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George Gershwin

George Gershwin. 20 Th Century Composer. George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898. He was the 2 nd son of four children in a Russian Immigrant family . He was named Jacob Gershowitz and later changed his name to George Gershwin. From the Beginning.

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George Gershwin

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  1. George Gershwin 20Th Century Composer

  2. George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898. He was the 2ndson of four children in a Russian Immigrant family . He was named Jacob Gershowitz and later changed his name to George Gershwin. From the Beginning

  3. George started his love for music at a young age of nine, when he heard a close friend play the violin. Hearing the violin, George wanted to play an instrument as well. At the age of 12, George’s mother bought a used piano for his brother Ira, but George showed more of an interest. Love for Music

  4. Two years later George began to take piano lessons from Charles Hamibitzer. Hambitzer was the greatest influence in George Gershwin’s life. Hambitzer showed Gershwin music from several different composers, as well as “Piano Literature”. He continued studying with famous teachers such as Henry Cowell, Wallingford Riegger, Edward Kilenyi, and Joseph Schillinger. Edward Kilenyi Henry Cowell Joseph Schillinger Influences Wallingford Riegger

  5. Gershwin dropped out of school at the age of fifteen, and took a job with Jerome H. Remick and Co. on Tin Pan Alley, as a song-plugger for $15 a week. While working at Tin Pan Alley, Gershwin was writing his own songs hoping someday he could sell his own work. In 1916 Gerswhin published his own song called, “When you get ‘Em, You can’t get ‘Em”. He only earned five dollars for the piece. Jerome H. Remick and Co. on Tin Pan Alley

  6. In 1917 at the age of nineteen, Gerswhin wrote and composed his first song “Swanee”, as a Tin Pan Alley Composer. This musical piece sold over one million copies of sheet music and two million records in its first year. “Swanee” was the biggest song of Gershwin’s career. His fame and fortune grew after composing this song. First Big Break

  7. In 1924 George joined his older brother Ira Gershwin in a musical comedy called, “Lady Be Good”. This started a long partnership of composing music for plays and Broadway musicals together. They wrote together for the rest of George Gershwin’s career. George and Ira Gershwin

  8. In 1924 George was asked to compose a jazz, combined with classical piece for a gentleman named Paul Whiteman. George forgot about the request until his brother Ira picked up the “New York Tribune”, where it stated that Gershwin would have a new composition in Whiteman’s program. Gershwin frantically wrote the music piece and had it complete in less than five weeks. The musical piece ended up being one of the most well-known musical pieces, “Rhapsody In Blue”. “Rhapsody In Blue”

  9. Listening Guide For “Rhapsody in Blue” • Rhapsody in Blue by: George Gershwin • 0:00 Composition starts with a solo fluttering clarinet piece. The sound makes an ascending high pitched sound, into an accompaniment with a bass drum, brass and string instruments. Sounds like the trumpet, trombone and tuba. The tempo is very slow. • 0:09 the clarinet starts into a tune that shows the listener the melody of the song. The brass instruments play a lot more. The brass instruments accompany the clarinet in playing to harmony of the song. • 0:17 the brass instruments start playing a different melody than the clarinet piece. The clarinet makes a flutter texture to make the piece feel a little more upbeat. The theme of the song is coming out of the piece of music. • 0:25 the brass instruments and clarinet switch off playing the melody. The brass instruments start sounding louder and sharper in sound. The woodwinds like flute and oboe accompany the brass and clarinet. • 0:37 the clarinet music descends into French horns and tubas playing a rhythm that is medium tempo. The dynamic of the musical piece is soft yet speeding up to a medium fast pace. While the bass drum keeps the bass of the music. • 0:45 the string instruments play ascending notes that lead to the high pitched clarinet solo for the duration of the piece until the clarinet is accompanied by the muted trumpet, brass instruments and bass drum. • 0:56 the piano comes in and is playing at a fast tempo while the brass and woodwinds hold a note for duration of 7 counts. The piano is playing an irregular rhythm than has already been played from the beginning of the song. • 1:03 the whole ensemble comes together to play at the same time. The music is at a moderate tempo. The dynamics are loud and steady. The brass and string instruments are leading the music with their duration of their solo.

  10. 1:11 the ensemble stops immediately and the piano start playing another solo. This time in a much slower, softer tone. The speed of the music is ascending and descending in different frames of the music. • 1:11-2:06 the piano has a solo. For the duration of almost a minute. The tempo exchanges back and forth to very soft and slow to loud and very fast. The music ascends and descends all over the place. The piano seems to have inconsistent tempo throughout the whole solo. You can hear the rhythm that was played at the beginning of the song, but changes so fast it feels like you are left behind wondering where the melody went. • 2:06 there is a quick sound of what sounds like a bass clarinet and string instruments. The bass clarinet and strings accompanies the piano for a short 4 count scene. Then the piano goes onto its solo piece. • 2:20 the bass clarinet fades in and out as the piano continues its solo. • 2:40 the piano is still on a solo. The music is very slow and soft. The music is ascending into a disjunct tempo. The range on this piano piece feels like it is all over the place. The theme of the music is heard every so often, but hasn’t had a lot of time to really show. • 2:52 the tempo of the piano piece turned into a vivace tempo. The sound is fast and steady. The tonality of the notes is skipping all around the keyboard. The harmony feels like there is dissonance at this point in the piece. • 3:20 Chorus. The whole ensemble joins the piano. It sounds like the brass, woodwinds, strings and percussion have joined together and now the music is loud and powerful. I am now picking up that the melody that is being played could be the chorus or the theme of the music. Every time there is an ensemble the same melody is played. • 3:29 the flute takes off with a high pitch, and is accompanied by a soft drum and brass instruments. The flute is playing at an allegro speed. • 3:32 the flute stops and the whole ensemble starts again. Playing the melody of the chorus. • 3:40 the piano and the woodwinds and strings start playing by themselves. The melody is a soft, sunny sound. This part of the music sounds like there could be something dreamy happening. The piano and the woodwinds switch off playing the range of the music. Both sections contour the melody. • 3:47 the brass instruments start up. The tuba, trombone start playing their melody. The drums and piano come in and it sounds like music from a saloon movie. The brass hold for a half note and then go to a quarter note. This continues for a few counts.

  11. 3:50 the piano plays a series of ascending chords accompanied by the brass instruments, mainly the trumpet. • 3:55 the trumpet starts in with the piano. The piano is playing a repeated descending meter. The trumpet is playing the same melody over and over. The piano is doing the same. • 4:24 the clarinet plays a high pitched sound that is accompanied by the brass and string instruments and also percussion. You can hear the symbols in the background getting more intense as the music goes into the clarinet playing the main theme of the music. • 4:39 Chorus. The whole ensemble comes together to play the chorus of the song. The music gets louder because of the percussion. The brass and string plays the main theme of the music. • 4:54 the flutes break off from the ensemble and do a solo with the percussion and piano. Then the ensemble comes back into playing together. The harmony is playing just partial notes of the chorus. • 5:07 the clarinet comes in and plays the same form as it did in the beginning of the song. The muted trumpet then comes in and plays a melody that has an adagio speed to it. The flute also helps the muted trumpet with the melody. It sounds like an old time show when something wrong just happened. • 5:27 the drums and brass use half notes to ascend into a piece where the woodwinds and piano play a melody that has an up beet and fast tempo. The tempo could be set up in compound division. • 5:43 as the drums and woodwind instruments are playing an upbeat fast tempo the trumpet and trombone play in the background a melody that is different from the rest of the instruments. • 6:00 Chorus. All instruments come together to play the theme of the music. The piano and bass is giving its own texture to the chorus this time around. • 6:30-7:34 the piano is playing another solo. Starts out with a melody that is high in pitch and fast, ending in a slow and low sound. Then the piano starts going up the keyboard. Hitting white and black keys as it ascends up the piano. Then when up in the higher notes plays the theme of the song. • 7:34 the brass and string instruments accompany the piano in its solo. The brass instruments play a simple melody while the piano continues to play the theme of the song. • 7:58 the brass instruments stop playing with the piano off and on throughout the rest of the piano solo.

  12. 8:36 the piano is still playing a solo that has several different textures to it. The piano plays from high to low notes. And has different melodies that it is playing. Sometimes you can hear the theme of the music. The piano is playing different divisions of notes throughout the whole solo. • 8:42 the clarinet or muted trumpet and bass drum accompany the piano in the rhythm of the musical piece. The piano is playing notes in a presto form and has a division of different notes being played. • 9:18 the piano plays a descending note combination that is in a fast pace that ends with a descending note combo that goes down the whole piano and ends on the lowest note. Then starts up again playing the theme of the song. • 9:44 piano starts playing the chorus of the music all by itself. The whole ensemble doesn’t seem to be joining the piano. • 10:24 the piano chorus begins to get louder and more intense. Still no instruments accompanying the piano. The piano starts to get louder and faster. Then immediately slows down playing a trill sound. • 11:06 the piano plays notes descending down the keys ending on the most deep, low notes on the piano. And then starts back up the keys to a medium sound of notes. The sound is lighter and softer. • 11:26 the strings start in with a soft sound. The trombone or tuba plays a couple note sounds in the background. While the percussion sounds like a triangle, give a little bit of texture to the soft spoken piece. • 12:06 the violin have a form that balances out the melody that is being played. It gives it a soft, nice sound. Accompanied by other strings and brass the music gives the listener a feel of love or romance. • 12:21 the strings, percussion, and brass come in softly to accompany the violin. The piano joins in with the song theme melody. • 12:36 Chorus. The whole ensemble joins in softly and slowly to accompany the rest of the instruments. The chorus seems to be slow this time. This music gives the listeners a feel that maybe two people are in love. • 12:55 the tempo changes. Very quiet and soft. This melody gives the listener a different feel. Maybe something is going wrong or the character is just thinking. The piano plays an irregular rhythm that feels like there are a lot of melody changes going on. • 13:16-13:47 the melody changes back into the love song sound. The piano, woodwinds and strings help make a soft romantic sound to the music.

  13. 13:47 the beat of the song changes. The tempo is more fast and upbeat. There are a lot of irregular rhythms going on. • 14:04 silence • 14:05 the piano plays a single note in a rhythm that is fast. The meter goes on for 2 counts and then the music falls silent again. The music starts up again with a different note going as fast as the note before. Silence. • 14:09 the piano starts playing again in a series of notes that sound arrhythmic. And goes on like this for several seconds. There are different notes on the piano being played in this piece. • 14:36 the piano starts playing the theme into the mix of its solo piece. Then goes back to playing the random melody it started to play before. • 14:56 the piano is still playing its crazy piece. The brass instruments show their faces in bits of the section. Playing a melody that helps the piano piece. The rest of the ensemble plays quietly in the background, while the piano does its thing. • 15:12 Chorus. The whole band starts in to play the chorus with the brass instruments much louder than the rest of the ensemble. The melody of this chorus is different than the rest of them. You can still here the theme of the song, but it is played much differently. • 15:48 the music is ascending into the melody that we have heard as the chorus of the song. • 15:56 the ending of the song ends with the theme of the song. All of the instruments are playing. The piano leads the song into the ending. The music gradually slows down. • 16:31 the music becomes louder and stronger with the whole band playing. The music is getting ready to come to an end. Playing the theme of the song slow and steady. The piano takes one last solo before the song comes to a descending end.

  14. In 1925 Gershwin was the first composer to appear on the cover of Time Magazine.

  15. “Porgy and Bess” 1935 “Shall We Dance” 1937 The show ended after the 124th performance. The Great Depression hit and the show had to close. This film stared Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Fred was still working on the sequel to this show, when his life came to a sudden end. Other Best-Know Works

  16. Early in 1937, Gershwin experienced headaches and dizziness. His Headaches became so severe that they sent him into a coma. The doctors then found out that he had a brain tumor. He passed away on July 11, 1937 during surgery to remove the brain tumor. He was only 38. The End of a Legend

  17. The short life of George Gershwin was devastating to everyone. He had so much talent, and it was gone in an instant. From a young age, people saw that he was a prodigy. When his mother bought that old piano at the age of 12, Gershwin was destined to change the world. He was notorious for his talent. From his first musical “Swanee”, it put him on the radar for success throughout his life. He has composed music for Orchestras, Solo Piano, Operas, London Musicals, and Broadway Musicals. We may not realize it, but Gershwin’s music is heard everywhere still today.

  18. Work Cited Classical Music Source. Classical Net, n.d. Web. 15 Feb 2013. <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/articles/gershwin/biography.php>. (Erb) "Composer of some of the most beloved concert works Of the 20th century, along with dozens of familiar jazz standards. ." sfcv.org. sfcv.org. Web. 15 Feb 2013. <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/articles/gershwin/biography.php>. Sfcv.org Edward Kilenyi. N.d.Perennialist Art, Psychic Upheaval and EpiphanyWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://www.hermes-press.com/perennialist_art.htm>. George Gershwin . 2013. www.time.comWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19250720,00.html>. "George Gershwin. Biography synopsis." Bio. True Story. The Biography Channel Website. Web. 15 Feb 2013. <http://www.biography.com/print/profile/george-gershwin-9309643>. ("Bio. True Story") "George Gershwin." Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary Composer Biographies. Virginia Tech. Web. 15 Feb 2013. <http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/appendix/composers/G/GeorgeGershwin.html>. ("Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary Composer Biographies ") Parisi, Brandi. "Who Could Ask for Anything More? A Century of George Gershwin “Minnesota Public Radio 2005, n.d. Web. 19 Feb 2013. <http://music.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/9809_gershwin/>. (Parisi) If Only Everythin in Life was as Reliable as Last.fm . 2013. www.lastfm.comWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://www.last.fm/music/George Gershwin/ images/17832131>.

  19. Joseph Schillinger with a Rhythmicion 193?. 2013. aaa.si.eduWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/images/detail/joseph- schillinger- rhythmicon-8363>. Movie Goods- Porgy and Bess (Broadway) . 2013. www.moviegoods.comWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product_static.asp? Nonesuch- George and Ira Gershwin, Lady be Good. 2008. www.nonesuch.comWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/lady-be-good>. Rhapsody In Blue. 2013. The Trustees of Indiana University, Bloomington . Web. 15 Mar 2013. <http://indianapublicmedia.org/ethergame/jazz-influences-3/>. Rhapsody in Blue", by George Gershwin, performed for the first time." History.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC. , n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2013. <http://www.history.com/this-day in- history/rhapsody-in-blue-by-George-Gershwin- "Shall We Dance" (Film). 2013. wikipedia.comWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shall_We_Dance_(1937_film)>. “Swanee”. 2013. wikipedia.comWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swanee_(song)>. Thirteen, . "American Masters." PBS. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 07 Jun 2006. Web. 19 Feb 2013. Thirteen Tin Pan Alley . 2013. Wikipedia.comWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_Pan_Alley>. Unraveling the life of Henry Cowell without unraveling the biographer. 2012. blog.oup.comWeb. 15 Mar 2013. <http://blog.oup.com/2012/09/unravelling-the-life-of-henry-cowell-without-unravelling-the- biographer/>. Wallingford Rigger. 2010. G. Shirmer, Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, Inc. Web. 15 Mar 2013

  20. Wallingford Rigger. 2010. G. Shirmer, Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, Inc Web. 15 Mar 2013

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