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133-500: George Gershwin ( / ˈ ɡ ɜːr ʃ . w ɪ n / ; born Jacob Gershwine ; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs " Swanee " (1919) and " Fascinating Rhythm " (1924),

266-543: A flute . For the brass section, two trumpets in B ♭ were played by Henry Busse and Frank Siegrist; two French horns in F were played by Arturo Cerino and Al Corrado; two trombones were played by Roy Maxon and James Casseday, and a tuba and a double bass played by Guss Helleburg and Alus Armer respectively. The percussion section included a drum set , timpani , and a glockenspiel played by George Marsh; one piano typically played by either Ferde Grofé or Henry Lange; one tenor banjo played by Michael Pingatore, and

399-592: A vaudeville approach to piano made well known by Chico Marx , are evident at rehearsal 22. With the debut of Rhapsody in Blue , Gershwin inaugurated a new era in America's musical history. He established his reputation as one of the eminent composers of the Jazz Age , and his composition eventually became one of the most popular of all concert works. In the American Heritage magazine, Frederic D. Schwarz posits that

532-600: A "more symphonic richness and authority." During the final months of World War II , amid the box-office success of the Gershwin biographical film Rhapsody in Blue (1945), pianist Oscar Levant recorded the now iconic composition with Eugene Ormandy 's Philadelphia Orchestra on August 21, 1945. Levant had been an intimate friend of the deceased composer, and he sought to replicate Gershwin's idiomatic playing style in his performance. Levant's homage—labelled Columbia Masterworks 251—received rapturous reviews and became one of

665-485: A 60th-anniversary reconstruction of the entire 1924 concert. One hundred years after the debut of Gershwin's rhapsody in 1924, tens of thousands of orchestras as well as solo pianists have recorded the piece, both abridged and unabridged. A number of these recordings have garnered critical recognition such as pianist Michel Camilo 's 2006 rendition which won a Latin Grammy Award . As a jazz concerto, Rhapsody in Blue

798-509: A British composer whose oeuvre often incorporated jazz elements, openly dismissed the work: The composer [George Gershwin], trying to write a Lisztian concerto in a jazz style, has used only the non-barbaric elements in dance music, the result being neither good jazz nor good Liszt, and in no sense of the word a good concerto. In an article in The Atlantic Monthly in 1955, Leonard Bernstein , who nevertheless admitted that he adored

931-670: A are often bought-out of their advertisement royalties with a one-off payment called a 'buyout'. Notable British extras of the modern era include Jill Goldston . Since 2012, in the US , most major film and television productions fall under the jurisdiction of the SAG-AFTRA union; previously, before SAG-AFTRA was AFL–CIO 's affiliate, the two unions were separately named as Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). SAG-AFTRA signatory AMPTP producers are allowed to hire non-union background actors after

1064-440: A background actor's employment on a production largely depends on the needs of the director and the scenes being filmed. Some background actors are needed on the set only for a day or two and are paid on a daily basis, while others may remain with the film for an extended period. For instance, on James Cameron 's film Titanic , a group of 150 "core background actors" was hired to play the ship's passengers, and employed throughout

1197-527: A bad Schoenberg, and you're such a good Gershwin already." (This quote is similar to one credited to Maurice Ravel during Gershwin's 1928 visit to France – "Why be a second-rate Ravel, when you are a first-rate Gershwin?") Gershwin was particularly impressed by the music of Berg, who gave him a score of the Lyric Suite . He attended the American premiere of Wozzeck , conducted by Leopold Stokowski in 1931, and

1330-414: A certain number of SAG performers have been cast; non-union background actors are usually paid the minimum wage. On productions outside of union jurisdiction, payment for background actors is at the discretion of the producers, and ranges from union -scale rates to "copy and credit" (i.e., no pay). Those producers who do not pay their actors may be in violation of state and federal laws about minimum wage for

1463-588: A collection of Gershwin's original recordings on the album Gershwin plays Gershwin, Historic First Recordings (RCA Victrola AVM1-1740). Included was the first LP release of the 1924 recording of Rhapsody in Blue with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Gershwin on piano; An American in Paris , from 1929 conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret with Gershwin on celesta. Also included were Three Preludes , "Clap Yo' Hands" and "Someone to Watch Over Me", among others. The soundtrack to Woody Allen 's 1979 film Manhattan

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1596-522: A coma. Only then did his doctors come to believe that he was suffering from a brain tumor . Leonore called George's close friend Emil Mosbacher and explained the dire need to find a neurosurgeon . Mosbacher immediately called pioneering neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing in Boston, who, retired for several years by then, recommended Walter Dandy , who was on a boat fishing in the Chesapeake Bay with Harry Nice ,

1729-477: A commercial failure, it came to be considered one of the most important American operas of the 20th century and an American cultural classic. Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores. He died in 1937, only 38 years old, of a brain tumor. His compositions have been adapted for use in film and television, with many becoming jazz standards. Gershwin's parents were both Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His paternal grandfather, Jakov Gershowitz,

1862-419: A complement of violins. Musicologists largely ignored this original arrangement—with its unique instrumental requirements—until its revival in reconstructions beginning in the mid-1980s, owing to the popularity and serviceability of the later scorings. After the 1924 premiere, Grofé revised the score and made new orchestrations in 1926 and 1942, each time for larger orchestras. He published his arrangement for

1995-528: A devastating review of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess —harshly criticized the rhapsody as "derivative," "stale," and "inexpressive" in a New-York Tribune review on February 13, 1924. Overall, professional music critics recurrently criticized Gershwin's piece as essentially formless and asserted that the composer had haphazardly glued melodic segments together. Years after its premiere, Rhapsody in Blue continued to divide music critics principally due to its perceived melodic incoherence. Constant Lambert ,

2128-452: A dramatic leitmotif for the character of Jay Gatsby in his 2013 film The Great Gatsby , a cinematic adaptation of Fitzgerald's 1925 novel. Extra (actor) On a film or TV set, background actors are usually referred to as "supporting artists", "junior artists", "atmosphere", "background talent", "background performers", "background artists", "background cast members", "talent", "background friends", or simply "background", while

2261-403: A full jazz orchestra. Grofé's other arrangements of Gershwin's piece include those done for Whiteman's 1930 film, King of Jazz , and the concert band setting (playable without piano) completed by 1938 and published 1942. The prominence of the saxophones in the later orchestrations is somewhat reduced, and the banjo part can be dispensed with, as its mainly rhythmic contribution is provided by

2394-685: A furrier. She and her family moved to New York because of increasing anti-Jewish sentiment in Russia, changing her first name to Rose. Moishe, faced with compulsory military service if he remained in Russia, moved to America as soon as he could afford to. Once in New York, he changed his first name to Morris. Gershowitz lived with a maternal uncle in Brooklyn, working as a foreman in a women's shoe factory. He married Rose on July 21, 1895, and Gershowitz soon Anglicized his name to Gershwine. Their first child, Ira Gershwin ,

2527-571: A historic document, finding its way into foreign monographs on jazz, but a rarity as well." Following the success of the rhapsody's premiere, future performances followed. The first British performance of Rhapsody in Blue took place at the Savoy Hotel in London on June 15, 1925. The BBC broadcast the performance in a live relay. Debroy Somers conducted the Savoy Orpheans with Gershwin himself at

2660-660: A job. From 1946 until 1992, background actors (in film and television) were largely represented by the Screen Extras Guild . The Screen Extras Guild was dissolved in 1992 (legally dissolved in 1994 ) and its portrayal was transferred back to SAG as "West Coast extras". Notable extras during the Studio Era include Bess Flowers , Ellinor Vanderveer , Symona Boniface , Minta Durfee , Florence Wix , Maurice Costello , Lester Dorr , Philo McCullough , Barry Norton , Larry Steers , and Shep Houghton . Notable American extras of

2793-399: A key composition that defined the Jazz Age . Gershwin's piece inaugurated a new era in America's musical history, established his reputation as an eminent composer and became one of the most popular of all concert works. In the American Heritage magazine, Frederic D. Schwarz posits that the famous opening clarinet glissando has become as instantly recognizable to concert audiences as

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2926-568: A key role in the rhapsody's meteoric success, and scholars have contended that Grofé's arrangements of the Rhapsody secured its place in American culture . Gershwin's biographer, Isaac Goldberg, noted in 1931 that Grofé played a crucial role in the premiere's triumph: In the heat of the occasion, the contribution of Ferdie Grofé, the arranger on the Whiteman staff who had scored the Rhapsody in ten days,

3059-450: A large brain tumor, believed to have been a glioblastoma , but Gershwin died that morning at the age of 38. The fact that he had suddenly collapsed and become comatose after he stood up on July 9 has been interpreted as brain herniation with Duret hemorrhages . Gershwin's friends and admirers were shocked and devastated. John O'Hara remarked: "George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe that if I don't want to." He

3192-479: A main source of his income. The majority were popular music of the period and a smaller proportion were of his own works. Once his musical theater-writing income became substantial, his regular roll-recording career became superfluous. He did record additional rolls throughout the 1920s of his main hits for the Aeolian Company 's reproducing piano, including a complete version of his Rhapsody in Blue . Compared to

3325-514: A mother and housewife, thus precluding spending any serious time on musical endeavors. Having given up her performing career, she settled upon painting as a creative outlet, which had also been a hobby George briefly pursued. Arthur Gershwin followed in the paths of George and Ira, also becoming a composer of songs, musicals, and short piano pieces. George studied with various piano teachers for about two years (circa 1911) before finally being introduced to Charles Hambitzer by Jack Miller (circa 1913),

3458-471: A musical work per se, and it wasn't a drama per se – it elicited response from both music and drama critics. But the work has sort of always been outside category." After the commercial failure of Porgy and Bess , Gershwin moved to Hollywood , California. In 1936, he was commissioned by RKO Pictures to write the music for the film Shall We Dance , starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers . Gershwin's extended score, which would marry ballet with jazz in

3591-422: A new way, runs over an hour. It took Gershwin several months to compose and orchestrate. Gershwin had a ten-year affair with composer Kay Swift , whom he frequently consulted about his music. The two never married, although she eventually divorced her husband James Warburg to commit to the relationship. Swift's granddaughter, Katharine Weber, has suggested that the pair were not married because George's mother Rose

3724-532: A packed house. The excited audience consisted of " vaudevillians , concert managers come to have a look at the novelty, Tin Pan Alleyites , composers, symphony and opera stars, flappers , cake-eaters, all mixed up higgledy-piggledy." A number of influential figures of the era were present, including Carl Van Vechten , Marguerite d'Alvarez , Victor Herbert , Walter Damrosch , and Willie "the Lion" Smith . In

3857-668: A passage does not change key from beginning to end. Modulation by thirds is a common feature of Tin Pan Alley music. The influences of jazz and other contemporary styles are present in Rhapsody in Blue . Ragtime rhythms are abundant, as is the Cuban " clave " rhythm, which doubles as a dance rhythm in the Charleston jazz dance. Gershwin's own intentions were to correct the belief that jazz had to be played strictly in time so that one could dance to it. The rhapsody's tempos vary widely, and there

3990-438: A percussion section that includes timpani, one suspended cymbal , one snare drum , one bass drum , one tam-tam , one triangle , one glockenspiel, and cymbals ; one tenor banjo; and strings . Since the mid-20th century, the 1942 arrangement became a staple of the concert repertoire until 1976 when Michael Tilson Thomas recorded the original jazz band version for the first time, employing Gershwin's actual 1925 piano roll with

4123-493: A piano solo. There are considerable differences in the style of presentation of each theme. The harmonic structure of the rhapsody is more difficult to analyze. The piece begins and ends in B ♭ major, but it modulates towards the sub-dominant direction and abruptly returns to B ♭ major at the end. The opening modulates "downward" through the keys B ♭ , E ♭ , A ♭ , D ♭ , G ♭ , B, E, and finally to A major. Modulation through

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4256-420: A piece with large-scale harmonic and melodic structure. The piece is characterized by strong motivic inter-relatedness . Much of the motivic material is introduced in the first 14 measures . Musicologist David Schiff has identified five major themes plus a sixth "tag". Two themes appear in the first 14 measures, and the tag shows up in measure 19. Two of the remaining three themes are rhythmically related to

4389-542: A pre-concert lecture, Whiteman's manager Hugh C. Ernst proclaimed the purpose of the concert to be "purely educational". Whiteman had selected the music to exemplify the "melodies, harmony and rhythms which agitate the throbbing emotional resources of this young restless age ." The concert's lengthy program listed 26 separate musical movements, divided into 2 parts and 11 sections, bearing titles such as "True Form Of Jazz" and "Contrast—Legitimate Scoring vs. Jazzing." The program's schedule featured Gershwin's rhapsody as merely

4522-465: A registration fee, and some (mostly commercial background casting) will take between 10% and 15% commission from any booked work. Artists may be required to provide a basic one-page A4 sized CV/resume, that states basic personal details and dimensions, any significant skills (e.g. stage combat ), and includes two 8×10-inch photographs on the rear: one head shot; one full body shot. When hiring background actors, casting directors generally seek those with

4655-528: A second-rate Ravel when you're already a first-rate Gershwin?" While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris . This work received mixed reviews upon its first performance at Carnegie Hall on December 13, 1928, but it quickly became part of the standard repertoire in Europe and the United States. In 1929, the Gershwin brothers created Show Girl ; the following year brought Girl Crazy , which introduced

4788-410: A section, or add new cadenzas, or play it with any combination of instruments or on the piano alone; it can be a five-minute piece or a six-minute piece or a twelve-minute piece. And in fact all these things are being done to it every day. It's still the Rhapsody in Blue . As Gershwin did not have sufficient knowledge of orchestration in 1924, Whiteman's pianist and chief arranger Ferde Grofé played

4921-411: A small-town girl who comes to Hollywood and becomes a background actor in her attempt to achieve stardom. Souls for Sale (also 1923) depicts a young woman's career trajectory from extra to leading lady, though her progress is more haphazard. The novels Extra-Girl by Stella G.S. Perry (1929) and I Should Have Stayed Home by Horace McCoy (1938) depict the working lives of Hollywood extras during

5054-446: A specific "look", such as "high school students" or "affluent senior citizens", consistent with the context of the film. Casting directors may also look for background actors with a special skill for the scene, such as rollerblading , bike riding, skiing or dancing. A background actor is often expected to bring his or her own wardrobe to the set, although there are also "fittings" for a specific scene or period. A casting director may favor

5187-411: A telephone conversation with Whiteman the next morning, Whiteman informed Gershwin that Whiteman's arch rival Vincent Lopez planned to steal the idea of his experimental concert and there was no time to lose. Whiteman thus finally persuaded Gershwin to compose the piece. With only five weeks remaining until the premiere, Gershwin hurriedly set about composing the work. He later claimed that, while on

5320-707: A theater orchestra in 1926. Grofé orchestrated this adaptation for a more standard " pit orchestra ," which included one flute, one oboe, two clarinets, one bassoon, three saxophones; two French horns, two trumpets, and two trombones; as well as the same percussion and strings complement as the later 1942 version. Grofé later produced a 1942 arrangement for a full symphony orchestra . It is scored for solo piano and an orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B ♭ and A , one bass clarinet , two bassoons, two alto saxophones in E ♭ , one tenor saxophone in B ♭ ; three French horns in F, three trumpets in B ♭ , three trombones, one tuba;

5453-401: A train journey to Boston , the thematic seeds for Rhapsody in Blue began to germinate in his mind. He told biographer Isaac Goldberg in 1931: It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang, that is so often so stimulating to a composer.... I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise. And there I suddenly heard—and even saw on paper—the complete construction of

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5586-522: A truncated version of the piece in the 1930 film The King of Jazz with Roy Bargy on piano. Due to the length limitations of early recording formats, the first complete and unabridged recording of Gershwin's composition did not occur until the Great Depression . In July 1935, after several years of performing the rhapsody for sold-out audiences in Massachusetts , conductor Arthur Fiedler and

5719-643: A week from Jerome H. Remick and Company, a Detroit-based publishing firm with a branch office in New York. His first published song was "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em" in 1916. It earned the 17-year-old 50 cents. In 1916, Gershwin started working for Aeolian Company and Standard Music Rolls in New York City, recording and arranging. He produced dozens, if not hundreds, of rolls under his own and assumed names (pseudonyms attributed to Gershwin include Fred Murtha and Bert Wynn). He also recorded rolls of his own compositions for

5852-428: A young composer with aims that go far beyond those of his ilk, struggling with a form of which he is far from being master.... In spite of all this, he has expressed himself in a significant and, on the whole, highly original form.... His first theme... is no mere dance-tune... it is an idea, or several ideas, correlated and combined in varying and contrasting rhythms that immediately intrigue the listener. The second theme

5985-408: Is a background actor whose facial similarity to an underworld crime boss lands him in trouble. The Filipino comedy-drama film Ekstra ( The Bit Player ) (2013) centers around the life of a divorcee named Loida Malabanan, whose odd job as a bit player for various acting roles enabled her to send her daughter to college. The movie is a social commentary on the exploitation and mistreatment of

6118-468: Is an agreed day-rate for ten hours of production time. Actors who are recognisable or 'featured' in a commercial under agreement with BECTU/Equity are paid on-going royalties. Hence on many advertisements, which are often shown multiple times and distributed internationally, while the extra is paid a contracted day-rate, the largest payment is from ongoing royalties. Due to the resultant complex calculations from multiple international showings, performers under

6251-531: Is an almost extreme use of rubato in many places throughout. The clearest influence of jazz is the use of blue notes , and the exploration of their half-step relationship plays a key role in the rhapsody. The use of so-called "vernacular" instruments, such as accordion , banjo , and saxophones in the orchestra, contribute to its jazz or popular style, and the latter two of these instruments have remained part of Grofé's "standard" orchestra scoring. Gershwin incorporated different piano styles into his work. He used

6384-639: Is composed entirely of Gershwin's compositions, including Rhapsody in Blue , " Love is Sweeping the Country ", and "But Not for Me" , performed by both the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta and the Buffalo Philharmonic under Michael Tilson Thomas . The film begins with a monolog by Allen, in the role of a writer, describing a character in his book: "He adored New York City ... To him, no matter what

6517-522: Is more after the manner of some of Mr. Gershwin's colleagues. Tuttis are too long, cadenzas are too long, the peroration at the end loses a large measure of the wildness and magnificence it could easily have had if it were more broadly prepared, and, for all that, the audience was stirred and many a hardened concertgoer excited with the sensation of a new talent finding its voice." — Olin Downes , The New York Times , February 1924 In contrast to

6650-471: Is newsreel footage of Gershwin playing "Mademoiselle from New Rochelle" and " Strike Up the Band " on the piano during a Broadway rehearsal of the 1930 production of Strike Up the Band . In the mid-30s, "Strike Up The Band" was given to UCLA to be used as a football fight song, "Strike Up The Band for UCLA". The comedy team of Clark and McCullough are seen conversing with Gershwin, then singing as he plays. In 1945,

6783-449: Is written for solo piano with orchestra. A rhapsody differs from a concerto in that it features one extended movement instead of separate movements. Rhapsodies often incorporate passages of an improvisational nature—although written out in a score—and are irregular in form, with heightened contrasts and emotional exuberance. The music ranges from intensely rhythmic piano solos to slow, broad, and richly orchestrated sections. Consequently,

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6916-508: The African-American slave songs . Although Gershwin's rhapsody is "by no means a definitive example of jazz in the Jazz Age," music historians such as James Ciment and Floyd Levin have similarly concurred that it is the key composition that encapsulates the spirit of the era. As early as 1927, writer F. Scott Fitzgerald opined that Rhapsody in Blue idealized the youthful zeitgeist of

7049-524: The Boston Pops Orchestra recorded the first unabridged version—nearly fourteen minutes in length—with Puerto Rican pianist Jesús María Sanromá for RCA Victor . For this first unabridged recording, Fiedler discarded Ferde Grofé's original 1924 arrangement and adapted the piece for a conventional symphony. At the time, contemporary critics praised Fiedler for jettisoning the so-called "jazzy sentimentality" of Grofé's earlier arrangement and adding

7182-516: The European Union , based on its life-plus-70-years rule, and in the U.S. on January 1, 2020, on Gershwin's pre-1925 work. In 2005, The Guardian determined using "estimates of earnings accrued in a composer's lifetime" that George Gershwin was the wealthiest composer of all time. The George and Ira Gershwin Collection, much of which was donated by Ira and the Gershwin family estates, resides at

7315-584: The Library of Congress . In September 2013, a partnership between the estates of Ira and George Gershwin and the University of Michigan was created and will provide the university's School of Music, Theatre, and Dance access to Gershwin's entire body of work, which includes all of Gershwin's papers, compositional drafts, and scores. This direct access to all of his works provides opportunities to musicians, composers, and scholars to analyze and reinterpret his work with

7448-416: The Rhapsody "may be looked upon as a fantasia , with no strict fidelity to form." The opening of Rhapsody in Blue is written as a clarinet trill followed by a legato, 17 notes in a diatonic scale. During a rehearsal, Whiteman's virtuoso clarinetist, Ross Gorman, rendered the upper portion of the scale as a captivating and trombone-like glissando . Gershwin heard it and insisted that it be repeated in

7581-487: The Victor Talking Machine Company in 1924, soon after the world premiere. Gershwin and the same orchestra made an electrical recording of the abridged version for Victor in 1927. However, a dispute in the studio over interpretation angered Whiteman and he walked out on the session. Victor's staff conductor and arranger Nathaniel Shilkret led the orchestra, though Whiteman is still credited as conductor on

7714-448: The Victor Talking Machine Company . A year later, Gershwin recorded his performance on a 1925 piano roll for a two-piano version. Later, on April 21, 1927, he made an electrical recording with Whiteman's orchestra running 9 minutes and 1 second and again recorded by Victor. Nathaniel Shilkret purportedly conducted the electrical recording after a dispute between Gershwin and Whiteman. Whiteman's orchestra later performed

7847-522: The Yiddish Theater District . George and Ira frequented the local Yiddish theaters, with George occasionally appearing onstage as an extra . George lived a boyhood not unusual in New York tenements, which included running around with his friends, roller-skating and misbehaving in the streets. Until 1908, he cared nothing about music. Then, as a ten-year-old, he was intrigued upon hearing his friend Maxie Rosenzweig's violin recital. The sound, and

7980-410: The penultimate piece which preceded Elgar 's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 . Many of the early numbers in the program underwhelmed the audience, and the ventilation system in the concert hall malfunctioned. Some audience members had departed the venue by the time Gershwin made his inconspicuous entrance for the rhapsody. The audience purportedly were irritable, impatient, and restless until

8113-511: The "Hot 100" and No. 10 on "Easy Listening" on the Billboard charts , and No. 48 and No. 13 respectively in Canada. In the wake of Deodato's earlier reinterpretation, French pianist Richard Clayderman recorded a similarly abridged disco arrangement in 1978 which became one of his signature pieces. Concurrent with the emergence of these more diverse interpretations, scholarly interest revived in

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8246-510: The American practice, had no middle name. He soon became known as George, and changed the spelling of his surname to "Gershwin" around the time he became a professional musician; other family members followed suit after Ira and George, another boy, Arthur Gershwin (1900–1981), and a girl, Frances Gershwin (1906–1999), were born into the family. The family lived in many different residences, as their father changed dwellings with each new enterprise in which he became involved. They grew up mostly in

8379-531: The Band (1927 and 1930). Gershwin allowed the latter song, with a modified title, to be used as a football fight song, "Strike Up The Band for UCLA". In the mid-1920s, Gershwin stayed in Paris for a short period, during which he applied to study composition with the noted Nadia Boulanger , who, along with several other prospective tutors such as Maurice Ravel , turned him down, afraid that rigorous classical study would ruin his jazz -influenced style. Maurice Ravel's rejection letter to Gershwin told him, "Why become

8512-827: The Detroit railway station, though those with him did not. On February 11, 1937, he performed his Piano Concerto in F in a special concert of his music with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under the direction of French maestro Pierre Monteux . Gershwin, normally a superb pianist in his own compositions, suffered coordination problems and blackouts during the performance. He was at the time working on other Hollywood film projects while living with Ira and his wife Leonore in their rented house in Beverly Hills . Leonore Gershwin began to be disturbed by George's mood swings and his seeming inability to eat without spilling food at

8645-530: The Duo-Art and Welte-Mignon reproducing pianos . As well as recording piano rolls, Gershwin made a brief foray into vaudeville , accompanying both Nora Bayes and Louise Dresser on the piano. His first song to appear on Broadway was "Making of a Girl," written in 1916 with Sigmund Romberg and lyrics by Harold Atteridge . It was sung in The Passing Show of 1916 . His 1917 novelty ragtime , "Rialto Ripples",

8778-475: The Great Depression. The feature film Movie Crazy depicts a would-be actor ( Harold Lloyd ) working as an extra. The quasi-documentary Hollywood Extra Girl , directed by Herbert Moulton , depicts the experience of a young female extra working on The Crusades (1935). In his novel Infinite Jest (1996), David Foster Wallace refers to silent extras in sitcoms as "figurants", commenting that

8911-511: The January 4 edition of the New-York Tribune . An unsigned Tribune article entitled "What Is American Music?" about an upcoming Whiteman concert had caught Ira's attention. The article falsely declared that George Gershwin had begun "work on a jazz concerto" for Whiteman's concert. The news announcement puzzled Gershwin as he had politely declined to compose any such work for Whiteman. In

9044-414: The Jazz Age. In subsequent decades, both the latter era and Fitzgerald's related literary works have been often culturally linked by critics and scholars with Gershwin's composition. In 1941, social historian Peter Quennell opined that Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby embodied "the sadness and the remote jauntiness of a Gershwin tune." Accordingly, director Baz Luhrmann used Rhapsody in Blue as

9177-711: The LP featured nine other recordings. In 1975, Columbia Records released an album featuring Gershwin's piano rolls of Rhapsody in Blue , accompanied by the Columbia Jazz Band playing the original jazz band accompaniment, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas . The B-side of the Columbia Masterworks release features Tilson Thomas leading the New York Philharmonic in An American in Paris. In 1976, RCA Records reissued

9310-473: The United States from licensing the copyrights on his post- Rhapsody in Blue work. The estate supported the Sonny Bono Copyright Term extension Act (that extended the U.S. 75-year copyright protection an additional 20 years) because its 1923 cutoff date was shortly before Gershwin had begun to create his most popular works. The copyrights on all Gershwin's solo works expired at the end of 2007 in

9443-597: The Victor Salon Group conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret and singer Jane Froman . A 74-second newsreel film clip of Gershwin playing I Got Rhythm has survived, filmed at the opening of the Manhattan Theater (now The Ed Sullivan Theater ) in August 1931. There are also silent home movies of Gershwin, some of them shot on Kodachrome color film stock, which have been featured in tributes to the composer. In addition, there

9576-453: The ability to take direction also figure prominently for these cast members. Background actors are generally selected on short notice, after all other preparations for the shoot have been finalized. Several casting agencies specialize only in background work, while in the UK the directory Contacts published annually by Spotlight lists all accredited agencies and productions. Some agencies charge

9709-662: The best-selling record albums of the year. As a result of Levant's recording and the 1945 biographical film about Gershwin's life, a "Gershwin revival" ensued. By the 1960s and 1970s, Gershwin's rhapsody had become a predictable staple of both concert performances and orchestra recordings; consequently, more diverse and irreverent interpretations appeared over time. In Summer 1973, Brazilian jazz-rock artist Eumir Deodato reinterpreted Gershwin's rhapsody in an abridged version that featured uptempo neo‐ samba rhythms. Although music critics derided Deodato's interpretation as "mangled" and barely recognizable, his single reached No. 41 on

9842-414: The circle of fifths in the reverse direction inverts classical tonal relationships, but does not abandon them. The entire middle section resides primarily in C major, with forays into G major (the dominant relation). Such modulations occur freely, although not always with harmonic direction. Gershwin frequently uses a recursive harmonic progression of minor thirds to give the illusion of motion when in fact

9975-473: The creation of the opera; Ira completely denied that his brother had any such assistance for this work. A third account of Gershwin's musical relationship with his teacher was written by Gershwin's close friend Vernon Duke , also a Schillinger student, in an article for the Musical Quarterly in 1947. What set Gershwin apart was his ability to manipulate forms of music into his own unique voice. He took

10108-575: The dinner table. She suspected mental illness and insisted he be moved out of their house to lyricist Yip Harburg 's empty quarters nearby, where he was placed in the care of his valet, Paul Mueller. The headaches and olfactory hallucinations continued. On the night of July 9, 1937, Gershwin collapsed in Harburg's house, where he had been working on the score of The Goldwyn Follies . He was rushed to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, and fell into

10241-477: The effect of, "You should give me lessons." (Some versions of this story feature Igor Stravinsky rather than Ravel as the composer; however Stravinsky confirmed that he originally heard the story from Ravel.) Gershwin's own Concerto in F was criticized for being related to the work of Claude Debussy , more so than to the expected jazz style. The comparison did not deter him from continuing to explore French styles. The title of An American in Paris reflects

10374-417: The entire piece to fit onto two sides of a 12-inch record , the rhapsody had to be played at a faster speed than usual in a concert, which gave the recording a hurried feel with noticeably lost rubato . Whiteman later adopted the piece as his band's theme song and opened his radio programs with the slogan "Everything new but the Rhapsody in Blue ." "This composition shows extraordinary talent, as it shows

10507-480: The experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday , set in Harlem. It is widely regarded as a forerunner to the groundbreaking Porgy and Bess introduced in 1935. In 1924, George and Ira Gershwin collaborated on a stage musical comedy Lady Be Good , which included such future standards as " Fascinating Rhythm " and " Oh, Lady Be Good! ". They followed this with Oh, Kay! (1926), Funny Face (1927) and Strike Up

10640-603: The famous opening clarinet glissando has become as instantly recognizable to concert audiences as the opening of Beethoven 's Fifth Symphony . According to critic Orrin Howard of the Los Angeles Philharmonic , Gershwin's rhapsody made an indelible mark "on the fraternity of serious composers and performers—many of whom were present at the premiere—and on Gershwin himself, for its enthusiastic reception encouraged him to other and more serious projects." Howard posits that

10773-458: The film biography Rhapsody in Blue was made, starring Robert Alda as George Gershwin. The film contains many factual errors about Gershwin's life, but also features many examples of his music, including an almost complete performance of Rhapsody in Blue . In 1965, Movietone Records released an album MTM 1009 featuring Gershwin's piano rolls of the titled George Gershwin plays RHAPSODY IN BLUE and his other favorite compositions . The B-side of

10906-655: The filming. In the United Kingdom , the distinction between an actor and an extra is defined by agreements between the actors trade unions Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) and Equity , and the various commercial trade and production bodies. These state that once a performer says 13 or more words in any scene, they must become a contracted actor in that production. Minimum pay rates are defined by UK Government minimum wage regulations, and both BECTU and Equity have agreed rates with each body. However, even on non-union productions, an extra's pay

11039-497: The final show on December 23, 1934. He presented his own work as well as the work of other composers. Recordings from this and other radio broadcasts include his Variations on I Got Rhythm , portions of the Concerto in F , and numerous songs from his musical comedies. He also recorded a run-through of his Second Rhapsody , conducting the orchestra and playing the piano solos. Gershwin recorded excerpts from Porgy and Bess with members of

11172-448: The first theme in measure 2, which is sometimes called the "Glissando theme"—after the opening glissando in the clarinet solo—or the "Ritornello theme". The remaining theme is the "Train theme", which is the first to appear at rehearsal 9 after the opening material. All of these themes rely on the blues scale , which includes lowered sevenths and a mixture of major and minor thirds. Each theme appears both in orchestrated form and as

11305-676: The goal of accurately reflecting the composers' vision to preserve his legacy. The first fascicles of The Gershwin Critical Edition , edited by Mark Clague, are expected in 2017; they will cover the 1924 jazz band version of Rhapsody in Blue , An American in Paris and Porgy and Bess . Rhapsody in Blue Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz -influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman and written by George Gershwin ,

11438-515: The governor of Maryland. Mosbacher called the White House and had a Coast Guard cutter sent to find the governor's yacht and bring Dandy quickly to shore. Mosbacher then chartered a plane and flew Dandy to Newark Airport , where he was to catch a plane to Los Angeles; by that time, Gershwin's condition was critical and the need for surgery was immediate. Before Dandy could arrive, in the early hours of Sunday, July 11, 1937, doctors at Cedars removed

11571-522: The grounds that he would have insufficient time to compose the work and there would likely be a need to revise the score. Soon after, on the evening of January 3, George Gershwin and lyricist Buddy DeSylva played a game of billiards at the Ambassador Billiard Parlor at Broadway and 52nd Street in Manhattan. George's brother, Ira Gershwin , interrupted their billiard game to read aloud

11704-472: The haunting clarinet glissando played the opening notes of Rhapsody in Blue . The distinctive glissando had been created quite by happenstance during rehearsals: As a joke on Gershwin.... [Ross] Gorman [Whiteman's virtuoso clarinetist] played the opening measure with a noticeable glissando, 'stretching' the notes out and adding what he considered a jazzy, humorous touch to the passage. Reacting favorably to Gorman's whimsy, Gershwin asked him to perform

11837-618: The inner strings. Gershwin himself made versions of the piece for solo piano as well as two pianos. The solo version is notable for omitting several sections of the piece. Gershwin's intent to eventually do an orchestration of his own is documented in 1936–37 correspondence from the publisher Harms . After the warm reception of Rhapsody in Blue by the audience at Aeolian Hall, Gershwin recorded several abridged versions of his composition in different formats. On June 10, 1924, Gershwin and Whiteman's orchestra created an acoustic recording running 8 minutes and 59 seconds and issued by

11970-528: The jazz he discovered on Tin Pan Alley into the mainstream by splicing its rhythms and tonality with that of the popular songs of his era. Although George Gershwin would seldom make grand statements about his music, he believed that "true music must reflect the thought and aspirations of the people and time. My people are Americans. My time is today." In 2007, the Library of Congress named its Gershwin Prize for Popular Song after George and Ira Gershwin. Recognizing

12103-874: The jazz standards " Embraceable You " (1928) and " I Got Rhythm " (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), which included the hit " Summertime ". Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark , Henry Cowell , and Joseph Brody . He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and with Buddy DeSylva . He moved to Paris, intending to study with Nadia Boulanger , but she refused him, afraid that rigorous classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style; Maurice Ravel voiced similar objections when Gershwin inquired about studying with him. He subsequently composed An American in Paris , returned to New York City and wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and DuBose Heyward . Initially

12236-574: The late 1910s, Gershwin met songwriter and music director William Daly . The two collaborated on the Broadway musicals Piccadilly to Broadway (1920) and For Goodness' Sake (1922), and jointly composed the score for Our Nell (1923). This was the beginning of a long friendship. Daly was a frequent arranger, orchestrator and conductor of Gershwin's music, and Gershwin periodically turned to him for musical advice. In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major work, Rhapsody in Blue , for orchestra and piano. It

12369-500: The modern era include Emmy Collins and Jesse Heiman . Charles Chaplin tackled the subject of film extra work in three of his early short comedies: The Masquerader (1914), His New Job (1915), and Behind the Screen (1916). The 1922 novel Merton of the Movies by Harry Leon Wilson depicts the tribulations of a male extra. The silent film The Extra Girl (1923) portrays

12502-448: The need to include them is a concession to reality, even while their complete silence is unrealistic. The British television sitcom Extras (2005–07) follows the exploits of two professional background actors, Andy and Maggie. They spend most of their time on set looking for a speaking role and a boyfriend, respectively. In the Hindi black comedy film Mithya (2008), the protagonist

12635-456: The one who already has the required costume or prop, such as a police uniform, or a musical instrument. On other occasions, where a costume has already been prepared (for example, to fit another actor who is now unavailable), a background actor may be selected as a "costume double" simply because they are the right size to fit it. On smaller productions or student films, background actors may be hired en masse with little formality. The length of

12768-448: The opening measure that way.... and to add as much of a ' wail ' as possible. Whiteman's orchestra performed the rhapsody with "twenty-three musicians in the ensemble" and George Gershwin on piano. In characteristic style, Gershwin chose to partially improvise his piano solo. The orchestra anxiously waited for Gershwin's nod which signaled the end of his piano solo and the cue for the ensemble to resume playing. As Gershwin did not write

12901-749: The opening of Beethoven 's Fifth Symphony . Following the success of an experimental classical-jazz concert held with Canadian singer Éva Gauthier in New York City on November 1, 1923, bandleader Paul Whiteman decided to attempt a more ambitious feat. He asked composer George Gershwin to write a concerto-like piece for an all-jazz concert in honor of Lincoln's Birthday to be given at Aeolian Hall . Whiteman became fixated upon performing such an extended composition by Gershwin after he collaborated with him in The Scandals of 1922 . He had been especially impressed by Gershwin's one-act "jazz opera" Blue Monday . Gershwin initially declined Whiteman's request on

13034-517: The original 1924 arrangement by Ferde Grofé which had not been performed since the end of the Jazz Age. On February 14, 1973, conductor Kenneth Kiesler and pianist Paul Verrette performed Grofé's original arrangement on the University of New Hampshire campus. Soon after, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the Columbia Jazz Band recorded Grofé's arrangement in 1976, as did conductor Maurice Peress with pianist Ivan Davis in 1984 as part of

13167-546: The original cast, conducting the orchestra from the keyboard; he even announced the selections and the names of the performers. In 1935, RCA Victor asked him to supervise recordings of highlights from Porgy and Bess ; these were his last recordings. RCA Victor issued a 5 record 12-inch 78 rpm Memorial Album (C-29) recorded from the RCA Magic Key program broadcast on July 10, 1938, over the NBC Radio Network. It featured

13300-541: The original manuscript for two pianos. He tentatively entitled the piece as American Rhapsody during its composition. Ira Gershwin suggested the revised title of Rhapsody in Blue after his visit to a gallery exhibition of James McNeill Whistler paintings, which had titles such as Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket and Arrangement in Grey and Black . After a few weeks, Gershwin finished his composition and passed

13433-502: The original record labels. Gershwin made a number of solo piano recordings of tunes from his musicals, some including the vocals of Fred and Adele Astaire , as well as his Three Preludes for piano. In 1929, Gershwin "supervised" the world premiere recording of An American in Paris with Nathaniel Shilkret and the Victor Symphony Orchestra . Gershwin's role in the recording was rather limited, particularly because Shilkret

13566-533: The performance. The effect is produced using the tongue and throat muscles to change the resonance of the oral cavity, thus controlling the continuously rising pitch. Many clarinet players gradually open the left-hand tone holes on their instrument during the passage from the last concert F to the top concert B ♭ as well. This effect has now become standard performance practice for the work. Rhapsody in Blue features both rhythmic invention and melodic inspiration, and demonstrates Gershwin's ability to write

13699-522: The pianist in the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. Until his death in 1918, Hambitzer remained Gershwin's musical mentor, taught him conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European classical tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestral concerts. In 1913, Gershwin left school at the age of 15 to work as a " song plugger " on New York City's Tin Pan Alley . He earned $ 15

13832-515: The piano rolls, there are few accessible audio recordings of Gershwin's playing. His first recording was his own " Swanee " with the Fred Van Eps Trio in 1919. The recorded balance highlights the banjo playing of Van Eps, and the piano is overshadowed. The recording took place before "Swanee" became famous as an Al Jolson specialty in early 1920. Gershwin recorded an abridged version of Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra for

13965-536: The piano. Audiences heard the piece again in the United Kingdom during the second European tour of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, most notably on April 11, 1926, at the Royal Albert Hall , with Gershwin in the audience. The Gramophone Company / HMV recorded this performance. By the end of 1927, Whiteman's band had performed Rhapsody in Blue approximately 84 times, and its recording sold a million copies. For

14098-452: The piece, stated: Rhapsody in Blue is not a real composition in the sense that whatever happens in it must seem inevitable, or even pretty inevitable. You can cut out parts of it without affecting the whole in any way except to make it shorter. You can remove any of these stuck-together sections and the piece still goes on as bravely as before. You can even interchange these sections with one another and no harm done. You can make cuts within

14231-480: The profound and positive effect of popular music on culture, the prize is given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins. On March 1, 2007, the first Gershwin Prize was awarded to Paul Simon . Early in his career, under both his own name and pseudonyms, Gershwin recorded more than one hundred forty player piano rolls which were

14364-458: The reeds section, Ross Gorman (Reed I) played an oboe, a heckelphone , a clarinet in B ♭ , sopranino saxophones in E ♭ & B ♭ , an alto saxophone , one E ♭ soprano clarinet, and alto and bass clarinets ; Donald Clark (Reed II) played a soprano saxophone in B ♭ , alto and baritone saxophones , and Hale Byers (Reed III) played soprano saxophone in B ♭ , tenor saxophone , baritone saxophone, and

14497-426: The rhapsody as "a "highly original form", and the composer as a "new talent finding its voice." Nonetheless, other reviewers were less positive. Pitts Sanborn declared that the rhapsody "begins with a promising theme well stated" yet "soon runs off into empty passage-work and meaningless repetition." A number of reviews were particularly negative. Lawrence Gilman —a Richard Wagner enthusiast who would later write

14630-481: The rhapsody, from beginning to end. No new themes came to me, but I worked on the thematic material already in my mind and tried to conceive the composition as a whole. I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot , of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston I had a definite plot of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance. Gershwin began composing on January 7 as dated on

14763-416: The rhythms, the way the melodies are handled, the melodies themselves. I have heard of George Gershwin's works and I find them intriguing." The orchestrations in Gershwin's symphonic works often seem similar to those of Ravel; likewise, Ravel's two piano concertos evince an influence of Gershwin. George Gershwin asked to study with Ravel. When Ravel heard how much Gershwin earned, Ravel replied with words to

14896-479: The score, titled A Rhapsody in Blue , to Ferde Grofé , Whiteman's arranger. Grofé finished orchestrating the piece on February 4—a mere eight days before the premiere. Rhapsody in Blue premiered during a snowy Tuesday afternoon on February 12, 1924, at Aeolian Hall , Manhattan . Entitled "An Experiment in Modern Music," the much-anticipated concert held by Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra drew

15029-910: The season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin." In 1993, two audio CDs featuring piano rolls recorded by Gershwin were issued by Nonesuch Records through the efforts of Artis Wodehouse, entitled Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls . In 2010, Brian Wilson released Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin , consisting of ten George and Ira Gershwin songs, bookended by passages from Rhapsody in Blue , with two new songs completed from unfinished Gershwin fragments by Wilson and band member Scott Bennett. Orchestral Solo piano Operas London musicals Broadway musicals Films for which Gershwin wrote original scores Gershwin died intestate , and his estate passed to his mother. The estate continues to collect royalties in

15162-451: The solo piano section until after the concert, it remains unknown exactly how the original rhapsody sounded at the premiere. Upon the conclusion of the rhapsody, the audience tumultuously applauded Gershwin's composition, and, quite unexpectedly, "the concert, in every respect but the financial, became a 'knockout'." The concert soon became historically significant due to the premiere of the rhapsody, and its program would "become not only

15295-514: The standards " Embraceable You ", sung by Ginger Rogers, and " I Got Rhythm ". 1931's Of Thee I Sing became the first musical comedy to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama ; the winners were George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, and Ira Gershwin. Gershwin spent the summer of 1934 on Folly Island in South Carolina after he was invited to visit by the author of the novel Porgy , DuBose Heyward . He

15428-496: The techniques of stride piano , novelty piano , comic piano, and the song-plugger piano style. Stride piano's rhythmic and improvisational style is evident in the "agitato e misterioso" section, which begins four bars after rehearsal 33, as well as in other sections, many of which include the orchestra. Novelty piano can be heard at rehearsal 9 with the revelation of the Train theme. The hesitations and light-hearted style of comic piano,

15561-553: The term "extra" is rarely used and is often considered derogatory. In a stage production, background actors are commonly referred to as " supernumeraries ". A more archaic theatre term is "sword carriers". In opera and ballet, they are called either "extras" or "supers". Casting criteria for background actors depend on the production. It is not entirely true that background cast members require little or no acting experience, as any type of unrealistic portrayal must include some form of imagination and acting. Punctuality, reliability and

15694-544: The third movement of the Concerto in F with Vallee conducting the studio orchestra. Some of these performances were preserved on transcription discs and have been released on LP and CD . In 1934, in an effort to earn money to finance his planned folk opera, Gershwin hosted his own radio program titled Music by Gershwin . The show was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from February to May and again in September through

15827-436: The very journey that he had consciously taken as a composer: "The opening part will be developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and Les Six , though the tunes are original." Gershwin was intrigued by the works of Alban Berg , Dmitri Shostakovich , Igor Stravinsky , Darius Milhaud , and Arnold Schoenberg . He also asked Schoenberg for composition lessons. Schoenberg refused, saying "I would only make you

15960-535: The warm reception by concert audiences, music critics gave the rhapsody mixed reviews. Samuel Chotzinoff, music critic of the New York World , conceded that Gershwin's composition had "made an honest woman out of jazz," while Henrietta Strauss of The Nation opined that Gershwin had "added a new chapter to our musical history." Olin Downes , reviewing the concert in The New York Times , favorably noted

16093-428: The way his friend played, captivated him. At about the same time, George's parents had bought a piano for his older brother Ira. To his parents' surprise, though, and to Ira's relief, it was George who spent more time playing it as he continued to enjoy it. Although his younger sister Frances Gershwin was the first in the family to make a living through her musical talents, she married young and devoted herself to being

16226-504: The work premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall , New York City. Whiteman's band performed the rhapsody with Gershwin playing the piano. Whiteman's arranger Ferde Grofé orchestrated the rhapsody several times including the 1924 original scoring, the 1926 pit orchestra scoring, and the 1942 symphonic scoring. The rhapsody is one of Gershwin's most recognizable creations and

16359-572: The work's legacy is best understood as embodying the cultural zeitgeist of the Jazz Age: Beginning with that incomparable, flamboyant clarinet solo, Rhapsody is irresistible still, with its syncopated rhythmic vibrancy, its abandoned, impudent flair that tells more about the Roaring Twenties than could a thousand words, and its genuine melodic beauty colored a deep, jazzy blue by the flatted sevenths and thirds that had their origins in

16492-403: Was "thrilled and deeply impressed". Russian Joseph Schillinger 's influence as Gershwin's teacher of composition (1932–1936) was substantial in providing him with a method of composition. There has been some disagreement about the nature of Schillinger's influence on Gershwin. After the posthumous success of Porgy and Bess , Schillinger claimed he had a large and direct influence in overseeing

16625-450: Was "unhappy that Kay Swift wasn't Jewish". The Gershwins' 1926 musical Oh, Kay was named for her. After Gershwin's death, Swift arranged some of his music, transcribed several of his recordings, and collaborated with his brother Ira on several projects. Early in 1937, Gershwin began to complain of blinding headaches and a recurring impression that he smelled burning rubber. As early as February 1934, he had said he smelled burning garbage at

16758-441: Was a commercial success. In addition to his musical activities, he took over the management of the popular and famous gay bathhouse Lafayette Baths together with his brother Ira. In 1919, Gershwin scored his first big national hit with his song " Swanee ", with words by Irving Caesar . Al Jolson , a Broadway star and former minstrel singer , heard Gershwin perform "Swanee" at a party and decided to sing it in one of his shows. In

16891-724: Was born in Odessa , Russian Empire (now Ukraine ), and had served for 25 years as a mechanic for the Imperial Russian Army to earn the right of free travel and residence as a Jew, finally retiring near Saint Petersburg , Russia. Jakov's teenage son, Moishe, George Gershwin's father, worked as a leather cutter for women's shoes. Moishe's wife-to-be, George's mother-to-be, Roza Bruskina, was born in Saint Petersburg , Russia. Moishe met Roza in Vilnius , Lithuania, where her father worked as

17024-596: Was born on December 6, 1896, after which the family moved into a second-floor apartment at 242 Snediker Avenue in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. George was born on September 26, 1898, in the Snediker Avenue apartment. His birth certificate identifies him as Jacob Gershwine, with the surname pronounced "Gersh-vin" in the Russian and Yiddish immigrant community. He was named after his grandfather, and, contrary to

17157-421: Was conducting and had his own ideas about the music. When it was realized that no one had been hired to play the brief celeste solo, Gershwin was asked if he could and would play the instrument, and he agreed. Gershwin can be heard, rather briefly, on the recording during the slow section. Gershwin also appeared on several radio programs, including Rudy Vallee 's, and played some of his compositions. This included

17290-405: Was inspired to write the music to his opera Porgy and Bess while on this working vacation . Porgy and Bess was considered another American classic by the composer of Rhapsody in Blue — even if critics could not quite figure out how to evaluate it, or decide whether it was opera or simply an ambitious Broadway musical. "It crossed the barriers," per theater historian Robert Kimball. "It wasn't

17423-570: Was interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson , New York. A memorial concert was held at the Hollywood Bowl on September 8, 1937, at which Otto Klemperer conducted his own orchestration of the second of Gershwin's Three Preludes . Gershwin was influenced by French composers of the early twentieth century. In turn Maurice Ravel was impressed with Gershwin's abilities, commenting, "Personally I find jazz most interesting:

17556-415: Was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé and premiered by Paul Whiteman 's Concert Band, in New York. It subsequently went on to be his most popular work, and established Gershwin's signature style and genius in blending vastly different musical styles, including jazz and classical, in revolutionary ways. Since the early 1920s, Gershwin had frequently worked with the lyricist Buddy DeSylva . Together they created

17689-464: Was overlooked or ignored. It is true that an appreciable part of the scoring had been indicated by Gershwin; nevertheless, the contribution of Grofé was of prime importance, not only to the composition, but to the jazz scoring of the immediate future. Grofé hastily arranged the famous 1924 score to take full advantage of the Whiteman orchestra's particular strengths. He developed this orchestration for solo piano and Whiteman's twenty-three musicians. For

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