George Gershwin

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This article is about the American composer. For other uses, see Gershwin (disambiguation).

George Gershwin

George Gershwin in 1937

Born Jacob Gershowitz

September 26, 1898

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.

Died July 11, 1937 (aged 38)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Cause of death Brain tumor

Resting place Westchester Hills Cemetery

Occupation Musical composer, pianist

Years active 1916–37

Parent(s) Moishe Gershowitz

Roza Bruskina
 Relatives Ira Gershwin (brother)

Arthur Gershwin (brother)

Frances Gershwin (sister)

George Jacob Gershwin (/ˈɡɜːrʃ.wɪn/; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an
American composer and pianist.[1][2] Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical
genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best-known works are the
orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928) as well as the
opera Porgy and Bess (1935).
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 theatre works with his brother Ira Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva. He
moved to Paris intending to study with Nadia Boulanger, who refused him, where he began to
compose An American in Paris. After returning to New York City, he wrote Porgy and Bess with
Ira and the author DuBose Heyward. Initially a commercial failure, Porgy and Bess is now
considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century.
Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores until his death in 1937
from glioblastoma multiforme, a malignant brain tumor.[3]
Gershwin's compositions have been adapted for use in many films and for television, and several
became jazz standards recorded in many variations. Many celebrated singers and musicians
have performed his songs.

Contents
[hide]

 1Biography
o 1.1Ancestors
o 1.2Early life
o 1.3Tin Pan Alley, 1913–1931
o 1.4Europe and classical music, 1924–1928
o 1.5New York, 1929–1935
o 1.6Last years, 1936–37
o 1.7Illness and death
 2Musical style and influence
 3Recordings and film
 4Compositions
 5Legacy
o 5.1Estate
o 5.2Awards and honors
o 5.3Namesakes
o 5.4Biopics
o 5.5Portrayals in other media
 6See also
 7References
 8Further reading
o 8.1Historiography
 9External links

Biography[edit]
Ancestors[edit]
Gershwin was of Russian Jewish and Ukrainian Jewish ancestry. His grandfather, Jakov
Gershowitz, 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. His teenage
son, Moishe Gershowitz, worked as a leather cutter for women's shoes. Moishe Gershowitz met
and fell in love with Roza Bruskina, the teenage daughter of a furrier in Vilnius. She and her
family moved to New York due to 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. 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 Americanized his name to
Gershwine.[4][5][6] Their first child, Ira Gershwin, was born on December 6, 1896, after which the
family moved into a second-floor apartment on Brooklyn's Snediker Avenue.
Early life[edit]
On September 26, 1898, George was born as second son to Rose and Morris Gershwine in their
second-floor apartment on Brooklyn's Snediker Avenue. His birth certificate identifies him as
Jacob Gershwine, with the surname pronounced 'Gersh-vin' in the Russian and Yiddish
immigrant community. He had just one given name, contrary to the American practice by then of
giving children a first and a middle name. He was named after his grandfather, a one time
Russian army mechanic. He soon became known as George and changed the spelling of his
surname to 'Gershwin' when he became a professional musician, and other family members
followed suit.[7] 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. Mostly, they grew up around the Yiddish Theater
District. George and Ira frequented the local Yiddish theaters, with George occasionally
appearing onstage as an extra.[8][9][10]
George lived a usual childhood existence for children of New York tenements: running around
with his boyhood friends, roller skating and misbehaving in the streets. Remarkably, until 1908,
he cared nothing for music, when as a ten year old he was intrigued by what he heard at his
friend Maxie Rosenzweig's violin recital.[11] The sound, and the way his friend played, captured
him. His parents had bought a piano for lessons for his older brother Ira, but to his parents'
surprise, and Ira's relief, it was George who spent more time playing it.[12]
Although his younger sister Frances 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
surrendering any serious time to 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 works.
With a degree of frustration, George tried various piano teachers for some two years,[when?] before
finally being introduced[when?] to Charles Hambitzer by Jack Miller, the pianist in the Beethoven
Symphony Orchestra. Until his death in 1918, Hambitzer remained Gershwin's musical mentor
and taught him conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European classical
tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestral concerts.[13] Following such concerts, young
Gershwin would essentially try to play, on the piano at home, the music he had heard from recall,
and without sheet music.[citation needed] As a matter of course, Gershwin later studied with the classical
composer Rubin Goldmark and avant-garde composer-theorist Henry Cowell, thus formalizing
his classical music training.[citation needed]
Tin Pan Alley, 1913–1931[edit]
Swanee

MENU
In 1913, Gershwin left school at the age of 15 and
found his first job as a "song plugger". His employer 0:00
was Jerome H. Remick and Company, a Detroit-based Al Jolson's hit 1920
publishing firm with a branch office on New York recording of George
City's Tin Pan Alley, and he earned $15 a week. Gershwin and Irving
His first published song was "When You Want 'Em, Caesar's 1919 "Swanee".
You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't
Want 'Em" in 1916 when Gershwin was only 17 years
old. It earned him 50 cents.[14] Problems playing this file? See media
help.
In 1916, Gershwin started working for Aeolian
Company and Standard Music Rolls in New York,
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
pianos. As well as recording piano rolls, Gershwin made a brief foray into vaudeville,
accompanying both Nora Bayes and Louise Dresser on the piano.[15] His 1917 novelty ragtime,
"Rialto Ripples", was a commercial success.[14]
In 1919 he scored his first big national hit with his song, "Swanee", with words by Irving
Caesar. Al Jolson, a famous Broadway singer of the day, heard Gershwin perform "Swanee" at a
party and decided to sing it in one of his shows.[14]
In the late 1910s, Gershwin met songwriter and music director 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.[16]
In the early 1920s, Gershwin frequently worked with the lyricist Buddy DeSylva. Together they
created the experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday, set in Harlem. It is widely regarded as
a forerunner to the groundbreaking Porgy and Bess. 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!".[17] They followed this with Oh,
Kay! (1926),[18] Funny Face (1927)[19] and Strike Up the Band (1927 and 1930). Gershwin gave
the song, with a modified title, to UCLA to be used as a football fight song, "Strike Up The Band
for UCLA".[20]
Europe and classical music, 1924–1928[edit]

George Gershwin, c. 1935.

In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major classical work, Rhapsody in Blue, for orchestra and
piano. It was orchestrated by Ferde Groféand premiered by Paul Whiteman's concert band in
New York. It proved to be his most popular work.
In the mid-1920s, Gershwin stayed in Paris for a short period of time, during which he applied to
study composition with the noted Nadia Boulanger, who, along with several other prospective
tutors such as Maurice Ravel, rejected him. They were afraid that rigorous classical study would
ruin his jazz-influenced style.[21] 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.[22] Growing tired of the Parisian musical scene, Gershwin
returned[when?]to the United States.[citation needed]
New York, 1929–1935[edit]
In 1929, Gershwin was contracted by Fox Film Corporation to compose the score for the
movie Delicious. Only two pieces were used in the final film, the five-minute "Dream Sequence"
and the six-minute "Manhattan Rhapsody," which in expanded form was later published as
the Second Rhapsody. Gershwin became infuriated when the rest of the score was rejected
by Fox Film Corporation, and it would be seven years before he worked in Hollywood again.[citation
needed]

In 1929, the Gershwin brothers created Show Girl;[23] Girl Crazy performed 1930,[24] which
introduced the standards "Embraceable You", debuted by Ginger Rogers, and "I Got Rhythm";
and Of Thee I Sing in 1931,[25] which was the first musical comedy to win the Pulitzer Prize for
Drama; the winners were George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, and Ira Gershwin.[26]
Gershwin's first opera, Blue Monday, is a short one-act opera, which was not a financial success
and has received only limited performances.[citation needed]
His most ambitious composition was Porgy and Bess, first performed in 1935, based on the
novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward, which he called a "folk opera", and it is now widely regarded
as one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century.[citation needed] "From the very
beginning, it was considered another American classic by the composer of 'Rhapsody in Blue'—
even if critics couldn't quite figure out how to evaluate it. Was it opera, or was it 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."[27]
The action takes place in the fictional, African-American neighborhood of Catfish
Row, Charleston, South Carolina. With the exception of several minor speaking roles, all of the
characters are African-American. The music combines elements of popular music of the day,
with a strong influence of African-American music, of the period, with techniques typical of opera,
such as recitative, through-composition and an extensive system of leitmotifs. Porgy and
Bess contains some of Gershwin's most sophisticated music, including a fugue, a passacaglia,
the use of atonality, polytonality and polyrhythm, and a tone row. Even the "set numbers" (of
which "Summertime", "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" and "It Ain't Necessarily So" are well known
examples) are some of the most refined and ingenious of Gershwin's compositions. For the
performances, Gershwin collaborated with Eva Jessye, whom he picked as the musical director.
The work was first performed in 1935; it was a box-office failure in the middle of the Great
Depression.[citation needed]
Last years, 1936–37[edit]
After the commercial failure of Porgy and Bess, Gershwin moved to Hollywood, California. In
1936, he was commissioned by RKO Pictures to write the music for the 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 in length. 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 in
order 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".[28] Oh, Kay was named for her.[29] After Gershwin's death, Swift arranged some of his
music, transcribed several of his recordings, and collaborated with his brother Ira on several
projects.[30]
Illness and death[edit]
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 under the direction of
French maestro Pierre Monteux.[31] 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[when?] 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
hallucinations continued.
On June 23, 1937 after an incident in which Gershwin tried to push Mueller out of the car in
which they were riding, he was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles for
observation. Tests showed no physical cause and he was released on the 26th with a diagnosis
of "likely hysteria". His troubles with coordination and mental acuity worsened, though.[citation needed]
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 back to Cedars of Lebanon,[32] and fell into a
coma. Only then did his doctors think 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 Dr. Walter Dandy, who was on a boat fishing in
Chesapeake Bay with the governor of Maryland. Mosbacher then called the White House and
had a Coast Guard cutter sent to find the governor's yacht and bring Dandy quickly to
shore.[33] Mosbacher then chartered a plane and flew Dandy to Newark Airport, where he was to
catch a plane to Los Angeles;[citation needed] however, by that time, Gershwin's condition was critical
and the need for surgery immediate. In the early hours of July 11th doctors at Cedars removed a
large brain tumor, believed to have been a glioblastoma, but Gershwin died on the morning of
July 11, 1937, at the age of 38.[34]
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 haemorrhages.[34]

Gershwin's mausoleum in Westchester Hills Cemetery[35]

Gershwin's friends and fans were shocked and devastated. John O'Hara remarked: "George
Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to."[36] 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.[37]

Musical style and influence[edit]

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
Ravelwas 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."[38] 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.
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.)[39]
Gershwin's own Concerto in F was criticized for being related to the work of Claude Debussy,
more so 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."[40]
Aside from the French influence, 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."[41] (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. He attended the American premiere of Wozzeck, conducted
by Leopold Stokowski in 1931, and was "thrilled and deeply impressed".[42]
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.[43]
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."[44]
In 2007, the Library of Congress named their 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.[45]

Recordings and film[edit]

Early in his career, under both his own name and pseudonyms, Gershwin recorded more than
one hundred and forty player piano 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 theatre-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" 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 electrical recording of the abridged version for Victor
in 1927. However, a dispute in the studio over interpretation angered Whiteman and he left. The
conductor's baton was taken over by Victor's staff conductor Nathaniel Shilkret.[46]
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 for piano. In 1929, Gershwin
"supervised" the world premiere recording of An American in Paris with Nathaniel Shilkret and
the 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 celestesolo, 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 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 discs and have
been released on LP and 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.[47]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.
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.[48]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" 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 McCulloughare seen conversing with Gershwin,
then singing as he plays.

1973 U.S. commemorative stamp honoring Gershwin.

In 1945, the film biography 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 Gerswhin 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 Masterworksrelease features
Tilson Thomas leading the New York Philharmonic in An American In Paris.
In 1976, RCA Records, as part of its "Victrola Americana" line, released a collection of Gershwin
recordings taken from 78s recorded in the 1920s and called the LP "Gershwin plays Gershwin,
Historic First Recordings" (RCA Victrola AVM1-1740). Included were recordings of "Rhapsody in
Blue" with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Gershwin on piano; "An American in Paris", from
1927 with Gershwin on celesta; and "Three Preludes", "Clap Yo' Hands" and Someone to Watch
Over Me", among others. There are a total of ten recordings on the album. At the opening
ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, "Rhapsody in Blue" was performed in
spectacular fashion by many pianists.
The soundtrack to Woody Allen's 1979 film Manhattan is composed entirely of Gershwin's
compositions, including Rhapsody in Blue, "Love is Sweeping the Country", and "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 monologue by Allen: "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 1998, two audio CDs featuring piano rolls recorded by Gershwin[49] were issued by Nonesuch
Records through the efforts of Artis Wodehouse, and entitled Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The
Piano Rolls.[50]
In October 2009, it was reported by Rolling Stone that Brian Wilson was completing two
unfinished compositions by George Gershwin, [51] released as Brian Wilson Reimagines
Gershwin on August 17, 2010, 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.
In 2009 the blind savant British pianist Derek Paravicini improvised at two pianos with the
virtuoso British composer-pianist Matthew King for a radio programme made for BBC Radio
4,[52] after which they collaborated on a new Piano Concerto, inspired by the music of Gershwin,
entitled Blue. Blue was first performed with the Orchestra of St John's in the Queen Elizabeth
Hall, London in September 2011. This is believed to be the first concerto ever composed for
someone with learning disabilities, and was the subject of a feature on BBC News in September
2011.[53]

Compositions[edit]
Main article: List of compositions by George Gershwin
Orchestral

 Rhapsody in Blue for piano and orchestra (1924)

 Piano 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
 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), a movie score feature-length ballet
Solo piano

 Three Preludes (1926)

 George Gershwin's Song-book (1932), solo piano arrangements of 18 songs
Operas

 Blue Monday (1922), one-act opera

 Porgy and Bess (1935) at the Colonial Theatre in Boston[54]
London musicals

 Primrose (1924)
Broadway musicals

 George White's Scandals (1920–1924), featuring, at one point, the 1922 one-act opera Blue
Monday)
 Lady, Be Good (1924)
 Tip-Toes (1925)
 Tell Me More! (1925)
 Oh, Kay! (1926)
 Strike Up the Band (1927)
 Funny Face (1927)
 Rosalie (1928)
 Treasure Girl (1928)
 Show Girl (1929)
 Girl Crazy (1930)
 Of Thee I Sing (1931)
 Pardon My English (1933)
 Let 'Em Eat Cake (1933)
 My One and Only (1983), an original 1983 musical using previously written Gershwin songs
 Crazy for You (1992), a revised version of Girl Crazy, written and compiled without the
participation of either George or Ira Gershwin.
 Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012), a musical with a score by George and Ira Gershwin
 An American in Paris, a new musical on Broadway (2015)
Films for which Gershwin wrote original scores

 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), 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)
 The Goldwyn Follies (1938), posthumously released
 The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947), uses songs previously unpublished