Editing George Gershwin

{{Short description|American composer and pianist (1898–1937)}}
{{Redirect|Gershwin|his brother|Ira Gershwin|other uses|Gershwin (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = George Gershwin
| image              = Portrait of George Gershwin LCCN2004662906.jpg
| caption            = Gershwin in 1937 by [[Carl Van Vechten]]
| birth_name         = Jacob Gershwine
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1898|9|26}}
| birth_place        = New York City, U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1937|7|11|1898|9|26}}
| death_place        = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| resting_place      = [[Westchester Hills Cemetery]], New York
| occupation         = {{hlist|Composer|pianist}}
| years_active       = 1916–1937
| relatives          = {{plainlist|
* [[Ira Gershwin]] (brother)
* [[Arthur Gershwin]] (brother)
* [[Frances Gershwin]] (sister)
}}
}}
'''George Gershwin''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɜr|ʃ|.|w|ɪ|n}}; born '''Jacob Gershwine'''; September 26, 1898&nbsp;– 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 (song)|Swanee]]" (1919) and "[[Fascinating Rhythm]]" (1924), the jazz standards "[[Embraceable You]]" (1928) and "[[I Got Rhythm]]" (1930), and the opera ''[[Porgy and Bess]]'' (1935), which included the hit "[[Summertime (George Gershwin song)|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 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.<ref>Carp L. George Gershwin-illustrious American composer: his fatal glioblastoma. Am J Surg Pathol 1979; 3: 473–478.</ref> His compositions have been adapted for use in film and television, with many becoming jazz standards.

==Biography==
===Ancestors===
Gershwin's parents were both Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His paternal grandfather, Jakov Gershowitz, 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Rose-Gershwin/6000000010555836595|title=Rose Gershwin|website=geni_family_tree|year=1875 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biography.yourdictionary.com/ira-gershwin|title=Ira Gershwin|website=biography.yourdictionary.com}}</ref>

Moishe met Roza in Vilna, Russian Empire (now [[Vilnius]], [[Lithuania]]), where her father worked as 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 (arrived on August 14, 1890). 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.{{sfn|Hyland|2003|pp=1–3}}{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=3}}{{sfn|Jablonski|1987|pp=29–31}} Their first child, [[Ira Gershwin]], 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.

===Early life===
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.<ref>{{harvnb|Jablonski|1987|pp=24}}: "Morris Gershovitz moved his family...to Brooklyn, where he had found an unprepossessing two-story brick house at 242 Snedicker Avenue... In this house on September 26, 1898, Jacob Gershwine (as George's birth certificate reads) was delivered...The name change may have been Morris's idea; it is possible that by the time he married he had streamlined his name to "Gershvin," and so would the doctor have been informed. Gershwine in a Jewish community would still be pronounced Gershvin.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Pollack|2006|pp=fn707}}: "Gershwin's birth certificate reads, 'Jacob Gershwine'; [Frances Gershwin] suggests that Morris's brother, Aaron, first changed the family name, though the latter gave his name in the 1920 census as 'Gershvin.'"</ref> He was named after his grandfather, and, contrary to the American practice, had no middle name. He soon became known as George,<ref>{{harvnb|Jablonski|1987|pp=25}}: "Eight-year old George (no one in the family remembers calling him Jake or Jacob)..."</ref> and changed the spelling of his surname to "Gershwin" around the time he became a professional musician; other family members followed suit{{Sfn|Jablonski|1987|pp=10, 29–31}} 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 the [[Yiddish Theater District]]. George and Ira frequented the local Yiddish theaters, with George occasionally appearing onstage as an [[Extra (actor)|extra]].{{sfn|Pollack|2006}}<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ClbSVEha8gC&pg=PT199 |title=The Rough Guide to New York City |author=Andrew Rosenberg, Martin Dunford |publisher=Penguin |year= 2012|isbn=978-1-4053-9022-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/loc/Gershwin.html |title=Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress: George Gershwin |encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library |year=2013 |access-date=March 10, 2013}} As quoted by Abraham J. Karp (1991) ''From the Ends of the Earth: Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress'', p. 351, {{ISBN|0-8478-1450-5}}.</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gershwin, His Life and Music |last=Schwartz |first=Charles |year=1973 |publisher=Da Capo Press, Inc. |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-306-80096-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/gershwinhislifem00schw/page/14 14] |url=https://archive.org/details/gershwinhislifem00schw/page/14 }}</ref> The sound, and 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.{{sfn|Hyland|2003|p=13}}

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 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), 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.{{sfn|Hyland|2003|p=14}}

===Tin Pan Alley and Broadway: 1913–1923===
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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 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.<ref name="ven">{{cite book|last=Venezia|first=Mike|title=Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers: George Gerswhin|year=1994|publisher=Childrens Press|location=Chicago IL}}</ref>

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 the Duo-Art and [[Welte-Mignon]] [[reproducing piano]]s. As well as recording piano rolls, Gershwin made a brief foray into [[vaudeville]], accompanying both [[Nora Bayes]] and [[Louise Dresser]] on the piano.<ref>Slide, Anthony. ''The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville'', Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994. p. 111.</ref> 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]].<ref>Baral, Robert, Revue, Fleet Publishing, NY, 1962, pp. 109-110.</ref> His 1917 novelty [[ragtime]], "Rialto Ripples", was a commercial success.<ref name=ven /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TR Center - Before Stonewall: The Ariston Bath Raids of 1903 |url=https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Blog/Item/Ariston |access-date=November 26, 2023 |website=theodorerooseveltcenter.org}}</ref>

In 1919, Gershwin scored his first big national hit with his song "[[Swanee (song)|Swanee]]", with words by [[Irving Caesar]]. [[Al Jolson]], a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] star and former [[minstrel show|minstrel singer]], heard Gershwin perform "Swanee" at a party and decided to sing it in one of his shows.<ref name=ven /> In the late 1910s, Gershwin met songwriter and music director [[William Merrigan Daly|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.{{sfn|Pollack|2006|pp=191–192}}

===Musical, Europe and classical music: 1924–1928===
[[File:George Gershwin-signed.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Head and shoulders picture of a young man with slicked back dark hair and a signature on the bottom|George Gershwin, c. 1935]]

In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major work, ''[[Rhapsody in Blue]]'', for orchestra and piano.<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Gorlinski |editor-first=Gini |title=The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time |page=166 |year=2010 |publisher=[[Britannica Educational Publishing]] |url=https://archive.org/details/100mostinfluenti0000unse_s6r3/page/166/mode/1up |isbn=9781615300068}}</ref> It 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 the experimental one-act jazz opera ''[[Blue Monday (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 (musical)|Lady Be Good]]'', which included such future [[Jazz standards|standards]] as "[[Fascinating Rhythm]]" and "[[Oh, Lady Be Good!]]".<ref>{{ibdb show|title=Lady, Be Good|id=5227}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> They followed this with ''[[Oh, Kay!]]'' (1926),<ref>{{ibdb show|id=6687 |title=Oh, Kay!}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> ''[[Funny Face (musical)|Funny Face]]'' (1927) and ''[[Strike Up the Band (musical)|Strike Up 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".<ref>{{ibdb show|title=Strike Up the Band|id=11031}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref>

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.{{sfn|Jablonski|1987|pp=155–170}} Maurice Ravel's rejection letter to Gershwin told him, "Why become 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.{{sfn|Jablonski|1987|pp=178–180}}

===New York: 1929–1935===
In 1929, the Gershwin brothers created ''[[Show Girl (1929 musical)|Show Girl]]'';<ref>{{ibdb show|title=Show Girl|id=10910}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> the following year brought ''[[Girl Crazy]]'',<ref>{{ibdb show|title=Girl Crazy|id=3873}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> which introduced 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.<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Drama "Drama"]. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved August 22, 2011.</ref> 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 was inspired to write the music to his opera ''[[Porgy and Bess]]'' while on this working vacation''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.follybeach.com/gershwin-on-folly-summertime-and-the-livin-was-easy/|title=Gershwin on Folly: Summertime and the livin' was easy|date=December 6, 2019|website=FollyBeach.com|language=en-US|access-date=March 3, 2020}}</ref>'' ''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 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."<ref>Grigsby Bates, Karen. [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4951238 70 Years of Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess'"] NPR.org, October 10, 2005</ref>

===Last years: 1936–1937===
After the commercial failure of ''Porgy and Bess'', Gershwin moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], California. In 1936, he was commissioned by [[RKO Pictures]] to write the music for the film ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'', starring [[Fred Astaire]] and [[Ginger Rogers]]. Gershwin's extended score, which would marry ballet with [[jazz]] in 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 was "unhappy that Kay Swift wasn't Jewish".<ref>{{cite news|author=Sidney Offit|url=http://momentmag.com/moment/issues/2011/10/book_memory.html|title=Sins of Our Fathers (and Grandmothers) |work=Moment Magazine|date=September–October 2011|access-date=October 3, 2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011080733/http://momentmag.com/moment/issues/2011/10/book_memory.html|archive-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref> The Gershwins' 1926 musical ''Oh, Kay'' was named for her.{{sfn|Hyland|2003|p=108}} After Gershwin's death, Swift arranged some of his music, transcribed several of his recordings, and collaborated with his brother Ira on several projects.<ref>[http://www.kayswift.com/bio.html ''Kay Swift biography'' (Kay Swift Memorial Trust)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203041421/http://www.kayswift.com/bio.html |date=December 3, 2019 }}. kayswift.com. Retrieved December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Illness and death===
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 the Detroit railway station, though those with him did not.<ref>Joan Peyser, ''The Memory of All That: The Life of George Gershwin'', 1998 ch. 4, p. 217; ch. 5, p. 262</ref> 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]].{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=353}} 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 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 hallucination]]s 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,<ref name="Jablonski">Jablonski, Edward. "George Gershwin; He Couldn't Be Saved" (Letter to Editor), ''The New York Times'', October 25, 1998, Section 2; Page 4; Column 5</ref> and fell into 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]], the governor of Maryland. Mosbacher called the [[White House]] and had a [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] cutter sent to find the governor's yacht and bring Dandy quickly to shore.<ref name="autogenerated323">Jablonski, Edward. ''Gershwin''. New York: Doubleday, 1987. p. 323.</ref>

[[File:Gershwin best 800.jpg|thumb|Gershwin's mausoleum in [[Westchester Hills Cemetery]]]]
Mosbacher then chartered a plane and flew Dandy to [[Newark Airport]], where he was to catch a plane to Los Angeles;<ref>Jablonski, Edward. ''Gershwin''. New York: Doubleday, 1987. p. 324.</ref> by that time, Gershwin's condition was critical and the need for surgery was immediate.<ref name="autogenerated323"/> Before Dandy could arrive,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=July 19, 1937 |title=Music: Death of Gershwin |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,882760,00.html |magazine=Time |language=en-us |access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref> in the early hours of Sunday, July 11, 1937, doctors at Cedars removed a large brain tumor, believed to have been a [[glioblastoma]], but Gershwin died that morning at the age of 38.<ref name="NEJM">{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31623-9| pmid=28816130|title = George Gershwin's death and Duret haemorrhage| journal=The Lancet| volume=390| issue=10095| page=646|year = 2017|last1 = Mezaki|first1 = Takahiro| doi-access=free}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="NEJM" />

Gershwin's friends and admirers were 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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/Gershwins_unrealized_potential/ |title=Broad Street |publisher=Broadstreetreview.com |date=February 27, 2007 |access-date=March 10, 2010 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726065615/http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/Gershwins_unrealized_potential/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He 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''.{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=392}}

==Musical style and influence==
[[File:Ravel Gershwin Leide-Tedesco002.jpg|thumb|left|Birthday party honoring [[Maurice Ravel]] in New York City, March 8, 1928. From left: [[Oskar Fried]]; [[Éva Gauthier]]; Ravel at piano; [[Manoah Leide-Tedesco]]; and George Gershwin.]]
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: the rhythms, the way the melodies are handled, the melodies themselves. I have heard of George Gershwin's works and I find them intriguing."{{sfn|Mawer|Cross|2000|p=42}} The [[orchestration]]s 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 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.)<ref>Arthur Rubinstein, ''My Many Years''; Merle Armitage, ''George Gershwin''; Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft, ''Dialogues and a Diary'', all quoted in Norman Lebrecht, ''The Book of Musical Anecdotes''</ref>

Gershwin's own ''[[Concerto in F]]'' was criticized for being related to the work of [[Claude Debussy]], more 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 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."{{sfn|Hyland|2003|p=126}}

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 a bad Schoenberg, and you're such a good Gershwin already."<ref>Norman Lebrecht, ''The Book of Musical Anecdotes''</ref> (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 (Berg)|Lyric Suite]]''. He attended the American premiere of ''[[Wozzeck]]'', conducted by [[Leopold Stokowski]] in 1931, and was "thrilled and deeply impressed".<ref>Howard Pollack, [https://books.google.com/books?id=RySwdc151ZoC&q=wozzeck+gershwin&pg=PA145 George Gershwin: His Life and Work, p. 145]. Retrieved June 20, 2016</ref>

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 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.<ref>Dukelsky, Vladimir (Vernon Duke), [https://web.archive.org/web/20160116051427/http://mq.oxfordjournals.org/content/XXXIII/1/102 "Gershwin, Schillinger and Dukelsky: Some Reminiscences"], ''[[The Musical Quarterly]]'', Volume 33, 1947, 102–115 {{doi|10.1093/mq/XXXIII.1.102}}</ref>

What set Gershwin apart was his ability to manipulate forms of music into his own unique voice. He took 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."<ref name=balletmet>[http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/GeorgeG.html "George Gershwin"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504192023/http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/GeorgeG.html |date=May 4, 2010 }} balletmet.org, (Compiled February 2000). Retrieved April 20, 2010</ref>

In 2007, the [[Library of Congress]] named its [[Gershwin Prize]] for Popular Song after George and Ira Gershwin. Recognizing 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]].<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/previews/paulsimon/ "Paul Simon: The Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize For Popular Song"], PBS article</ref>

==Recordings and film==
Early in his career, under both his own name and pseudonyms, Gershwin recorded more than one hundred forty [[player piano]] [[piano rolls|rolls]] which were 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 the piano rolls, there are few accessible audio recordings of Gershwin's playing. His first recording was his own "[[Swanee (song)|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 the [[Victor Talking Machine Company]] in 1924, soon after the world premiere. Gershwin and the same orchestra made an [[Victor Talking Machine Company#Electrical recording era (1925–present)|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 the original record labels.{{sfn|Peyser|2007|p=133}}

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 (Gershwin)|Three Preludes]]'' for piano. In 1929, Gershwin "supervised" the world premiere recording of ''An American in Paris'' with Nathaniel Shilkret and the [[RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra|Victor Symphony Orchestra]]. Gershwin's role in the recording was rather limited, particularly because Shilkret was conducting and had his own ideas about the music. When it was realized that no one had been hired to play the brief [[celesta|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 the third movement of the ''Concerto in F'' with Vallee conducting the studio orchestra. Some of these performances were preserved on [[transcription disc]]s and have been released on [[LP record|LP]] and [[Compact Disc Digital Audio|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 the final show on December 23, 1934. He presented his own work as well as the work of other composers.{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=163}} 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 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 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.{{sfn|Jablonski|Stewart|1973|p=70}} 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 is newsreel footage of Gershwin playing "Mademoiselle from New Rochelle" and "[[Strike Up the Band (song)|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.[[File:George Gershwin USPS stamp 1973.jpg|thumb|1973 U.S. commemorative stamp honoring Gershwin]]
In 1945, the film biography ''[[Rhapsody in Blue (film)|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 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 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 (1979 film)|''Manhattan'']] is composed entirely of Gershwin's compositions, including ''Rhapsody in Blue'', "[[Love is Sweeping the Country]]", and [[But Not for Me (song)|"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 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<ref>[http://www.richard-dowling.com/GershwinRollsNotes ''George Gershwin and the player piano 1915–1927''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704123824/http://www.richard-dowling.com/GershwinRollsNotes |date=July 4, 2008 }}. richard-dowling.com. Retrieved December 28, 2007.</ref> were issued by [[Nonesuch Records]] through the efforts of Artis Wodehouse, entitled ''[[Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls]]''.<ref>Yanow, Scott.[http://www.allmusic.com/album/r158642 " 'Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls' Overview"] ''AllMusic''. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> 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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091011124642/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/10/08/brian-wilson-will-complete-unfinished-gershwin-compositions/ "Brian Wilson Will Complete Unfinished Gershwin Compositions"] ''Rolling Stone'', October 2009</ref>

==Compositions==
{{Main|List of compositions by George Gershwin}}

''' Orchestral '''
* ''[[Rhapsody in Blue]]'' for piano and orchestra (1924)
* ''[[Concerto in F]]'' for piano and orchestra (1925)
* ''[[An American in Paris]]'' for orchestra (1928)
* ''Dream Sequence/The Melting Pot'' for chorus and orchestra (1931)
* ''[[Second Rhapsody]]'' for piano and orchestra (1931), originally titled ''Rhapsody in Rivets''
* ''[[Cuban Overture]]'' for orchestra (1932), originally entitled ''Rumba''
* ''[[Strike Up the Band (song)|March from "Strike Up the Band"]]'' for orchestra (1934)
* ''[[Variations on "I Got Rhythm"]]'' for piano and orchestra (1934)
* ''[[Catfish Row]]'' for orchestra (1936), a suite based on music from ''[[Porgy and Bess]]''
* ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'' (1937), a movie score feature-length ballet
'''Solo piano'''
* ''[[Three Preludes (Gershwin)|Three Preludes]]'' (1926)
* ''George Gershwin's Song-book'' (1932), solo piano arrangements of 18 songs
'''Operas'''
* ''[[Blue Monday (opera)|Blue Monday]]'' (1922), one-act opera
* ''[[Porgy and Bess]]'' (1935) at the [[Colonial Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)|Colonial Theatre]] in Boston{{sfn|Jablonski|Stewart|1973|pp=25, 227–229.}}
'''London musicals'''
* ''[[Primrose (musical)|Primrose]]'' (1924)
'''Broadway musicals'''
* ''[[George White's Scandals]]'' (1920–1924), featuring, at one point, the 1922 one-act opera ''[[Blue Monday (opera)|Blue Monday]]''
* ''[[Lady, Be Good (musical)|Lady, Be Good]]'' (1924)
* ''[[Tip-Toes]]'' (1925)
* ''Tell Me More!'' (1925)
* ''[[Oh, Kay!]]'' (1926)
* ''[[Strike Up the Band (musical)|Strike Up the Band]]'' (1927)
* ''[[Funny Face (musical)|Funny Face]]'' (1927)
* ''[[Rosalie (musical)|Rosalie]]'' (1928)
* ''[[Treasure Girl]]'' (1928)
* ''[[Show Girl (1929 musical)|Show Girl]]'' (1929)
* ''[[Girl Crazy]]'' (1930)
* ''[[Of Thee I Sing]]'' (1931)
* ''[[Pardon My English]]'' (1933)
* ''[[Let 'Em Eat Cake]]'' (1933)
* ''[[My One and Only (musical)|My One and Only]]'' (1983), an original 1983 musical using previously written Gershwin songs
* ''[[Crazy for You (musical)|Crazy for You]]'' (1992), a revised version of ''Girl Crazy''
* ''[[Nice Work If You Can Get It (musical)|Nice Work If You Can Get It]]'' (2012), a musical with a score by George and Ira Gershwin
* ''[[An American in Paris (musical)|An American in Paris]]'', a musical that ran on Broadway from April 2015 to October 2016
'''Films for which Gershwin wrote original scores'''
* ''[[Delicious (1931 film)|Delicious]]'' (1931), an early version of the ''Second Rhapsody'' and one other musical sequence was used in this film, the rest were rejected by the studio
* ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'' (1937), original orchestral score by Gershwin, no recordings available in modern stereo, some sections have never been recorded (Nominated- [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]]: They Can't Take That Away from Me)
* ''[[A Damsel in Distress (1937 film)|A Damsel in Distress]]'' (1937)
* ''[[The Goldwyn Follies]]'' (1938), posthumously released
* ''[[The Shocking Miss Pilgrim]]'' (1947), uses previously unpublished songs

==Legacy==
[[File:George Gershwin (3c19485v).jpg|thumb|George Gershwin with one of his oil paintings, 1931]]

===Estate===
Gershwin died [[intestate]], and his estate passed to his mother.{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=7}} The estate continues to collect royalties in the United States from licensing the [[copyright]]s on his post-''Rhapsody in Blue'' work.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2010561020/ | title=Ira Gershwin files from the law office of Leonard Saxe | website=[[Library of Congress]] }}</ref> The estate supported the [[Copyright Term Extension Act|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 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/12/30/792302139/1924-copyrighted-works-to-become-part-of-the-public-domain|title=1924 Copyrighted Works To Become Part Of The Public Domain|work=NPR }}</ref>

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.<ref>Scott, Kirsty.[https://www.theguardian.com/uk_news/story/0,3604,1558446,00.html ''Gershwin leads composer rich list'' ] ''[[The Guardian]]'', August 29, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2007.</ref>

The George and Ira Gershwin Collection, much of which was donated by Ira and the Gershwin family estates, resides at the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu010014 |title=George and Ira Gershwin collection, 1895–2008 |publisher=The Library of Congress |access-date=August 23, 2021}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/videos/21685-u-m-to-become-epicenter-of-research-on-music-of-george-ira-gershwin | title=U-M to become epicenter of research on music of George & Ira Gershwin | publisher=Michigan News | year=2013 | access-date = November 26, 2013}}</ref> This direct access to all of his works provides opportunities to musicians, composers, and scholars to analyze and reinterpret his work with the goal of accurately reflecting the composers' vision to preserve his legacy.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/arts/music/toward-a-go-to-gershwin-edition.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/arts/music/toward-a-go-to-gershwin-edition.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live | title=Toward a Go-To Gershwin Edition | newspaper=The New York Times | year=2013 | access-date = November 26, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icsom.org/senzasordino/2016/03/the-gershwin-critical-edition/|title=The Gershwin Critical Edition – Senza Sordino|date=March 21, 2016|access-date=July 29, 2018}}</ref>{{update inline|date=August 2021}}

===Awards and honors===
* In 1937, Gershwin received his sole [[Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] at the 1937 Oscars for "[[They Can't Take That Away from Me]]", written with his brother Ira for the 1937 film ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]''. The nomination was [[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|posthumous]]; Gershwin died two months after the film's release.<ref>[http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1313961283515 "1937 Song"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235913/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1313961283515 |date=December 2, 2013 }} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref>
* In 1982, George Gershwin was inducted into the Jewish-American Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Jewish-American Hall Of Fame Music Honoree ― George Gershwin |url=https://amuseum.org/index.php/music-honorees-gershwin/ |website=amuseum.org |access-date=June 27, 2024}}</ref>
* In 1985, the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] was awarded to George and Ira Gershwin. Only three other songwriters, [[George M. Cohan]], [[Harry Chapin]], and [[Irving Berlin]], have received this award.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/inperformanceatthewhitehouse/award.php "In Performance at the White House:The Library of Congress:Gershwin Prize"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226193940/https://www.pbs.org/inperformanceatthewhitehouse/award.php |date=February 26, 2009 }} PBS. Retrieved April 15, 2010</ref><ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/goldMedal.html "Congressional Gold Medal Recipients (1776 to Present)"] Office of the Clerk, US House of Representatives (clerk.house.gov). Retrieved April 15, 2010.</ref>
* In 1998 a [[Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards|special Pulitzer Prize]] was posthumously awarded to Gershwin "commemorating the centennial year of his birth, for his distinguished and enduring contributions to American music."<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/1998-Special-Awards-and-Citations "The 1998 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Special Awards and Citations"]. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved December 3, 2013.</ref>
* [[The George and Ira Gershwin Award|The George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Musical Achievement Award]] was established by [[UCLA]] to honor the brothers for their contribution to music and for their gift to UCLA of the fight song "Strike Up the Band for UCLA".
* In 2006, Gershwin was inducted into the [[Long Island Music Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.limusichalloffame.org/project/george-gershwin/|title=George Gershwin {{!}} Long Island Music Hall of Fame|website=www.limusichalloffame.org|language=en-US|access-date=September 18, 2017}}</ref>
* In 2007, the [[Library of Congress]] created the [[Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song]] (aka, Gershwin Prize) in honor of both George and Ira Gershwin.

===Namesakes===
* The [[Gershwin Theatre]] on Broadway is named after George and Ira.<ref>[http://www.gershwin-theater.com/gershwin.html "History of the Gershwin Theater"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330061116/http://www.gershwin-theater.com/gershwin.html |date=March 30, 2010 }} gershwin-theater.com. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref>
* The Gershwin Hotel in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City was named after George and Ira.
* In [[Brooklyn]], George Gershwin Junior High School 166 is named after him.<ref>{{cite news|work=Daily News |location=New York|date=October 23, 2009|title=Tonya Lewis brings start power and true perfect to 'only-place-to-be' party|author=Richardson, Clem|access-date=June 15, 2011|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-10-23/local/17937690_1_music-industry-pop-culture-students/2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127154740/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-10-23/local/17937690_1_music-industry-pop-culture-students/2|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 27, 2011}}</ref>
* One of [[Holland America Line]]'s ships, [[MS Koningsdam|MS ''Koningsdam'']], has a Gershwin Deck (Deck 5)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-ships/ms-koningsdam/1.html|title=Koningsdam|website=hollandamerica.com|language=en-US|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref>

===Biopic===
* The 1945 biographical film ''[[Rhapsody in Blue (film)|Rhapsody in Blue]]'' starred [[Robert Alda]] as George Gershwin.

===Portrayals in other media===
* In [[George Lucas]]'s ''[[The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones]]'' a fictional George Gershwin appears as a friend of [[Indiana Jones (character)|Indiana Jones]] in the made-for-TV movie from 1999, ''Scandal of 1920.'' He also briefly appears in ''Hollywood Follies''. He is portrayed by Tom Beckett.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Scandal of 1920 (1999) |url=https://letterboxd.com/film/the-adventures-of-young-indiana-jones-scandal-of-1920/ |access-date=August 21, 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Hollywood Follies (1994) |url=https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/the-adventures-of-young-indiana-jones-hollywood-follies-1994 |access-date=August 22, 2023 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en}}</ref>
* Since 1999, [[Hershey Felder]] has produced a [[one-man show]] with him portraying ''George Gershwin Alone'', which has played over 3,000 performances and won two [[2007 Ovation Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Favre |first1=Jeff |title=Self-Starter: Hershey Felder and George Gershwin Alone |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/self-starter-13-35316/ |website=backstage.com |access-date=August 20, 2020 |date=November 4, 2019}}</ref> In response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Felder launched a global live-streaming ''Hershey Felder Presents: Live from Florence'' featuring a performance of "Hershey Felder as ''George Gershwin Alone''" in September 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hershey Felder as 'George Gershwin Alone' |url=https://www.hersheyfelder.net/about-hfp-gershwin |website=Hershey Felder Presents |access-date=September 13, 2020}}</ref>
* [[Paul Rudd]] portrays an imaginary friend based on George Gershwin, said to be his creator's favorite composer, in the 2015 series finale of the Irish sitcom ''[[Moone Boy]]'', "Gershwin's Bucket List".

==See also==
* [[List of covers of Time magazine (1920s)|List of covers of ''Time'' magazine (1920s)]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Hyland|first=William G.|title=George Gershwin : A New Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/georgegershwinne0000hyla|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Praeger|isbn=0-275-98111-8}}
* {{cite book|last1=Jablonski|first1=Edward|first2=Lawrence D.|last2=Stewart|title=The Gershwin Years: George and Ira|place=Garden City, New Jersey|publisher=Doubleday|year=1973|edition=2nd|isbn=0-306-80739-4|url=https://archive.org/details/gershwinyearsgeo00jabl}}
* {{cite book|last=Jablonski|first=Edward|title=Gershwin|year=1987|publisher=Doubleday|isbn=0-385-19431-5|url=https://archive.org/details/gershwin00jabl}}
* Kimball, Robert & Alfred Simon. ''The Gershwins'' (1973), Athenium, New York, {{ISBN|0-689-10569-X}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Mawer|editor1-first=Deborah|editor2-last=Cross|editor2-first=Jonathan|title=The Cambridge Companion to Ravel|series=[[Cambridge Companions to Music]]|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-64856-4}}
* {{cite book|first=Joan|last=Peyser|author-link=Joan Peyser|title=The Memory of All That:The Life of George Gershwin|year=2007|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=978-1-4234-1025-6|url=https://archive.org/details/memoryofallthatl00peys}}
* {{cite book|last=Pollack|first=Howard|title=George Gershwin. His Life and Work|year=2006|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-24864-9|url=https://archive.org/details/georgegershwinhi00poll}}
* Rimler, Walter. ''A Gershwin Companion'' (1991), Popular Culture {{ISBN|1-56075-019-7}}
* Rimler, Walter ''George Gershwin : An Intimate Portrait'' (2009), University of Illinois Press, {{ISBN|0-252-03444-9}}
* Sloop, Gregory. "What Caused George Gershwin's Untimely Death?" Journal of Medical Biography 9 (February 2001): 28–30
{{refend}}
{{div col end}}

===Further reading===
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
{{refbegin}}
* Alpert, Hollis. ''The Life and Times of Porgy and Bess: The Story of an American Classic'' (1991). Nick Hern Books. {{ISBN|1-85459-054-5}}
* Carnovale, Norbert. ''George Gershwin: a Bio-Bibliography'' (2000. ) Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|978-0-313-26003-2}} {{ISBN|0-313-26003-6}}
* Feinstein, Michael. ''Nice Work If You Can Get It: My Life in Rhythm and Rhyme'' (1995), Hyperion Books. {{ISBN|0-7868-8220-4}}
* Jablonski, Edward. ''Gershwin Remembered'' (2003). Amadeus Press. {{ISBN|0-931340-43-8}}
* Muccigrosso, Robert, ed., ''Research Guide to American Historical Biography'' (1988) 5:2523-30
* Rosenberg, Deena Ruth. ''Fascinating Rhythm: The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin'' (1991). University of Michigan Press {{ISBN|978-0-472-08469-2}}
* Sheed, Wilfred. ''The House That George Built: With a Little Help from Irving, Cole, and a Crew of About Fifty'' (2007). Random House. {{ISBN|0-8129-7018-7}}
* Suriano, Gregory R. (Editor). ''Gershwin in His Time: A Biographical Scrapbook, 1919–1937'' (1998). Diane Pub Co. {{ISBN|0-7567-5660-X}}
* Weber, Katharine. "The Memory Of All That: George Gershwin, Kay Swift, and My Family's Legacy of Infidelities" (2011). Crown Publishers, Inc./Broadway Books {{ISBN|978-0-307-39589-4}}
* Wyatt, Robert and John Andrew Johnson (Editors). ''The George Gershwin Reader'' (2004). Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-513019-7}}
{{refend}}
{{div col end}}

==External links==
{{Archival records|title=Harvey Granat Collection of George and Ira Gershwin Materials|location= Library of Congress|description_URL=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu021030}}
* {{Commons-inline}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Gershwin, George}}
* {{IBDB name|5813}}
* {{IMDb name|0006097|George Gershwin}}
* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu010014 George and Ira Gershwin Collection] at the [[Library of Congress]]
* George Gershwin Bio at [http://www.amuseum.org/jahf/virtour/page22.html Jewish-American Hall of Fame]
* [http://research.hrc.utexas.edu:8080/hrcxtf/view?docId=ead/00062.xml&query=gershwin,%20george&query-join=and George Gershwin Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411045309/http://research.hrc.utexas.edu:8080/hrcxtf/view?docId=ead%2F00062.xml&query=gershwin%2C%20george&query-join=and |date=April 11, 2013 }} at the [[Harry Ransom Center]] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]]
* [http://www.music.umich.edu/ami/gershwin/ The Gershwin Initiative] at [http://umich.edu The University of Michigan]
* [https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/7/archival_objects/3197744 George Gershwin oral histories at Oral History of American Music]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IBWo3eP6L0 Gershwin's An American in Paris] Performance / lecture with [[Bruce Adolphe]]
{{George Gershwin}}
{{Gershwins}}
{{PulitzerPrize SpecialCitations Arts}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gershwin, George}}
[[Category:George Gershwin| ]]
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American classical composers]]
[[Category:20th-century American classical pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century American jazz composers]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:American film score composers]]
[[Category:American jazz pianists]]
[[Category:American jazz songwriters]]
[[Category:American male classical pianists]]
[[Category:American male film score composers]]
[[Category:American male jazz composers]]
[[Category:American male jazz pianists]]
[[Category:American male musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:American male opera composers]]
[[Category:American musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:American opera composers]]
[[Category:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:Broadway composers and lyricists]]
[[Category:Burials at Westchester Hills Cemetery]]
[[Category:Classical musicians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Composers for piano]]
[[Category:Composers from New York City]]
[[Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in California]]
[[Category:DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members]]
[[Category:Gershwin family|George Gershwin]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Jazz-influenced classical composers]]
[[Category:Jewish American classical composers]]
[[Category:Jewish American film score composers]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:Jewish classical pianists]]
[[Category:Jewish jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Jewish opera composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Porgy and Bess]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards winners]]
[[Category:Pupils of Henry Cowell]]
[[Category:Songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Victor Records artists]]