{"id":2996,"date":"2015-09-01T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T15:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pianonotes.wpengine.com\/?p=2996"},"modified":"2016-06-27T10:22:15","modified_gmt":"2016-06-27T16:22:15","slug":"composers-corner-george-gershwin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/","title":{"rendered":"Composer’s Corner: George Gershwin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GEORGE<\/a>George Gershwin was one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, known for popular stage and screen numbers as well as classical compositions.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Synopsis<\/h2>\n

Born on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, George Gershwin dropped out of school and began playing piano professionally at age 15. Within a few years, he was one of the most sought after musicians in America. A composer of jazz, opera and popular songs for stage and screen, many of his works are now standards. Gershwin died immediately following brain surgery on July 11, 1937, at the age 38.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Early life<\/h2>\n

George Gershwin was born Jacob Gershowitz on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, George began his foray into music at age 11 when his family bought a secondhand piano for George\u2019s older sibling, Ira.<\/p>\n

A natural talent, it was George who took it up and eventually sought out mentors who could enhance his abilities. He eventually began studying with the noted piano teacher Charles Hambitzer, and apparently impressed him; in a letter to his sister, Hambitzer wrote, \u201cI have a new pupil who will make his mark if anybody will. The boy is a genius.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout his 23-year career, Gerswhin would continually seek to expand the breadth of his influences, studying under an incredibly disparate array of teachers, including Henry Cowell, Wallingford Riegger, Edward Kilenyi and Joseph Schillinger.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Early Career<\/h2>\n

After dropping out of school at age 15, Gershwin played in several New York nightclubs and began his stint as a \u201csong-plugger\u201d in New York\u2019s Tin Pan Alley.<\/p>\n

After three years of pounding out tunes on the piano for demanding customers, he had transformed into a highly skilled and dexterous composer. To earn extra cash, he also worked as a rehearsal pianist for Broadway singers. In 1916, he composed his first published song, \u201cWhen You Want ‘Em, You Can’t Get ‘Em; When You Have ‘Em, You Don’t Want ‘Em.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Successes<\/h2>\n

From 1920 to 1924, Gershwin composed for an annual production put on by George White. After a show titled \u201cBlue Monday,\u201d the bandleader in the pit, Paul Whiteman, asked Gershwin to create a jazz number that would heighten the genre\u2019s respectability.<\/p>\n

Legend has it that Gershwin forgot about the request until he read a newspaper article announcing the fact that Whiteman\u2019s latest concert would feature a new Gershwin composition. Writing at a manic pace in order to meet the deadline, Gershwin composed what is perhaps his best-known work, \u201cRhapsody in Blue.\u201d<\/p>\n

During this time, and in the years that followed, Gershwin wrote numerous songs for stage and screen that quickly became standards, including \u201cOh, Lady Be Good!\u201d \u201cSomeone to Watch over Me,\u201d \u201cStrike Up the Band,\u201d \u201cEmbraceable You,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s Call the Whole Thing Off\u201d and \u201cThey Can\u2019t Take That Away from Me.\u201d His lyricist for nearly all of these tunes was his older brother, Ira, whose witty lyrics and inventive wordplay received nearly as much acclaim as George\u2019s compositions.<\/p>\n

In 1935, a decade after composing \u201cRhapsody in Blue,\u201d Gershwin debuted his most ambitious composition, \u201cPorgy and Bess.\u201d The composition, which was based on the novel \u201cPorgy\u201d by Dubose Heyward, drew from both popular and classical influences. Gershwin called it his \u201cfolk opera,\u201d and it is considered to not only be Gershwin\u2019s most complex and best-known works, but also among the most important American musical compositions of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Following his success with \u201cPorgy and Bess,\u201d Gershwin moved to Hollywood and was hired to compose the music for a film titled \u201cShall We Dance,\u201d starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was while working on a follow-up film with Astaire that Gershwin\u2019s life would come to an abrupt end.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Untimely death<\/h2>\n

In the beginning of 1937, Gershwin began to experience troubling symptoms such as severe headaches and noticing strange smells.<\/p>\n

Doctors would eventually discover that he had developed a malignant brain tumor. On July 11, 1937, Gershwin died during surgery to remove the tumor. He was only 38.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

George Gershwin was one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, known for popular stage and screen numbers as well as classical compositions. Synopsis Born on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, George Gershwin dropped out of school and began playing piano professionally at age 15. Within a few years, he was one of the most sought after musicians in America. A composer of jazz, opera […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-composers-corner"],"yoast_head":"\nComposer's Corner: George Gershwin - PianoNotes Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Composer's Corner: George Gershwin - PianoNotes Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"George Gershwin was one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, known for popular stage and screen numbers as well as classical compositions. Synopsis Born on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, George Gershwin dropped out of school and began playing piano professionally at age 15. Within a few years, he was one of the most sought after musicians in America. A composer of jazz, opera […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PianoNotes Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/midamericapiano\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-01T15:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-06-27T16:22:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mid-America Piano\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mid-America Piano\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mid-America Piano\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0e840f0572967401204cf173c1716791\"},\"headline\":\"Composer’s Corner: George Gershwin\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-01T15:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-06-27T16:22:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/\"},\"wordCount\":659,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\",\"Composer's Corner\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/\",\"name\":\"Composer's Corner: George Gershwin - PianoNotes Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-01T15:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-06-27T16:22:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0e840f0572967401204cf173c1716791\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg\",\"width\":\"1800\",\"height\":\"900\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/category\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Composer's Corner\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/category\/articles\/composers-corner\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Composer’s Corner: George Gershwin\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/\",\"name\":\"PianoNotes Online\",\"description\":\"Mid-America Piano offers quality pre-owned pianos by Steinway & Sons, Yamaha, Mason & Hamlin, Wurlitzer, Boston, Baldwin, Seiler, Knabe, Bechstein, Story & Clark, Kimball & more. Nationwide Delivery available and financing offered. All pre-owned pianos have 1-year warranty. Friendly Service. Call 800-950-3774 to check current inventory or browse online www.piano4u.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0e840f0572967401204cf173c1716791\",\"name\":\"Mid-America Piano\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d2b08b2c8c6c0e22f2e74c5505d854ab730f948c407e9d33008977434df578b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d2b08b2c8c6c0e22f2e74c5505d854ab730f948c407e9d33008977434df578b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d2b08b2c8c6c0e22f2e74c5505d854ab730f948c407e9d33008977434df578b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mid-America Piano\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.piano4u.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/midamericapiano\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/MidamericaPiano\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/author\/mid-america-piano\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Composer's Corner: George Gershwin - PianoNotes Online","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Composer's Corner: George Gershwin - PianoNotes Online","og_description":"George Gershwin was one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, known for popular stage and screen numbers as well as classical compositions. Synopsis Born on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, George Gershwin dropped out of school and began playing piano professionally at age 15. Within a few years, he was one of the most sought after musicians in America. A composer of jazz, opera […]","og_url":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/","og_site_name":"PianoNotes Online","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/midamericapiano\/","article_published_time":"2015-09-01T15:00:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-06-27T16:22:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1800,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mid-America Piano","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mid-America Piano","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/"},"author":{"name":"Mid-America Piano","@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0e840f0572967401204cf173c1716791"},"headline":"Composer’s Corner: George Gershwin","datePublished":"2015-09-01T15:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2016-06-27T16:22:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/"},"wordCount":659,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg","articleSection":["Articles","Composer's Corner"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/","url":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/","name":"Composer's Corner: George Gershwin - PianoNotes Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg","datePublished":"2015-09-01T15:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2016-06-27T16:22:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0e840f0572967401204cf173c1716791"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Untitled-1.jpg","width":"1800","height":"900"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/composers-corner-george-gershwin\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/category\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Composer's Corner","item":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/category\/articles\/composers-corner\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Composer’s Corner: George Gershwin"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/","name":"PianoNotes Online","description":"Mid-America Piano offers quality pre-owned pianos by Steinway & Sons, Yamaha, Mason & Hamlin, Wurlitzer, Boston, Baldwin, Seiler, Knabe, Bechstein, Story & Clark, Kimball & more. Nationwide Delivery available and financing offered. All pre-owned pianos have 1-year warranty. Friendly Service. Call 800-950-3774 to check current inventory or browse online www.piano4u.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0e840f0572967401204cf173c1716791","name":"Mid-America Piano","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d2b08b2c8c6c0e22f2e74c5505d854ab730f948c407e9d33008977434df578b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d2b08b2c8c6c0e22f2e74c5505d854ab730f948c407e9d33008977434df578b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d2b08b2c8c6c0e22f2e74c5505d854ab730f948c407e9d33008977434df578b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mid-America Piano"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.piano4u.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/midamericapiano\/","https:\/\/x.com\/MidamericaPiano"],"url":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/author\/mid-america-piano\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pianonotes.piano4u.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}