George Gershwin

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George Gershwin
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Early Life

• George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898 as
  Jacob Gershowitz. He was born in Brooklyn, New
  York to Russian, Jewish immigrant parents.
  
• Gershwin started to learn how to play the piano
  when he was about 13 years old.
  
• Gershwins mentor and piano teacher was a man
  named Charles Hambitzer. He taught regular piano
  technique, but also included music of European
  classical tradition.

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Work
George Gershwin worked in collaboration with his
brother Ira on almost every single piece of music
that he did. Ira was the lyricist while George
composed. The Gershwin brothers wrote music for
Broadway, classical concert halls, and many pop
songs of the Jazz Age.
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Musical Achievements

• 1919 Gershwins first hit, Swanee
• 1924 George and Iras musical comedy, Lady Be
  Good
  
• 1926 Oh, Kay!, named after composer Kay Swift,
  with whom Gershwin had a 10-year affair.
  
• 1927 Funny Face
• 1930 Girl Crazy, which included the famous
  song I Got Rhythm. This song was important
  because it used rhythm changes (or chord
  changes) which were later adopted in other jazz
  pieces.
• 1931 Of Thee I Sing, the 1st musical comedy to
  win the Pulitzer Prize.

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Rhapsody in Blue

• In 1924, Gershwin created his first classical
  piece of music Rhapsody in Blue.
  
• This piece contains elements of jazz and
  classical music

• Written for solo piano and jazz band
• Very popular

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An American in Paris

• Symphonic composition
• Tone Poem George Gershwin spent time in Paris
  and this music evoked the sights that he saw
  while visiting France.
  
• Later, there was a movie based on the music,
  starring Gene Kelly.

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Porgy and Bess

• An opera written 1935
• Based on the novel Porgy by DuBose Hayward
• Set in South Carolina, the music was a
  combination of jazz and blues, influenced by
  black music, and including techniques from
  Western opera.

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George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937 from a
brain tumor. He was in the middle of working on
the Goldwyn Follies, which his brother finished
later.
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The End
Sources www.wikipedia.org www.gershwin.com