Works/Mp3 Biography Links Books Worklist | Books aboutGeorge Gershwin26 sep 1898 (Brooklin) - 11 jul 1937 (Hollywood) |
Walter Rimler George Gershwin: An Intimate Portrait (Music in American Life) University of Illinois Press, 2009-07-21; ISBN 0252034449; 240 pages <p class="Description">George Gershwin lived with purpose and gusto, but with melancholy as well, for he was unable to make a place for himself--no family of his own and no real home in music. <p class="Description"> <p class="Description">He and his siblings received little love from their mother and no direction from their father. Older brother and lyricist Ira managed to create a home when he married Leonore Strunsky, a hard-edged woman who lived for wealth and status. The closest George came to domesticity was through his longtime relationship with Kay Swift. She was his lover, musical confidante, and fellow composer. But she remained married to another man while he went endlessly from woman to woman. Only in the final hours of his life, when they were separated by a continent, did he realize how much he needed her. Fatally ill, unprotected by (and perhaps estranged from) Ira, he was exiled by Leonore from the house she and the brothers shared, and he died horribly and alone at the age of thirty-eight. <p class="Description"> <p class="Description">Nor was Gershwin able to find a satisfying musical harbor. For years his songwriting genius could be expressed only in the ephemeral world of show business, as his brilliance as a composer of large-scale works went unrecognized by highbrow music critics. When he resolved this quandary with his opera <u>Porgy and Bess,</u> the critics were unable to understand or validate it. Decades would pass before this, his most ambitious composition, was universally regarded as one of music’s lasting treasures and before his stature as a great composer became secure. <p class="Description"> <p class="Description">In <u>George Gershwin: An Intimate Portrait,</u> Walter Rimler makes use of fresh sources, including newly discovered letters by Kay Swift as well as correspondence between and interviews with intimates of Ira and Leonore Gershwin. It is written with spirited prose and contains more than two dozen photographs. Price indication: $ 18.78 |
Jim Whiting The Life and Times of George Gershwin (Masters of Music) Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2004; ISBN 1584152796; 48 pages George Gershwin couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble when he was a boy. He was a tough kid who got in a lot of fights and frequently skipped school. When his family bought a piano, his life was transformed. He quickly mastered it, and then dropped out of school when he was fifteen to become a musician. Within a year, he had sold his first song. When he was 20, he wrote his first big hit. Five years after that, Rhapsody in Blue catapulted him to international fame. With his brother Ira as lyricist, he went on to compose some of the most famous musicals of the twentieth century and also wrote several movie scores. But he died tragically when he was only 38. Price indication: $ 12.97 |
Edward Jablonski and George Gershwin Gershwin Remembered Amadeus Press, 2003; ISBN 0931340438; 192 pages The life and work of Gershwin recalled by friends, colleagues, associates, and pupils, including Koussevitsky, Schoenberg, Richard Rodgers, and his brother Ira. Price indication: $ 24.95 |
Merle Armitage George Gershwin Da Capo Pr, 1995; ISBN 0306806150; 261 pages Shortly after George Gershwin's premature death in 1937, Merle Armitage invited Gershwin's friends and associates to contribute memories and tributes for this volume, which was first published in 1938. In these 38 articles, a range of interests are covered, comprising a portrait of a musician who exerted a huge influence on his era. Here Ira Gershwin reminisces about his brother's childhood and career; Paul Whiteman traces the history of "Rhapsody in Blue"; DuBose Hayward and Rouben Mamoulian discuss the genesis of "Porgy and Bess"; J. Rosamond Johnson examines Gershwin's African-American influences; Arnold Schoenberg discusses Gershwin the musical innovator; Harold Arlen attests to Gershwin's kindness to his fellow composers; George Gershwin summarises his approach to modern music; Oscar Hammerstein II, Isamu Noguchi, Rudy Vallee, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, and many others contribute recollections, observations and thanks. This volume also includes 16 of Gershwin's own paintings, along with many other artworks and photographs. This book provides insights into Gershwin the man and the composer. Price indication: $ 29.49 |
Howard Pollack George Gershwin: His Life and Work University of California Press, 2007-01-15; ISBN 0520248643; 884 pages This comprehensive biography of George Gershwin (1898-1937) unravels the myths surrounding one of America's most celebrated composers and establishes the enduring value of his music. Gershwin created some of the most beloved music of the twentieth century and, along with Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, and Cole Porter, helped make the golden age of Broadway golden. Howard Pollack draws from a wealth of sketches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, books, articles, recordings, films, and other materials--including a large cache of Gershwin scores discovered in a Warner Brothers warehouse in 1982--to create an expansive chronicle of Gershwin's meteoric rise to fame. He also traces Gershwin's powerful presence that, even today, extends from Broadway, jazz clubs, and film scores to symphony halls and opera houses. Pollack's lively narrative describes Gershwin's family, childhood, and education; his early career as a pianist; his friendships and romantic life; his relation to various musical trends; his writings on music; his working methods; and his tragic death at the age of 38. Unlike Kern, Berlin, and Porter, who mostly worked within the confines of Broadway and Hollywood, Gershwin actively sought to cross the boundaries between high and low, and wrote works that crossed over into a realm where art music, jazz, and Broadway met and merged. The author surveys Gershwin's entire oeuvre, from his first surviving compositions to the melodies that his brother and principal collaborator, Ira Gershwin, lyricized after his death. Pollack concludes with an exploration of the performances and critical reception of Gershwin's music over the years, from his time to ours. Price indication: $ 26.37 |
Mike Venezia George Gershwin (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers) Children's Press (CT), 1995; ISBN 0516445367; 32 pages This book features the world famous composer Gershwin. Venezia's mixture of photos and his own illustrations provides the reader with factual biographical information about Gershwin, along with the forces that inspired his music. Price indication: $ 6.95 |
Isaac Goldberg and George Gershwin Tin Pan Alley a Chronicle of the American Popular Music Racket Kessinger Publishing, 2005; ISBN 1417904534; 376 pages 1930. A graduate of Harvard, Goldberg has been a magazine and newspaper editor and a lecturer on music and belles-lettres. He is addicted to radio, talkies, musical comedies, puns, toys of every description and head-splitting volumes of esthetics. He was rocked to sleep with the melodies of Gilbert and Sullivan and is generally accepted as the outstanding Savoyard authority. Here he applies his expertise to giving the reader a history of the origin and business of Tin Pan Alley. Price indication: $ 21.39 |
Gregory R. Suriano and Marvin Hamlisch Gershwin in His Time: A Biographical Scrapbook, 1919-1937 Diane Pub Co, 1998-04; ISBN 075675660X; 140 pages Price indication: $ 25.00 |
Robert Wyatt and John Andrew Johnson The George Gershwin Reader (Readers on American Musicians) Oxford University Press, USA, 2007-05-25; ISBN 019532711X; 368 pages George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was both a brilliant writer of popular songs and of more serious music. Here, music lovers are treated to a spectacular celebration of this great American composer. The Reader offers a kaleidoscopic collection of writings by Gershwin, as well as those about Gershwin, written by a who's who of famous commentators. More than eighty pieces of superb variety, color, and depth include the critical debate over Gershwin's concert pieces, especially "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris." There is a complete section devoted to the controversies over "Porgy and Bess," including correspondence between Gershwin and DuBose Hayward, the opera's librettist, plus unique interviews with the original Porgy and Bess--Todd Duncan and Anne Brown. Sprinkled throughout the book are excerpts from Gershwin's own letters, which offer unique insight into this fascinating and charming man. Along with a detailed chronology of the composer's life, the editors provide informative introductions to each entry. Here is a book for anyone interested in American music. Scholars, performers, and Gershwin's legions of fans will find it an irresistible feast. Price indication: $ 4.33 |
Deena Ruth Rosenberg Fascinating Rhythm : The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin University of Michigan Press, 1998; ISBN 0472084690; 560 pages The 100th birthdays of George and Ira Gershwin (in 1898 and 1896, respectively) are being celebrated around the world. The centennials are the perfect occasion to reflect on the brothers' rich legacy to American theater music. "The Man I Love," "Fascinating Rhythm," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "A Foggy Day"--together they wrote 700 songs and dozens of shows that defined an age and revolutionized the musical theater. Essential to any consideration of their achievement is Deena Rosenberg's Fascinating Rhythm , the only book to closely examine the brothers'extraordinary collaboration. First published in 1991, this pioneering work--which grew out of extensive interviews with Ira Gershwin and draws on much unpublished material from his archives--provides an interpretation and critical history of the Gershwin opus. Focusing on the major songs and shows and on the creative process that produced them, Rosenberg traces the development of the Gershwins' vocabulary, voice, subject, and viewpoint as they evolved from song to song. She illuminates how words and music work together in each song to create a small one-act play that encompasses a satisfying emotional and dramatic action. Rosenberg also expertly places the Gershwins in their creative and social context, highlighting their innovations, their own growth as mature artists, and their relationship to their times. And she outlines Ira's productive career following the untimely death of his brother in 1937. Filled with musical examples, Iyrics, and photographs, this rich portrait will fascinate any musical theater lover. "Packed with terrific insights that will delight those who care about this music." -- New York Times Book Review Deena Rosenberg is the founding chair of the Musical Theatre Program, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. A cultural and music historian, she is coauthor of The Music Makers and has written for the New York Times , the Washington Post , the Chicago Tribune , the Los Angeles Times , High Fidelity , and other publications. Price indication: $ 16.47 |
David Schiff and Julian Rushton Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Cambridge Music Handbooks) Cambridge University Press, 1997; ISBN 0521559537; 136 pages The Rhapsody in Blue (1924) established Gershwin's reputation as a serious composer and has since become one of the most popular of all American concert works. In this richly informative guide David Schiff considers the piece as musical work, historical event and cultural document. He traces the history of the Rhapsody's composition, performance and reception, placing it within the context of American popular song and jazz and the development of modernism. He also provides a full account of the different published and recorded versions of the work and explores the many stylistic sources of Gershwin's music. Price indication: $ 21.99 |
George Gershwin The Annotated Rhapsody in Blue Warner Brothers Publications, 1996; ISBN 1576237028; 56 pages THE ANNOTATED RHAPSODY IN BLUE has been restored to Gershwin's original Manuscript by the talented Alicia Zizzo. This special edition includes the addendum to the two piano, four hands edition and the fully restored piano manuscript. Price indication: $ 25.00 |
John Andrew Johnson and Robert Wyatt The George Gershwin Reader (Readers on American Musicians) Oxford University Press, 2003; ISBN 0195130197; 368 pages George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was both a brilliant writer of popular songs ("Swanee," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away From Me") and of more serious music, including "Rhapsody in Blue," "An American in Paris," and "Porgy and Bess." Now, in The George Gershwin Reader, music lovers are treated to a spectacular celebration of this great American composer. The Reader offers a kaleidoscopic collection of writings by and about Gershwin, including more than eighty pieces of superb variety, color, and depth. There is a who's who of famous commentators: bandleader Paul Whiteman; critics Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and Brooks Atkinson; fellow musicians Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Alec Wilder (who analyzes the songs "That Certain Feeling" and "A Foggy Day"), Leonard Bernstein, and the formidable modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg (who was Gershwin's tennis partner in Hollywood). Some of the most fascinating and important writings here deal with the critical debate over Gershwin's concert pieces, especially "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris," and there is a complete section devoted to the controversies over "Porgy and Bess," including correspondence between Gershwin and DuBose Hayward, the opera's librettist (a series of excerpts which illuminate the creative process), plus unique interviews with the original Porgy and Bess--Todd Duncan and Anne Brown. Sprinkled throughout the book are excerpts from Gershwin's own letters, which offer unique insight into this fascinating and charming man. Along with a detailed chronology of the composer's life, the editors provide informative introductions to each entry. Here then is a book for anyone interested in American music. Scholars, performers, and Gershwin's legions of fans will find it an irresistible feast. Price indication: $ 23.80 |
William G. Hyland George Gershwin: A New Biography Praeger, 2008-10-30; ISBN 0313361509; 312 pages Hyland reveals both the man and his creations, revealing how Gershwin became the first composer to apply popular music to classical forms, how his work reflected the turmoil of America in the Jazz Age, and how, despite his fame, he never achieved the happiness and contentment a genius of his stature deserved. This is a fascinating new biography that no Gershwin fan—and no music fan—should be without. George Gershwin pioneered the crossover from Broadway musicals to concert audiences, culminating in what is arguably America's greatest opera, Porgy and Bess . In William G. Hyland's new biography, Gershwin's personality and music are reexamined. Hyland illustrates how the composer's craftsmanship was criticized and his music was relegated to the status of lowbrow for decades, until the relatively recent appreciation of his achievements. Yet for all of his artistic brilliance, Gershwin was vulnerable and discontented in his personal life. Hyland reveals both the man and his creations, revealing how Gershwin became the first composer to apply popular music to classical forms, how his work reflected the turmoil of America in the Jazz Age, and how, despite his fame, he never achieved the happiness and contentment a genius of his stature deserved. This is a fascinating new biography that no Gershwin fan—and no music fan—should be without. Price indication: $ 25.00 |
HOLLIS ALPERT Life And Times Of Porgy And Bess, The : The Story of an American Classic Knopf, 1990; ISBN 0394583396; 354 pages Price indication: $ 35.00 |
William G. Hyland George Gershwin : A New Biography Praeger Publishers, 2003; ISBN 0275981118; 312 pages Hyland reveals both the man and his creations, revealing how Gershwin became the first composer to apply popular music to classical forms, how his work reflected the turmoil of America in the Jazz Age, and how, despite his fame, he never achieved the happiness and contentment a genius of his stature deserved. This is a fascinating new biography that no Gershwin fan--and no music fan--should be without. Price indication: $ 41.95 |
Edward Jablonski and Lawrence D. Stewart and Carl Van Vechten The Gershwin Years - George and Ira Da Capo Press, 1996; ISBN 0306807394; 400 pages Both the definitive biography of the Gershwin brothers and a lavishly illustrated chronicle of the American era their music and lyrics embodied, The Gershwin Years celebrates the musical achievements of George (1898–1937) and Ira (1896–1983) while offering a revealing inside look at their lives. The brothers drew inspiration from its varied faces—black culture from Porgie and Bess, the frantic sophistication of the 1920s for such musical comedies as Funny Face and Girl Crazy, the tumult of American politics for the satirical Of Thee I Sing. From George's Tin Pan Alley days as a song plugger and Ira's first attempts at lyric writing to their conquest of Broadway and Hollywood, from their collaborations and George's solo compositions ( Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F, and An American in Paris ) to George’s death from a brain tumor and Ira's later work with Kern, Weill, and Arlen, The Gershwin Years presents an authoritative, visually stunning, and altogether delightful account of the "Wright Brothers" of American music. Price indication: $ 20.00 |
George] Peyser, Joan [Gershwin The Memory of All That: The Life of George Gershwin Simon & Schuster, 1993 Price indication: $ 37.50 |
Walter Rimler A Gershwin Companion: A Critical Inventory and Discography, 1916-1984 (Pci Collector Editions) Popular Culture Ink, 1991; ISBN 1560750197; 512 pages Price indication: $ 55.00 |
Ean Wood George Gershwin -- His Life & Music Sanctuary Publishing, Ltd., 1998; ISBN 1860741746; 268 pages The story of arguable America's most famous composer. Price indication: $ 4.75 |
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