George Gershwin by Aiden Roush

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George Gershwin

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SEPTEMBER 26, 1898-JULY 11, 1937

Parents: Morris (Moishe) Gershowitz (father). He worked as a foreman in a women’s shoe factory, part owner in a Turkish bath, cigar shop owner (etc.). Described as an easy-going philosopher by his son. Rosa Gershowitz (Bruskin) (mother) was a restraint proprietor and described by George as “nervous, ambitious, and purposeful” and “never the doting type.” (Doting: extremely and uncritically fond of someone; adoring)

George was born September 26, 1898 in his family’s apartment in Brooklyn, New York with his siblings Ira (1896–1983) Arthur Gershwin (1900–1981), Frances Gershwin (1906–1999). Young George lived a life not unusual for a kid in Brooklyn, running around with his friends and getting into trouble. His interest in music started when he was ten after hearing his friend’s violin recital, his interest only grew from there.

George left school at the age of 15 to be a song plugger, he earned $15 a week, when he was 17 he published his first song titled “When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em” it earned the young George 50 cents.

In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major piece, “Rhapsody in Blue”, which later went on to be his most popular work, he also composed many other works with his brother, Ira, and lyricist, Buddy DeSylva

In the mid-1920’s George had applied not study composition with the noted Nadia Boulanger, who as others like Maurice Ravel, denied him, afraid that lots of studying would ruin his jazz-inspired style. Ravel’s rejection letter told him “Why become a second-rate Ravel when you're already a first-rate Gershwin?”

In 1929, the Gershwin brothers released Show Girl, and the following year brought Girl Crazy. In 1931 “Of Thee I Sing” was the first musical comedy to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

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, which inspired him to write the music for his opera, “Porgy and Bess” while on his vacation, this was considered a classic for the composer of Rhapsody in Blue, even though critics couldn’t quite figure out how to evaluate it, it “crossed barriers” in critics’ words.

After the commercial failure of “Porgy and Bess” Gershwin moved to California in 1936, and in early 1937 George began to have blinding headaches and claimed he smelled burning rubber on a regular basis, and on February 11, 1937 he performed his Piano Concerto in F in a special concert, and the normally very put-together pianist suffered many coordination problems, this would now regularly happen, and blackouts would be added to the list.

In the night of July 9, 1937, Gershwin collapsed in Harburg's house, where he had been working on the music for “The Goldwyn Follies”, he was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles, where he fell into a coma, only then did his doctors believe that he had a brain tumor, in dire need of a brain surgeon, he finally found one, with the surgeon making haste to make it to Los Angeles, but by that time, George was in immediate need of this surgeon, in the early hours of July 11, 1937, George passed away.