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George Gershwin Composer
Biography
George Gershwin was born on 26 September 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. He began studying music at the age of twelve. Showing an early talent for harmonic and rhythmic distortion, he composed music for songs with lyrics written by his older brother, Ira. Swanee, performed by Al Jolson, brought him fame. He went on to write twenty-two musicals, including Lady, Be Good! (1924), Oh, Kay (1926), Girl Crazy (1930), and Of Thee I Sing (1931).
From the beginning of his career, Gershwin had ambitions to write “serious” music. Rhapsody in Blue (1924) ushered in a new era in American music history by introducing jazz rhythms into the concert hall. This was followed by Concerto in F (1925), An American in Paris (1928), Second Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, which he premiered himself on piano with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Koussevitzky in 1932, Cuban Overture (1932), I Got Rhythm Variations (1934). Sought after by Hollywood, he composed the music for three films: Delicious (1931), Shall We Dance (1936-1937), and Damsel In Distress (1937).
In 1937, Gershwin was at the height of his career. In July, while working in Hollywood on the score for Goldwyn Follies, he suffered a stroke. At only thirty-eight years of age, he died of a brain tumour.
