Composer
George Gershwin
American composer and pianist (1898–1937)
1898–1937
764 works in the index
- Born
- 1898
- Died
- 1937
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn
- Citizenship / historical state
- United States
- Period (estimated from birth year)
- Modern
Biography
Gershwin left school at 15 to get into the music business. His first job in that business was to play newly composed scores on the piano to interested singers or performers, helping the composers find their market. As he developed his own skill as a composer, he asked Maurice Ravel for lessons. Ravel refused, saying that he feared damaging Gershwin’s own unique style. Arnold Schoenberg, similarly, told him: “I would only make you a second-rate Schoenberg, and you are such a good Gershwin already.” Gershwin’s legacy includes the opera “Porgy and Bess,” with songs such as “Summertime” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” as well as “Rhapsody in Blue,” a jazz pianist’s concert work, and “An American in Paris,” a more fully orchestrated piece that inspired the 1951 movie musical of the same name. Gershwin, who had become the wealthiest composer of his time, died suddenly of a brain tumor in 1937. He was interred in Hudson, New York.
In this catalogue
- Common listed instruments
- Piano, Vocal, Voice, Guitar, Choir
- Genres represented
- Jazz, Classical, Pop, Broadway, pop
- Works with composition dates
- 13 of 764
These details describe the indexed sheet music, including arrangements.
Catalogue
Works page 9 of 16
Years are composition dates where known. Instruments describe editions in our catalogue and may include arrangements. A dash means the detail is not recorded.
Biographical record: Wikidata, matched on name and checked against dates held in the catalogue. The period label is an estimate from birth year. Authority record: VIAF 61554329. Portrait: Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.