ Paulette Goddard, 78, Is Dead; Film Star of 1930's Through 50's Peter B Flint 24 April 1990 The New York Times accessed 28 Dec 2007
- ^ George Gershwin (Find-A-Grave) accessed 28 Dec 2007
- ^ The featurette: They Can't Take That Away from Me: The Music of Shall We Dance, on the Shall We Dance DVD released August 16, 2005 DVD link
- ^ Gershwin leads composer rich list Kirsty Scott 29 August 2005, The Guardian accessed 28 Dec 2007
- ^ The Gershwin Theater (Theater History) accessed 28 Dec 2007
- ^ Mawer pp 42
- ^ Arthur Rubinstein, My Many Years; Merle Armitage, George Gershwin; Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft, Dialogues and a Diary, all quoted in Norman Lebrecht, The Book of Musical Anecdotes
- ^ (Hyland pp 126)
- ^ Norman Lebrecht, The Book of Musical Anecdotes
- ^ Dukelsky, Vladimir (Vernon Duke), Gershwin, Schillinger and Dukelsky: Some Reminiscences Musical Quarterly Volume 33, 1947, 102-115
- ^ George Gershwin and the player piano 1915-1927 accessed 28 Dec 2007
- ^ (ASIN: B000005J1I)
- Hyland, William G. George Gershwin : A New Biography Praeger Publishers (August 30, 2003) ISBN 0-275-98111-8
- Mawer, Deborah (Editor). Cross, Jonathan (Series Editor). The Cambridge Companion to Ravel (Cambridge Companions to Music) Cambridge University Press (August 24, 2000) ISBN 0-521-64856-4
- Pollack, Howard George Gershwin. His Life and Work University of California Press, 2006, ISBN-13 978-0-520-24864-9
- Jablonski, Edward Gershwin Doubleday (1987) ISBN 0-385-19431-5
- Rimler, Walter A Gershwin Companion Popular Culture (1991) ISBN 1-56075-019-7
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External links
- www.kreusch-sheet-music.net – Free Scores by George Gershwin
- MusicalTalk Podcast on George Gershwin (part one of two)
- MusicalTalk Podcast on George Gershwin (part two of two)
- Official Site
- Classical.net Gershwin page
- Anecdotage: Gershwin Gershwin Anecdotes (with sources noted)
- GershwinFan.com - The Gershwin Educational Fanpage
- George Gershwin at the Internet Broadway Database
- George Gershwin at the Internet Movie Database
- George Gershwin Bio at Jewish-American Hall of Fame
- George Gershwin Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
- George Gershwin and The Great American Songbook
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gershwin, George |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 26, 1898 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 11, 1937 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Hollywood, California, U.S. |
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