Will Zeng
15 October 2016
Professor Hoffman
IDC 1001H
Synopsis
George Gershwin is one of the preeminent composers of the 20th century. He is known both for his popular musical and theatrical compositions.
Brief History
Gershwin was born as Jacob Gershowitz on September 26th, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. He was one of four siblings.
Gershwin was given a piano at the age of 11 and was a natural prodigy. He dropped out of school at the age of 15 to pursue his talents. Gershwin began his career as a song plugger in NYC’s Tin Pan Alley. The Tin Pan Alley was a nickname given to 28th street between sixth and Broadway where many songwriters and music publishers were located in the late 19th century all up to the mid 20th. A song plugger was a singer or pianist who played pieces of music in areas like department stores back before quality recorded music was developed. It was a very demanding and high-stress job. He spent three years doing this, playing a variety of music to demanding customers, Gershwin became very experienced and dexterous with the piano.
Gershwin soon began writing his own music. His first song was titled “When you want ‘em, you can’t get ‘em.” The piece was innovative for its time but only earned Gershwin $5. Over the next four years, from 1920 to 1924, Gershwin went on to produce music for notable Broadway musicals such as “La, La Lucile.” In these four years, Gershwin wrote 45 songs and produced one 25-minute opera called “Blue Monday.” In 1923, when Gershwin was just 25, his jazz-inspired “Rhapsody in Blue” premiered in the Aeolian concert hall during a concert called “An Experiment in Music.” Rhapsody in Blue was a risky experiment. Gershwin followed up with hits like “Piano Concerto in F” and “An American in Paris.” Some critics of that time were unsure where to place Gershwin’s novel compositions. After all, he pioneered the fusion of the up and coming genre of jazz with the established genre of classical music. Those critics hated Gershwin’s work yet the people loved it.
Later in 1930, Gershwin produced many opera and theatre productions, many of which dealt with the social issues of the time. His most remembered opera, “Porgy and Bess,” opened in 1935 only to mild success. It’s now one of the classic operas.
Gershwin died after a failed surgery to remove a brain tumor. He was 38 years old.
Gershwin: An Analysis with a Focus On Rhapsody in Blue
So why was Gershwin such a pioneer or more precisely why did let himself be associated with jazz, at a time when it was derogatively referred to as “sex music.” Upper-class men and women sneered at Jazz music because it was commonly associated with African American and Jazz flouted all established rules of classical music.
Through my research, I could not find an article that answered my question. However, I wish to propose my own theory based on my research. Gershwin’s career as a song plugger introduced him to a diverse set of music. And because of this, he saw the beauty of Jazz and saw what it represented, but also Gershwin had a foot in classical music and understood what that also represented. He realized that though classical music and Jazz have their differences, they also have their similarities and fit together like puzzle pieces to create a beautiful work of art. And that was what Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is.
A discussion on Gershwin, of course, isn’t complete without a full breakdown of his most well-known composition “Rhapsody in Blue.” As a child, my most fond memory of this song was in Disney’s Fantasia 2000. In this, “Rhapsody in Blue plays in the background of the Great Depression. It’s amazing how well it jives with this era even though Gershwin composed it in 1925. Perhaps because Gershwin came from humble origins. He was raised in Brooklyn New York and build himself up with his own hard work and talent. “Rhapsody in Blue almost speaks about the trials a trepidation of trying not only to survive in 20th century New York but also to thrive in it. The characters in Fantasia’s Rhapsody in Blue live a hard life but strive and truly believe that they can achieve happiness and that is the American dream.
Gershwin primarily focuses on portraying New York in its entirety. But how, you might ask, how does someone portray character with music? It is difficult but it can be done through the emotion poured into the music score and this is a testament to how much of a genius Gershwin was. First, as I said previously, Gershwin embraced Jazz in all its form, even though it was looked down upon because it was seen as “Black” and vulgar music. Gershwin, however, understood the cosmopolitan and global nature of New York, how she accepted all peoples into her arms. Fantasia also did this justice. It showed the lives of an African-American construction worker striving to become a Jazz musician, a businessman down on his luck without even enough money to pay for coffee, and the life of an endearing upper class girl, almost as if to exclaim that both these people, the poor Black worker, the poor businessman, and the wealthy little girl all contributed to what New York is. Not just one of them but all, he suggests that all lives are important and perhaps equal. Gershwin’s sentiment was lightyears before his time.
Bibliography
“George Gershwin: American Composer.” Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d., https://www.britannica .com/biography/George-Gershwin. Accessed 15 Oct 2016.
“George Gershwin Biography.” Biography,14 May 2014, http://www.biography.com/people/ george-gershwin-9309643#untimely-death. Accessed 15 Oct. 2016.
“GEORGE GERSHWIN, COMPOSER, IS DEAD; Master of Jazz Succumbs in Hollywood at 38 After Operation for Brain Tumor.” NYTimes, 12 July 1937, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/ abstract.html?res=9805E6D61F3AE23ABC4A52DFB166838C629EDE&legacy=true. Accessed 15 Oct. 2016.
“George Gershwin Remembered: About the Composer.” PBS, 2 June 2006, http://www.pbs.org/ wnet/americanmasters/george-gershwin-about-the-composer/65/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2016.
“Tin Pan Alley: 1880-1953.” Songwriters Hall of Fame, n.d., http://www.songwritershalloffame. org/exhibits/eras/C1002. Accessed 15 Oct 2016.
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