The George Gershwin Reader
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George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was both a brilliant writer of popular songs ("Swanee," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away From Me") and of more serious music, including "Rhapsody in Blue," "An American in Paris," and "Porgy and Bess." Now, in The George Gershwin Reader, music lovers are treated to a spectacular celebration of this great American composer. The Reader offers a kaleidoscopic collection of writings by and about Gershwin, including more than eighty pieces of superb variety, color, and depth. There is a who's who of famous commentators: bandleader Paul Whiteman; critics Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and Brooks Atkinson; fellow musicians Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Alec Wilder (who analyzes the songs "That Certain Feeling" and "A Foggy Day"), Leonard Bernstein, and the formidable modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg (who was Gershwin's tennis partner in Hollywood). Some of the most fascinating and important writings here deal with the critical debate over Gershwin's concert pieces, especially "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris," and there is a complete section devoted to the controversies over "Porgy and Bess," including correspondence between Gershwin and DuBose Hayward, the opera's librettist (a series of excerpts which illuminate the creative process), 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 then is a book for anyone interested in American music. Scholars, performers, and Gershwin's legions of fans will find it an irresistible feast. Library Journal 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.
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionIPortraits of the Artist11In person, my brother was a good deal like his music32George Gershwin Was My Brother33Did you ever feel that a composer resembled his music?64Variations on a Gershwin Theme75George Gershwin Through the Eyes of a Friend206Gershwin Bros257Childhood of a Composer27IIThe Growing Limelight (1919-1924)378Letter to Max Abramson399Pianist, Playing Role of Columbus, Makes Another American Discovery: Beryl Rubinstein Says This Country Possesses Genius Composer4110Letter to Ira Gershwin4211Whiteman Judges Named: Committee Will Decide 'What Is American Music'4412An Experiment4513A Concert of Jazz4914Letter to George Gershwin5215The Gershwins in Britain5216Which Came First?57IIIFame and Fortune (1924-1930)6317Lady, Be Good!6518Letter to Lou and Emily Paley7219That Certain Feeling7520George Gershwin, An American Composer Who Is Writing Notable Music in the Jazz Idiom7721New York Symphony at Carnegie Hall8222Mr. George Gershwin Plays His New Jazz Concerto8523Paul Whiteman Gives 'Vivid' Grand Opera; Jazz Rhythms of Gershwin's '135th Street'8724Our New National Anthem8925Jazz Is the Voice of the American Soul9126Does Jazz Belong to Art?9427Mr. Gershwin Replies to Mr. Kramer9828The Ewe Lamb of Widow Jazz10129d'Alvarez-Gershwin Recital10230Someone to Watch Over Me10331George 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 Rights10732Letter to Mabel Schirmer10833An American in Paris: Narrative Guide11034Gershwin's New Score Acclaimed11235Fifty Years of American Music ... Younger Composers, Freed from European Influences, Labor Toward Achieving a Distinctive American Musical Idiom11436The Composer in the Machine Age11937'Jazz,' the Critics, and American Art Music in the 1920s123IVMaturity (1930-1935)13138Making Music13339Satire to Music13740George Gershwin13841Of Thee I Sing, Kaufman-Ryskind Musical Comedy Satire at the Music Box14342A Music Master Talks of His Trials14543From William Grant Still: A Study in Contradictions14744George Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm' (1930)15645The Gershwin Myth17246George Gershwin as Orchestrator17547George Gershwin Plays His Second Rhapsody for the First time Here with Koussevitsky and Boston Orchestra17748Letter to Rose Gershwin17849George the Ingenuous17950Letter to Emily Paley18451Letter to Ira Gershwin18552The Future of Gershwin186VPorgy and Bess19153From America's Folk Opera19354Selected Correspondence20155George Gershwin Arrives to Plan Opera on Porgy21156Porgy and Bess, Native Opera, Opens at the Alvin: Gershwin's Work Based on DuBose Heyward's Play21357Rhapsody in Catfish Row: Mr. Gershwin Tells the Origin and Scheme for His Music in That New Folk Opera Called 'Porgy and Bess'21758From an Interview by Robert Wyatt22159From an interview by Robert Wyatt228VILast Years: Hollywood (1936-1937)23760Hollywood - An Ending23961Gershwin Analyzes Science of Rhythm24462Radio Pays a Debt24663A Foggy Day25064Letters to Zenna Hannenfeldt25165Letters to Mabel Schirmer25466Letter to Emily Paley25967Letter to Henry Botkin26068Letter to Rose Gershwin26169Letter to Rose Gershwin26370Letter to Irene Gallagher263VIIObituaries and Eulogies26971Report in Variety27172George Gershwin27373Hail and Farewell: Career and Position of George Gershwin in American Music27474Poem27875Tribute27976Gershwin Left $341,089 Estate to His Mother; 'Rhapsody in Blue' Appraised at 'Greatest Value' and Opera Rights of 'Nominal Interest' to the Residue28077Letter to Rose Gershwin281VIIIAs Time Passes28578Music by Slide Rule28779Gershwin on Gershwin28980Gershwin, Schillinger, and Dukelsky: Some Reminiscences28981Why Don't You Run Upstairs and Write a Nice Gershwin Tune?29382George Gershwin30083George Gershwin: yes, the sounds as well as the tunes are his301Chronology309Selected Bibliography325Credits333Index335
