The George Gershwin Reader

by Robert Wyatt, John Andrew Johnson

Overview

George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was both a brilliant writer of popular songs and of more serious music. Here, music lovers are treated to a spectacular celebration of this great American composer.
The Reader offers a kaleidoscopic collection of writings by Gershwin, as well as those about Gershwin, written by a who's who of famous commentators. More than eighty pieces of superb variety, color, and depth include the critical debate over Gershwin's concert pieces, especially "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris." There is a complete section devoted to the controversies over "Porgy and Bess," including correspondence between Gershwin and DuBose Hayward, the opera's librettist, plus unique interviews with the original Porgy and Bess—Todd Duncan and Anne Brown. Sprinkled throughout the book are excerpts from Gershwin's own letters, which offer unique insight into this fascinating and charming man. Along with a detailed chronology of the composer's life, the editors provide informative introductions to each entry.
Here is a book for anyone interested in American music. Scholars, performers, and Gershwin's legions of fans will find it an irresistible feast.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195327113
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/25/2007
Series:	Readers on American Musicians
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	8.81(w) x 5.98(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Robert Wyatt is a concert pianist and Gershwin authority who is now Executive Director of the Cape Cod Conservatory of Music.

John Andrew Johnson is Assistant Professor of Musicology in the Department of Fine Arts at Syracuse University.

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Portraits of the Artist1. Ira Gershwin: "In person, my brother was a good deal like his music" (1961)2. Frances Gershwin Godowsky: "George Gershwin Was My Brother" (1962)3. Kay Swift: "Did you ever feel that composer resembled his music?" (ca. 1970)4. Oscar Levant: "Variations on a Gershwin Theme" (1939)5. Verna Arvey: "George Gershwin Through the Eyes of a Friend" (1948)6. "Gershwin Bros." (1925)7. Isaac Goldberg: "Childhood of a Composer" (1931)Part II: The Growing Limelight (1919-1924)8. George Gershwin: Letter to Max Abramson (1918)9. Dolly Dalrymple: "Pianist, Playing Role of Columbus, Makes Another American Discovery: Beryl Rubinstein Says This Country Possesses Genius Composer" (1922)10. George Gershwin: Letter to Ira Gershwin (February 18, 1923)11. Whiteman Judges Named: Committee Will Decide 'What Is American Music'" (1924)12. Paul Whiteman and Mary Margaret McBridge: "An Experiment" (1926)13. Olin Downes: "A Concert of Jazz" (1924)14. Carl Van Vechten: Letter to George Gershwin (February 14, 1924)15. James Ross Moore: "The Gershwins in Britain" (1994)16. Ira Gershwin: "Which Came First?" (1959)Part III: Fame and Fortune (1924-1930)17. Philip Furia: "Lady, Be Good!" (1996)18. Ira Gershwin: Letter to Lou and Emily Paley (November 26, 1924)19. Alec Wilder: "That Certain Feeling" (1972)20. Carl Van Vechten: "George Gershwin, An American Composer Who Is Writing Notable Music in the Jazz Idiom" (1925)21. Samuel Chotzinoff: "New York Symphony at Carnegie Hall" (1925)22. Lawrence Gilman: "Mr. George Gershwin Plays His New Jazz Concerto" (1925)23. "Paul Whiteman Gives 'Vivid' Grand Opera; Jazz Rhythms of Gershwin's '135th Street'" (1925)24. George Gershwin: "Our New National Anthem" (1925)25. George Gershwin: "Jazz Is the Voice of the American Soul" (1926)26. George Gershwin: "Does Jazz Belong to Art?" (1926)27. George Gershwin: "Mr. Gershwin Replies to Mr. Kramer" (1926)28. Abbe Niles: "The Ewe Lamb of Widow Jazz" (1926)29. Carleton Sprague Smith: "d'Alvarez-Gershwin Recital" (1927)30. Allen Forte: "Someone to Watch Over Me" (1990)31. "George Gershwin Accepts $100,000 Movietone Offer: Fox to Pay That Sum for Film Version of Musical Comedy - Composer Gets Bid of $50,000 for Rhapsody in Blue Rights" (1928)32. George Gershwin: Letter to Mabel Schirmer (1928)33. "An American in Paris: Narrative Guide"34. "Gershwin's New Score Acclaimed"35. "Fifty Years of American Music ... Younger Composers, Freed from European Influences, Labor Toward Achieving a Distinctive American Musical Idiom"36. "The Composer in the Machine Age"37. "'Jazz,' the Critics, and American Art Music in the 1920s"Part IV: Maturity (1930-1935)38. Making Music39. Satire to Music40. George Gershwin41. Of Thee I Sing, Kaufman-Ryskind Musical Comedy Satire at the Music Box42. A Music Master Talks of His Trials43. From William Grant Still: A Study in Contradictions44. George Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm' (1930)45. The Gershwin Myth46. George Gershwin as Orchestrator47. George Gershwin Plays His Second Rhapsody for the First time Here with Koussevitsky and Boston Orchestra48. Letter to Rose Gershwin49. George the Ingenuous50. Letter to Emily Paley51. Letter to Ira Gershwin52. The Future of GershwinPart V: Porgy and Bess53. From America's Folk Opera54. Selected Correspondence55. George Gershwin Arrives to Plan Opera on Porgy56. Porgy and Bess, Native Opera, Opens at the Alvin: Gershwin's Work Based on DuBose Heyward's Play57. Rhapsody in Catfish Row: Mr. Gershwin Tells the Origin and Scheme for His Music in That New Folk Opera Called 'Porgy and Bess'58. From an Interview by Robert Wyatt59. From an interview by Robert WyattPart VI: Last Years: Hollywood (1936-1937)60. Hollywood - An Ending61. Gershwin Analyzes Science of Rhythm62. Radio Pays a Debt63. A Foggy Day64. Letters to Zenna Hannenfeldt65. Letters to Mabel Schirmer66. Letter to Emily Paley67. Letter to Henry Botkin68. Letter to Rose Gershwin69. Letter to Rose Gershwin70. Letter to Irene GallagherPart VII: Obituaries and Eulogies71. Report in Variety72. George Gershwin73. Hail and Farewell: Career and Position of George Gershwin in American Music74. Poem75. Tribute76. Gershwin Left $341,089 Estate to His Mother; 'Rhapsody in Blue' Appraised at 'Greatest Value' and Opera Rights of 'Nominal Interest' to the Residue77. Letter to Rose GershwinPart VIII: As Time Passes78. Music by Slide Rule79. Gershwin on Gershwin80. Gershwin, Schillinger, and Dukelsky: Some Reminiscences81. Why Don't You Run Upstairs and Write a Nice Gershwin Tune? 82. George Gershwin83. George Gershwin: yes, the sounds as well as the tunes are hisChronologySelected BibliographyCreditsIndex

Editorial Reviews

Editors Wyatt (executive director, Cape Cod Conservatory of Music) and Johnson (musicology, Syracuse Univ.) have assembled a fascinating collection of articles, biographical reminiscences, reviews, musical analyses, and letters relating to the life and music of George Gershwin. Organized into seven sections that roughly follow the composer's life, the book is designed to supplement previous collections of source material, especially Edward Jablonski and Lawrence Stewart's The Gershwin Years, Jablonski's Gershwin and Gershwin Remembered, Robert Kimball and Alfred Simon's The Gershwins, and George Gershwin, edited by Merle Armitage. Most of the material is being reprinted from the original source for the first time, though several items were previously published in Gershwin books. Other information, such as taped interviews with the original leads of Porgy and Bess, have never before appeared in print. The items range from family members and friends' reminiscences, contemporary comment on Gershwin and his music, letters to and from Gershwin, several articles by Gershwin, and excerpts from books (including a delightful piece by Leonard Bernstein). Controversial aspects of Gershwin's career, such as the genesis of "I've Got Rhythm," the orchestration of concert works after Rhapsody in Blue, and Gershwin's place in American music, are well documented. Including a chronology and a selected bibliography, this excellent compendium is recommended for all libraries.-Bruce R. Schueneman, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Kingsville Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

"A fascinating collection of articles, biographical reminiscences, reviews, musical analyses, and letters relating to the life and music of George Gershwin." —Library Journal

"How refreshing and exciting to see once again these surprises—and more—from the Gershwin scrapbooks, archives, private collections (some lost), in one cornucopia; the sweeping life of a wonderful great American master." —Edward Jablonski, historian, co-author of The Gershwin Years—George and Ira

"From early in Gershwin's career his music challenged Americans to rethink their assumptions about composition and performance, nationalism, cultural hierarchy, and the racial divide. Documenting that rethinking process, Wyatt and Johnson's reader also illuminates the life and legacy of one of American music's most charismatic figures." —Richard Crawford, University of Michigan

"A superb source book about a cornerstone figure in American Music...an indelible contribution to the very idea of American culture and how it got that way. Letters and pieces by Gershwin himself are prominent, but the book will go anywhere and everywhere to catch a glimpse of his raffish genius in the sunlight.... You get, then, Gershwin from many, if not all sides and seen through a huge variety of lenses."—Buffalo News

From the Publisher