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20 Best Facts About Genius Composer George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. The musical trait ran deep in his family, with his younger sister Frances Gershwin being the first in the family to make a living through her musical talents. 

George studied with various piano teachers for about two years before finally being introduced to Charles Hambitzer by Jack Miller, the pianist in the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. In this article, we delve into the 20 best facts about the genius composer George Gershwin.

1. Gershwin was of Jewish ancestry

George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. 

George’s father worked as a leather cutter for women’s shoes. His mother, Roza Bruskina, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia.

2. His birth name was Jacob Gershwine, but he changed it to George Gershwin when he began his career in music

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His birth certificate identifies him as Jacob Gershwine. He was named after his grandfather, and, contrary to 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. Read more about 30 Famous People Named George. 

3. Gershwin began playing the piano at the age of 10

Until 1908, George 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 the way his friend played, captivated him. 

At about the same time, George’s parents bought a piano for his older brother Ira. To his parents’ surprise, though, it was George who spent more time playing it as he continued to enjoy it.

4. George dropped out of school at 15 to work as a song plugger

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A song plugger was a vocalist or piano player employed in the early 20th century by department stores, music stores and song publishers to promote and help sell new sheet music, which was how hits were advertised before good-quality recordings were widely available. 

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.

5. Rhapsody in Blue remains one of Gershwin’s most iconic compositions

In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major work, Rhapsody in Blue, for orchestra and piano. 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.

6. Gershwin’s compositions have influenced various musical genres, including jazz, classical, and popular music

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George’s compositions have been adapted for use in film and television, with many becoming jazz standards. What set Gershwin apart was his ability to manipulate forms of music into his own unique voice. 

George 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. Read more about 30 Greatest Jazz Singers You Should Know About. 

7. Gershwin was influenced by French composers of the early twentieth century

One of Gershwin’s influences was  Maurice Ravel who 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.” 

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.

8. George heavily collaborated with his older brother Ira Gershwin

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George started composing Broadway theatre works with his brother Ira Gershwin and with Buddy DeSylva. 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!, Funny Face and Strike Up the Band. In 2007, the Library of Congress named its Gershwin Prize for Popular Song after George and Ira Gershwin.

9. George’s most popular hits include Summertime and I Got Rhythm

 Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Â鶹APP, the songs Swanee and Fascinating Rhythm, the jazz standards Embraceable You and I Got Rhythm, and the opera Porgy and Bess, which included the hit Summertime.

10. Gershwin composed one of the greatest American operas, Porgy and Bess

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Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. Porgy and Bess was first performed in Boston on September 30, 1935, before it moved to Broadway in New York City. 

It featured a cast of classically trained African-American singers. It was adapted as a film in 1959. Some of the songs in the opera, such as Summertime, became popular and are frequently recorded. Read more on 30 Most Famous Pianists of All Time. 

11. Despite facing initial failure, Porgy and Bess went on to become a masterpiece 

Porgy and Bess tells the story of Porgy, a disabled black street beggar living in the slums of Charleston. It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and Sportin’ Life, her drug dealer. The opera plot generally follows the stage play. Many music critics still had not accepted it as a true opera.

A new staging of Porgy and Bess was produced by the Houston Grand Opera in 1976. Following its debut in Houston, the production opened on Broadway at the Uris Theatre on September 25, 1976, and was recorded completely by RCA Records. This version was very influential in turning the tide of opinion about the work.

12. Gershwin composed several piano concertos, including Concerto in F and Second Rhapsody

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On February 11, 1937, George 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. George also recorded a run-through of his Second Rhapsody, conducting the orchestra and playing the piano solos.

13. George composed the score for several Broadway musicals

Some of his renowned compositions include Funny Face, Girl Crazy, and Oh, Kay! In the late 1910s, Gershwin met songwriter and music director William Daly. The two collaborated on the Broadway musicals Piccadilly to Broadway and For Goodness’ Sake, and jointly composed the score for Our Nell.

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.

14. The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway was named in his honor

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The Gershwin Theatre, originally known as the Uris Theatre is a Broadway theatre on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. 

It is operated by the Nederlander Organization and is named after brothers George and Ira Gershwin, who wrote several Broadway musicals. The Gershwin is Broadway’s largest theatre, with approximately 1,933 seats across two levels. Over the years, it has hosted musicals, dance companies, and concerts. Here are 10 Unbelievable Facts about Broadway. 

15. Gershwin received his sole Academy Award nomination in 1937

The nomination was for 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. The nomination was posthumous; Gershwin died two months after the film’s release.

16. UCLA honored the Gershwin brothers by naming an award after them

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The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. 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.

17. The George Gershwin Collection resides at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is a research library in Washington, D.C., that serves as the library of the U.S. Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. Founded in 1800, the library is the United States’ oldest federal cultural institution.

The George and Ira Gershwin Collection, much of which was donated by Ira and the Gershwin family estates, resides at the Library of Congress.

18. Gershwin’s life was featured in the film Rhapsody in Blue 

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Rhapsody in Blue is a 1945 American biographical film about composer and musician George Gershwin, released by Warner Brothers. Robert Alda stars as Gershwin, with Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith, Hazel Scott, and Anne Brown also star, while Irving Rapper directs. The film was released in the United States on September 22, 1945.

19. George was presumed to be the wealthiest composer of all time 

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 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. Read more on 15 Most Famous Classical Piano Pieces You Should Know About. 

20. Gershwin died at 38 years of a brain tumor

Early in 1937, Gershwin began to complain of blinding headaches and a recurring impression that he smelled burning rubber. On February 11, 1937, he performed his Piano Concerto in F in a special concert of his music with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Gershwin, normally a superb pianist in his own compositions, suffered coordination problems and blackouts during the performance.

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 a coma.  Gershwin died on July 11, 1937. 

Gershwin was an all-around talented individual who didn’t even attend music school to finesse his craft. He became an inspiration to many composers and pianists who came after him. Even after his death, Gershwin’s work has outlived him and continues to inspire and entertain many generations.