GEORGE

GERSHWIN
(1898 1937)

GEORGE GERSHWIN
American composer and pianist, born in Brooklyn,
1898.
Rhapsody in Blue (1924), An American in Paris (1928)
and Porgy and Bess (1935) are his most famous
works.
Active in the composition of Broadway
(alongside his brother, Ira Gershwin).

theatre

Known for his jazz vibe in orchestral compositions,

mixing the popular and the classical genres.
Composed a numerous of fi lm scores until his death
in 1937 from a brain tumor.

BACKGROUND
Gershwin was introduced to music after hearing one
of his childhood friends violin recital.
Having a piano in his house, he got interested in
playing it. He was then introduced to Charles
Hambitzer, who became his teacher until 1918.
With Hambitzer, Gershwin got in touch with
Conventional piano technique
Music of the European classical tradition
A variety of orchestra concerts

COMPOSING CAREER
Leaving school at the age of 15, Gershwin started
working on a music publisher Tin Pan Alley ,
composing small songs and perfoming them on the
radio.
He started to become known for his recordings and
arrangements, which led him to a more popular
career: writing musicals for Broadway (late 1910s
early 1920s).
These Broadway shows featured songs that recieved
praise from the audience, becoming stand-alone
pieces:
Oh, Lady Be Good! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21P0FX1vGmU
Fascinating Rhythm

COMPOSING CAREER
In the mid-1920s, Gershwin studied in
Paris for a short period of time, getting
in contact with one of his idols,
Maurice
Ravel.
His
jazz-infl uenced
style was confronted with a more
classical approach to music in France.
An American in Paris , 1928, was the
refl ex of his travel.
In 1924, Gershwin composed his major
classical work, Rhapsody in Blue (for
orchestra and piano).
A year later, his Concerto in F showed
infl uences of both Ravel and Debussy.
Concerto

in

F,

3rd

Move ment

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PORGY AND BESS

G ershwins debu t in Opera with Blue Mon day (1922) wasnt
very popu lar, bu t with Porgy and Bess (1935) he recieved
mixed critics due to h is innovative style:
"From the very beginning, it was con sidered another American
classic by th e composer of 'Rhapsody in Blue'even if critics
couldn't quite fi gure ou t h ow to evaluate it. Was it opera, or
w as it simply an ambitiou s Broadway musical? 'It cross ed the
barriers,' says theater historian Robert K imball . 'It w asn't a
musical work per se, an d it wasn't a drama per se it elicited
response from both music and drama critics. But th e work h as
sort of always been ou tside category."

PORGY AND BESS (1935)

Originally conceived by George Gershwin as an
"American folk opera",Porgy and Besspremiered in
New York and featured an entire cast of classically
trained African-American singers a daring artistic
choice at the time.
Porgy

and

Bess,

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Summertime

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