George Gershwin is an American composer who brilliantly bridged the world of jazz and academic music, creating an inimitable, truly American musical style. The son of Jewish immigrants, he began as an author of popular songs on Broadway.
His “Rhapsody in Blue” (1924) for piano and orchestra was a sensation, for the first time raising jazz onto the great concert stage. Gershwin also wrote “An American in Paris,” a piano concerto, and the monumental “folk opera” “Porgy and Bess” (with the immortal lullaby “Summertime”). His melodies (“I Got Rhythm,” “Someone to Watch Over Me”) became jazz standards. Gershwin died tragically early, at 38, but managed to change forever the face of American — and world — music of the 20th century.
