Gershwin was born Jacob Gershowitz in Brooklyn , New
York , in 1898, to Russian/Ukrainian parents. He
studied piano from age ten under the tutelage of classical pianist Charles
Hambitzer, who would remain Gershwin’s mentor until Gershwin was around 20-years-old.
Gershwin began his music career upon
dropping out of high school at age 15, finding work as a songwriter of pop
tunes in New York City ’s
famed Tin Pan Alley. His first successful song was the ragtime hit, “Rialto
Ripples,” in 1917. Two years later he penned the famous song, “Swanee,” which
would become a huge hit for Al Jolson. Gershwin also produced piano rolls for
player pianos for the Aeolian company.
Gershwin began writing jazz songs in the
early Twenties with lyricist Buddy DeSylva and his brother, Ira Gershwin. The
team’s early songs included “Oh, Lady Be Good” and “Fascinating Rhythm.” These
classic songs were followed by “Funny Face,” “I Got Rhythm,” and “Of Thee I
Sing.”
In 1924, Gershwin wrote the jazz-infused
modern classical masterpiece, “Rhapsody in Blue.” This famous work was
introduced to the world by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in a New York City performance. Gershwin then
headed to Paris
with the ambition of furthering his classical training, but was rejected by
several prospective mentors including Maurice Ravel. While in Paris ,
Gershwin penned another jazzy classical masterpiece, “An American in Paris ,” which made its debut at New York City ’s Carnegie Hall in 1928.
In 1929, Gershwin turned his attention to Hollywood and the
burgeoning film industry that required his musical talents to write scores. He
wrote the score for the film, “Delicious,” in 1929, but was upset when much of
the music he wrote was scrapped by the film’s producers.
Gershwin, embittered by the treatment of
the Delicious score, switched his efforts back to classical music and wrote the
American folk opera masterpiece, “Porgy and Bess,” which contained some of
Gershwin’s most brilliant compositions including, “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “I
Got Plenty of Nuttin’,” and “Summertime.” Porgy and Bess was a commercial
failure at the time, but has since become a staple of American opera and
popular music.
Gershwin returned to Hollywood and wrote film scores, including
the one for the Fred Astaire musical, “Shall We Dance.” In 1937, Gershwin died
suddenly from the effects of a brain tumor.
Gershwin’s music is best heard on the
following collections: “Rhapsody in Blue/An American in Paris (New York
Philharmonic; The Columbia Symphony/ Leonard Bernstein)” (1959), ‘S Marvelous:
The Gershwin Songbook” (1994) and “The Essential George Gershwin” (2003).