George Gershwin: an American rhapsody

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

By the early 1930s, Gershwin's fame, earnings, and range of works had made him unique among American composers. With his talent deepening, he turned to political satires. "Strike Up the Band," in 1930, took an acerbic view of war. "Of Thee I Sing," which opened the following year, played for 441 performances, the longest run ever achieved by a Gershwin show. The semi-operatic "Let 'Em Eat Cake" followed.

"Porgy and Bess," Gershwin's magnum opus, was to take two years of the most exhausting creative effort of his life. He had become intrigued by Porgy, a novel-become-play written by DuBose Heyward. It told a tragic tale of black fishermen, set in Catfish Row in Charleston, S.C. When Gershwin's labor of love was finished, he had written a full-scale opera in three acts and nine scenes, with a vocal score 560 pages long and a score for orchestra running 700 pages. Ira, listening to his brother play and half-sing sequences from the opera, joyfully exclaimed to the director: "He did it. Isn't it wonderful? Isn't he wonderful?"

"Porgy and Bess" opened at the Alvin Theater on Oct. 10, 1935. Gershwin's "American folk opera" bespoke his genius in its combination of operatic and jazz idioms. Such songs as "Bess, You Is My Woman," "I Got Plenty of Nuthin', .... It Ain't Necessarily So," and "Summertime" were to make his creation a landmark of the musical stage. The opera ran for a creditable 124 performances, but entailed a financial loss for all concerned. At its last performance, Gershwin watched with tears running down his cheeks.

Hollywood took center stage as the Depression darkened Broadway. Gershwin decided to try his hand at writing music for motion pictures. On Aug. 10, 1936, he boarded a plane for Los Angeles. A woman friend of his recounted: "We said good-bye and he walked up the ramp. At the top, he waved. And I knew I would never see him again."

George savored Tinsel Town's golden life--the sun, swimming pools, and soirees. Within a year, he turned out the scores for the films "Shall We Dance," "A Damsel in Distress," and "The Goldwyn Follies."

In filmdom's never-never land, however, something seemed to De going wrong with Gershwin. While dining with the Irving Berlins, he complained of headaches. He passed out in a Beverly Hills barber chair. Leaving the Brown Derby restaurant, he sank to the sidewalk. While rehearsing for a Hollywood Bowl concert, Gershwin became so dizzy he almost fell off the stage. X-ray techniques of the time detected nothing. Gershwin languished. By the first days of July, 1937, he hardly could play a few notes on the piano.

On Friday afternoon, July 9, 1937, Gershwin lay down for a nap, which turned into a coma. At Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, he was diagnosed as having a far-advanced brain tumor. Before dawn on July 11, a team of surgeons began to operate. Their efforts met with failure. They worked for five hours, to no avail. As of 10:30 that morning, Gershwin was dead.

Few events in the history of American music so startled the nation as the death of George Gershwin at the age of 38. Along with sensing their gratitude for all that he had brought to them, millions wondered as to what future melodies of his might have been like. Yet, of course, Gershwin still was with them, as he always would be in all 3 his shimmering, heart-touching, unforgettable music. Who could ask for anything more?