Who Is George Gershwin?

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist who wrote and performed music of outstanding range--from popular to classical music used for plays, concerts and movies.

Early Life

Gershwin was born Jacob Gershowitz in Brooklyn, New York, on Sept. 26, 1898 to Russian Jewish immigrants, the second of four children. In 1910, at the age of 12, he started playing the piano his parents had bought for his elder brother, Ira (1896-1983). This led to taking up piano lessons for the next few years, studying with future American composers such as Rubin Goldmark (1872-1936) and Henry Cowell (1897-1965). For a while, Gershwin was under the mentorship of Charles Hambitzer (c. 1878-1918).

The Song Plugger

His musical activities led Gershwin to quit school at the age of 15 (1913) and work for a Tin Pan Alley music-publishing firm named Jerome H. Remick & Company, promoting and helping to sell new sheet music with his piano playing. While earning $15 a week, he published his very first work, "When You Want 'Em, You Don't Get 'Em, When You Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em," in 1916.

Big Break

Gershwin eventually broke into the national scene with 1919's "Swanee," which became a big hit when singer and actor Al Jolson (1886-1950) performed it. By then, he was working for Aeolian Company and Standard Music Rolls, composing and recording prolifically.

Collaboration With Brother

Although Gershwin was acclaimed as an individual composer and performer--most especially for the classical-jazz composition "Rhapsody in Blue" (1924)--he is also known for his collaboration with his brother, Ira, also an acclaimed artist. With Ira penning most of the lyrics, the team of brothers churned out musicals that include "Lady Be Good" (1924), "Funny Face" (1927), and "Of Thee I Sing" (1931), the first musical comedy to win a Pulitzer Prize. The culmination of their work, "Porgy and Bess" (1935), although initially performed with limited success, is now perhaps the most popular American opera ever created.

Death

Diagnosed with a brain tumor early in 1937, Gershwin was in Hollywood working on the score of the movie "The Goldwyn Follies" (1938) when he collapsed. He died on July 11, 1937 after surgery was performed on him at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. He was only 38 years old.

Legacy

Gershwin was one of the first artists to introduce jazz elements into popular songs, employing what he had discovered and learned in his years at Tin Pan Alley. In 2007, the Library of Congress named their Prize for Popular Song after him and his brother, Ira.

References

• Rimler, Walter. "George Gershwin: An Intimate Portrait"
• The official website of George and Ira Gershwin
• George Gershwin, composer