George Gershwin: an American rhapsody

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 1998 by Edward Oxford

American music had found a remarkable new composer. Gershwin had brought jazz into the concert hall. In time, "Rhapsody in Blue" would become one of the most frequently performed concert works by an American composer.

The scintillating "Lady, Be Good!" added further luster to that year, the first of Gershwin's shows for which brother Ira wrote all the lyrics. Its "Fascinating Rhythm" formed a blazing backdrop for the dancing of Fred and Adele Astaire. The high-powered show, using melodies and rhythms based on jazz, pointed the way toward a hard-edged future for the American musical.

In "Oh, Kay!," a frothy tale of bootleggers that opened in 1926, George and Ira Gershwin created a score one critic called "a marvel of its kind." "Funny Face," featuring the Astaires, had a 244-performance run the following year. During the show's out-of-town run, George lost two tune books containing 40 song-roughs. He told Ira not to fret, confidently reassuring him that "There are more where they came from."

Master of improvisation

A study in the unexpected, even Gershwin didn't know what would happen at the keyboard. Composer Vernon Duke remembered his "racing through new tunes, adding new tricks, harmonies, changing keys after every chord. A born improviser." One friend said that "George got most of his ideas just by playing." Another observed, "George at the piano was George happy."

By the late 1920s, Gershwin was recognized as just about the most famous musical figure in America. Convivial, dashing, and good-humored, he was as lionized in Europe as in New York. For some time, he had contemplated composing a musical homage to Pads. In the spring of 1928, while visiting the City of Light, he filled in many details. Gershwin called his finished work "An American in Paris," aiming "to portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city, listens to the various street noises, and absorbs the French atmosphere." The swirling tone poem flavored with jazz, blues, dance, and symphonic elements premiered at New York's Carnegie Hall on Dec. 13, 1928. It met with instant audience enthusiasm and has remained an American classic for seven decades.

The popularly held image of George Gershwin was that of a debonair man of musical destiny--an extrovert who liked borscht,. prizefights, and nothing better than the spotlight. An acknowledged "ladies' man," he counted chorusline dancers, actresses, and society women among his amatory acquaintances. Confidantes never quite could pinpoint the "one woman" in his life. Unlike his sister and two brothers, George remained unmarried. There seemed a wistfulness to his romances. Per haps his obsession with music made it the be-all and end-all of his life.

"Girl Crazy," opening in 1930, provided a stage debut for Ethel Merman, a leading role for Ginger Rogers, and a lineup of sparkling songs. The pit band included future musical luminaries Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, and Gene Krupa. It was the last and perhaps greatest of the musicals that Gershwin did in the rakish "Roaring Twenties" mood.