George Gershwin was so supremely talented and made everything look so easy that no one took him seriously. Then. So, now in his Centennial Celebration year, let's just take a closer look at the man and his contributions to the field of music. You can vote at the end, if you like.
George came late to music, but once there, he made up for lost time. A piano arrived at the Gershwin home in Brooklyn New York, intended for older brother Ira, but the 12 year old George quickly made it his own. This burgeoning musical talent must have come as a surprise to his family, for the boy had been teaching himself on a neighbor's piano. For a few years, he studied seriously with Charles Hambitzer, who encouraged his eager pupil to also study theory, harmony and orchestration.
Whether he really didn't care for so much formal study, or if it was the musical lure of "The Great White Way", George lost interest in school and went to work as a pianist for a musical publishing house. He was just 21 when "Swanee" became his first big hit, and led to commissions for show scores. In 1924, after a series of George White's Scandals, Gershwin had his own first big hit show - Lady, Be Good! This was the first all-Gershwin show, as two-years-older brother Ira, for whom that first piano was intended, had turned into a lyricist. What a pair they made!
Beginning in that same year, 1924, George had a run unparalleled in the field of music. In addition to such musicals as: Tip-Toes (1925);Oh, Kay! (1926); Funny Face (1927); Treasure Girl (1928); Show Girl (1929); Strike Up the Band (1927, revised 1930) and Girl Crazy (1930), there was also Of Thee I Sing, which won the Pulitzer Prize for musical comedy, the first ever presented for that category. Let 'Em East Cake was a not-quite-so successful sequel, although still considered brilliant for its wit -- and music.
During these same years, he also gave us: Rhapsody in Blue (1924); Concerto in F (1925); Preludes for Piano (1926);An American in Paris (1928); Second Rhapsody (1931; Cuban Overture (1932); the 'I Got Rhythm Variations (1934.) Not to mention his masterpiece Porgy and Bess in 1935.
