The Great George Gershwin

Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1898 and died in Hollywood, California in 1937. His Jewish family migrated from Russia and settled in the United States around 1893.

Early piano lessons came to Gershwin from Charles Hambitzer (1913), while Edward Kilenyi gave George harmony and theory tutoring. He wrote La La Lucille, his first musical for Broadway in the year 1919. Swanee was his first huge hit song.

1924 marked the birth of Rhapsody in Blue (for piano and orchestra) and cemented Gershwin’s gift for incorporating jazz into concert works. These larger concert works, along with songs, musicals and film scores were all part of Gershwin’s composition repertoire. As for lyrics, they were often created by his elder brother, Ira.

An Amazing Gershwin Fact

Gershwin was one of the most melodically gifted composers of all time, yet he always trying to improve himself as a composer. He constantly strived to learn, taking lessons from the likes of Henry Cowell and Joseph Schillinger.

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