George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer. He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin. George Gershwin composed songs both for Broadway and for the classical concert hall. He also wrote popular songs with success.
Many of his compositions have been used on television and in numerous films, and many became jazz standards. The jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald recorded many of the Gershwins' songs on her 1959 Gershwin Songbook (arranged by Nelson Riddle). Countless singers and musicians have recorded Gershwin songs, including Louis Armstrong, Al Jolson, Art Tatum, Bing Crosby, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Marni Nixon, Natalie Cole, Nina Simone, Maureen McGovern, John Fahey, and Sting.
Many of his compositions have been used on television and in numerous films, and many became jazz standards. The jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald recorded many of the Gershwins' songs on her 1959 Gershwin Songbook (arranged by Nelson Riddle). Countless singers and musicians have recorded Gershwin songs, including Louis Armstrong, Al Jolson, Art Tatum, Bing Crosby, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Marni Nixon, Natalie Cole, Nina Simone, Maureen McGovern, John Fahey, and Sting.
Gershwin was born Jacob Gershowitz in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrant parents. His father, Morris (Moishe) Gershowitz, changed the family name to Gershwin sometime after immigrating from St. Petersburg, Russia. Gershwin's mother, Rosa Bruskin, also immigrated from Russia; she married Gershowitz four years later.
George Gershwin was the second of four children. He first displayed interest in music at the age of ten, when he was intrigued by what he heard at a friend, Max Rosen's, violin recital. The sound and the way his friend played captured him. His parents had bought a piano for his older brother Ira Gershwin, but to his parents' surprise and Ira's relief, it was George who played it. Although his younger sister Frances Gershwin was the first in the family to make money from her musical talents, she married young and became a housewife and mother, giving up her own singing and dance career—settling into painting, a hobby of George Gershwin's.
Gershwin tried various piano teachers for two years, and then was introduced to Charles Hambeetzer by Jack Miller, the pianist in the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. Hambeetzer acted as George's mentor until his death, in 1918. Hambeetzer taught George conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European classical tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestral concerts. (At home following such concerts, young George would attempt to reproduce at the piano the music he had heard.) He later studied with classical composer Rubin Goldmark and avant-garde composer-theorist Henry Cowell.
George Gershwin was the second of four children. He first displayed interest in music at the age of ten, when he was intrigued by what he heard at a friend, Max Rosen's, violin recital. The sound and the way his friend played captured him. His parents had bought a piano for his older brother Ira Gershwin, but to his parents' surprise and Ira's relief, it was George who played it. Although his younger sister Frances Gershwin was the first in the family to make money from her musical talents, she married young and became a housewife and mother, giving up her own singing and dance career—settling into painting, a hobby of George Gershwin's.
Gershwin tried various piano teachers for two years, and then was introduced to Charles Hambeetzer by Jack Miller, the pianist in the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. Hambeetzer acted as George's mentor until his death, in 1918. Hambeetzer taught George conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European classical tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestral concerts. (At home following such concerts, young George would attempt to reproduce at the piano the music he had heard.) He later studied with classical composer Rubin Goldmark and avant-garde composer-theorist Henry Cowell.
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."[17] 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).[18]
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."[19] 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".[20] (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.[21]
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.
George Gershwin (New York, Brooklyn, USA, 1898. szeptember 26. – Beverly Hills, 1937. július 11.) amerikai zeneszerző, zongorista.
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."[19] 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".[20] (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.[21]
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.
George Gershwin (New York, Brooklyn, USA, 1898. szeptember 26. – Beverly Hills, 1937. július 11.) amerikai zeneszerző, zongorista.Szülei 1891-ben emigráltak Oroszországból (Szentpétervárról) Amerikába.
Érdeklődése a zene iránt véletlenszerűen derült ki. Nagyon komolyan vette a sportot és szinte semmi mással nem foglalkozott. De aztán 1910-ben vásároltak egy zongorát a bátyja, Ira részére. George egész nap a zongora mellett ült és improvizált. Zenei tanulmányokat csak alkalomszerűek végzett. Első komoly zongoratanára Charles Hambitzer volt.
Fiatalon egy zenemű üzletben dolgozott New Yorkban. Első sikere az 1919-ben írt Swanee című dal volt. Első jelentős szimfonikus zenei művét ugyanebben az évben írta, a Bölcsődal című vonósnégyest. A Broadway népszerű zeneszerzőjévé vált hamarosan.
1914-től, mint plugger dolgozott. (A plugger egy üzletben egy-egy aktuális slágerét a vásárló számára eljátszotta, esetleg el is énekelte). Gershwin így megismerte a sláger-gyártás csínja-bínját, a kor teljes repertoárját. Közben jelentős művészek sorával sikerült megismerkednie. Nagy hatással volt rá Irving Berlin és Jerome Kern.
1915-től Kilényi Edétől tanult kottaírást, zeneelméletet és hangszerelést. 1917-ben korrepetitorként helyezkedett el. Egyre többen figyeltek fel a tehetségére. 1919-ben már zenés műsorokhoz írt dalokat.
Rengeteg művét felhasználta a tévé, munkái jórésze elismert dzsessz standard; a legnagyobbak közül rengetegen előadták és előadják dalait, többek között Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Judy Garland, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong.
1945-ben film készült az életéről (Rhapsody in Blue).
Érdeklődése a zene iránt véletlenszerűen derült ki. Nagyon komolyan vette a sportot és szinte semmi mással nem foglalkozott. De aztán 1910-ben vásároltak egy zongorát a bátyja, Ira részére. George egész nap a zongora mellett ült és improvizált. Zenei tanulmányokat csak alkalomszerűek végzett. Első komoly zongoratanára Charles Hambitzer volt.
Fiatalon egy zenemű üzletben dolgozott New Yorkban. Első sikere az 1919-ben írt Swanee című dal volt. Első jelentős szimfonikus zenei művét ugyanebben az évben írta, a Bölcsődal című vonósnégyest. A Broadway népszerű zeneszerzőjévé vált hamarosan.
1914-től, mint plugger dolgozott. (A plugger egy üzletben egy-egy aktuális slágerét a vásárló számára eljátszotta, esetleg el is énekelte). Gershwin így megismerte a sláger-gyártás csínja-bínját, a kor teljes repertoárját. Közben jelentős művészek sorával sikerült megismerkednie. Nagy hatással volt rá Irving Berlin és Jerome Kern.
1915-től Kilényi Edétől tanult kottaírást, zeneelméletet és hangszerelést. 1917-ben korrepetitorként helyezkedett el. Egyre többen figyeltek fel a tehetségére. 1919-ben már zenés műsorokhoz írt dalokat.
Rengeteg művét felhasználta a tévé, munkái jórésze elismert dzsessz standard; a legnagyobbak közül rengetegen előadták és előadják dalait, többek között Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Judy Garland, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong.
1945-ben film készült az életéről (Rhapsody in Blue).
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