Cheyenne Williams
Mrs. Fish
English 3 G-5
18 March 2014
George Gershwin: American Composer and Pianist
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. He expressed his times through his music. Among his best known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and the opera Porgy and Bess. His compositions have been adapted for use in many films and for television, and several became jazz standards recorded in many different ways. His compositional style was somewhat like his jazz piano improvisations in that he “varied” melodies more than he “developed” them. Gershwin succeeded as both a popular songwriter and a concert-hall composer.
George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the second oldest of four children. Growing up New York he was influenced early by the music around him. Some genres included the early jazz of African Americans and the Eastern European sounds of his Jewish heritage. (Macmillan/McGraw-Hill) Some would say that George was a hyper child. George's father once predicted the trouble-prone boy would "grow up to be a bum." (Saturday Evening Post. 80-80) He would later go on to prove everyone wrong. In 1910 when Gershwin was 12, his family acquired an upright piano at their home on the lower east side of New York City. (Saturday Evening Post.80-80) He began his musical training at thirteen. At fifteen he left high school to work as a pianist and song-plugger for musical publishers. (George Gershwin) Many people would go by the store to buy sheet music. He would play the newest tunes for the costumers. (Macmillan/McGraw-Hill) At the age of sixteen, he began working for a publishing house of Remick in New York. He played the piano f...
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...is the most careful, scholarly, faithful, high-integrity job that has ever been done with piano rolls.'' (Walsh, Michael Levy, Daniel S.)
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