There is probably no composer whose music is so immediately identified as “American” in the concert hall as that of George Gershwin (1898–1937). He fused influences from various forms of American popular music, folklore, and traditional art music into a distinctive musical language, characterised by vigorous rhythmic vitality, harmonic allure, and melodic richness.
George Gershwin was born on 26 September 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were secularised Russian Jews who had emigrated from St Petersburg. Gershwin grew up in modest circumstances and endured a rough childhood and youth, spending more time on the streets than in school. He had little contact with music until his parents bought a piano. From 1912 onwards, Gershwin took piano lessons with a teacher who recognised his talent, introduced him to classical piano literature up to Debussy and Ravel, and ensured that Gershwin received theory instruction in his early twenties. Alongside his piano studies, Gershwin began working in May 1914 as a pianist for a publishing house in the so-called Tin Pan Alley, a stretch of Manhattan where companies in the New York entertainment music industry were concentrated. His tasks included playing songs from the publisher’s catalogue for prospective buyers. Shortly afterwards, Gershwin also began recording piano rolls for mechanical instruments. By 1927, he had recorded around 130 pieces in this way, many of them his own compositions.
The musically trivial output of Tin Pan Alley could not satisfy Gershwin’s artistic ambitions. Although he made valuable contacts there, such as with the siblings Adele and Fred Astaire, he saw his future in the musical theatres of Broadway. In 1917 he secured a position as a rehearsal pianist at a theatre, but soon made a name for himself as a songwriter. By 1919 Gershwin had staged his first complete musical. Shortly before that, he had achieved a phenomenal success with the song Swanee. Over time, two and a half million copies of the sheet music were sold, and by January 1920 the first recording of the song had been released.
The year 1924 was decisive for George Gershwin. In February, his Rhapsody in Blue was premiered at a concert intended to bring together jazz – then a catch-all term for popular music – and serious music, before an audience packed with prominent figures from the arts and entertainment. Composed under intense time pressure in just a few weeks, the piece was hailed as a sensation and immediately gained immense popularity. In December of the same year, the musical Lady, Be Good! was also received with rapturous success. It was the first full musical in which Gershwin collaborated with his brother Ira, who wrote the lyrics. In the years that followed, the two brothers created numerous further musicals, producing many songs that remain popular to this day, such as I Got Rhythm and ’S Wonderful.
Gershwin’s spectacular successes brought him unprecedented fame – he was the first composer to appear on the cover of Time magazine in 1925 – and considerable wealth. During his travels in Europe and America, he met many famous colleagues and maintained friendly relations with figures such as Arnold Schoenberg. In addition to his Broadway compositions, Gershwin continued along the path begun with Rhapsody in Blue, writing further works for the concert hall, including the Concerto in F for piano and orchestra and the orchestral piece An American in Paris. From 1930 onwards, he also composed several works for film. In 1934, after many unsuccessful attempts, Gershwin was finally able to embark on the composition of an opera, which he had long regarded as his true artistic goal. On 2 September 1935, Gershwin completed Porgy and Bess. The opera, which tells the story of a group of African Americans living in a poor settlement, is now considered a central work of American musical theatre. George Gershwin died suddenly on 11 July 1937.