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George Gershwin an American Music Phenomenon

Rebekah Hunnewell Musicology III Dr. McGinnis May 3, 2016

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Music is a form of art that, like many other forms of art, is always changing. Huge musical transitions were already beginning to take place by the time entered the music scene; Stravinsky and W.C. Handy were also beginning to be recognized for their new and innovative works.1 Gershwin faced many obstacles as he began his musical career. Even after he established himself as a successful music composer, he still encountered many harsh critics of his work. Especially when he composed his larger works, that branched outside the realm of “popular song.”

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York was not the easiest of experiences. George Gershwin was born on February 26, 1898. By the age of eighteen, it is estimated that he lived in up to twenty-eight different places in and around Brooklyn.2 Remarkably, his family was of

Russian heritage and none of them had any musical background. However, George’s mother

Roza wanted the family to have a piano for the musical experience. She never dreamed that her sons George and Ira would become famous musicians and songwriters. As soon as his family obtained a piano, Gershwin started playing. He was about twelve years old at the time.3 His love for music set him apart from his peers, who would play games outside in the streets while George would stay inside and practice. Practicing was something that he enjoyed, as evidence by the fact that his teachers were not of particular importance in the music industry. In his own words Gershwin had “but four years of piano study, and the those not with teachers of celebrity.” 4 He was completely self-motivated to say the least.

1 Ewen, David. The Story of George Gershwin: (New York: H. Holt and Company, 1943), 200. 2 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin, 10. 3 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin, 199. 4 Wyatt, Robert, and John Andrew. Johnson. The George Gershwin Reader:(New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 93. Hunnewell 3

His love for music extended far beyond the scope of his teachers. At the age of sixteen,

Gershwin started working for Jerome H. Remick as a “song plugger” on Tin Pan Alley.5

During his time at this job, his first “popular songs” were published setting the foundation for the many other songs to come. In addition to Gershwin, Tin Pan Alley channeled the work of many great composers such as Irving Berlin, Scott Joplin, Dorothy Fields, and Harry

Warren. While working on Tin Pan Alley, Gershwin simply played songs so that someone would want to buy them. This is actually quite remarkable considering he only had roughly four years of piano training prior to taking the job. It took a while for Gershwin’s compositions to be published, but after his work “When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em,

When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em" was published, people took more interest in his work and his career began to take off.6

Another aspect of Gershwin that helped his composing career take off was his intense interest in music fueled by a creative mind enabling him to be a natural born composer. He composed music in two basic categories: “popular song” and “classical.” The popular music he composed adhered to the thirty-two bar form found in most popular music from the early 1900s. Every song written with the thirty-two bar form had the same basic layout because this is what the audiences paid to listen too. Gershwin wrote countless tunes in this style, which helped earn the recognition and popularity he needed to experiment with composing larger works. Compared to the amount of popular songs

Gershwin wrote, his orchestral works might be considered insignificant. However, even though his orchestral works were few in number, they revolutionized the thought processes about Jazz music and the tradition of classical music. Also, because of Gershwin’s

5 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin, 199. 6 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin, 200. Hunnewell 4 short life, he was not able to compose very many orchestral works and the works the public is left with represent his first attempts at becoming a serious composer. Irving Berlin stated that Gershwin was “the only songwriter I know who became a composer.”7

Additional characteristics of Gershwin’s compositions, besides the popular and classical categories, are the way that he intertwined the vernacular music tradition into his works. Gershwin was one of the pioneers of the “third-stream” movement in music. Third- stream is a term that represents the incorporation of jazz music into more serious classical works in the 1940s and 50s.8 For this reason, many of Gershwin’s larger works were thought of as inferior. His thinking was that jazz music was an American music tradition and that it was the “spontaneous expression of the nervous energy of modern American life….”9 Gershwin wanted to utilize the American music traditions in his work not only because of nationalism, but also because he did not have the musical training that other composers of his time had. Gershwin composed based off of the music that he heard and what he enjoyed listening to. Arnold Schoenberg’s perspective of Gershwin’s work was that

“he expressed musical ideas; and they were new – as is the way in which he expressed them.”10 He enjoyed the way that Gershwin went about expressing his music and he thought that Gershwin’s music was on the modern edge of music compositions. Concerning the use of jazz music in Gershwin’s compositions, Ernest Newman said “there are no such things as movements, there are only composers” 11 Newman did not compare the works of different composers to criticize them, he listened to various composers so that he could

7 Teachout, Terry. 1998. "Gershwin at 100." Commentary no. 3: 46. Literature Resource Center, EBSCOhost (accessed February 4, 2016). 8 Kostka, Stefan, and Dorothy Payne. Tonal Harmony. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 9 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin, 92. 10 Teachout, Terry. 1998. "Gershwin at 100." 11 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin, 288 Hunnewell 5 appreciate their style/personality through the music. When Gershwin was questioned and criticized for the use of jazz, he said: “No student of singing can afford any longer to ignore jazz music or to sniff at it as a thing of low estate and of negative cultural value.”12 Another one of Gershwin’s responses to the use of jazz in his music was “let the jazz speak for itself.”13 The jazz certainly does speak though Gershwin’s compositions, song such as “I’ve

Got Rhythm,” “Summertime,” and “Swanee,” along with orchestra works such as , American in Paris, and , are fine example of this.

“I’ve Got Rhythm” is one of Gershwin’s most popular tunes. Originally, it was written for piano and voice; since then, it has been adapted for jazz bands and other types of bands.

Because of its popularity in the 1930s, it is now a standard jazz chart that has had a major influence on later jazz works. The chord structure in “I’ve Got Rhythm” became so popular that many other artists/composers created contrafacts14 of this song. Another one of

Gershwin’s instant classics is “Summertime,” from .15 Robert Wyatt referred to “Summertime” as “the most beautiful melody in [Porgy and Bess].”16 George and his older brother Ira joined forces yet again to create this masterpiece. The soothing rhythm and laid-back vocal style sets this work apart from Gershwin’s other works. There is also a relatable quality to the lyrics that people simply enjoy. In the current musical scene

“Summertime” is one of the standard jazz charts performed by vocalists and jazz bands; in addition, it is also one of the most “covered”17 songs in the history of recorded music.

12 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin, 94. 13 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin, 95. 14 A contrafact is a term used in music when a new melody is overlaid onto an existing harmonic structure. 15 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 216. 16 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 232. 17 “Covered” simple means recorded by different artists Hunnewell 6

While both “I’ve Got Rhythm” and “Summertime” were fantastic works, the song that brought his work to the public ears was “Swanee.” This song also fell under the umbrella of

“popular song” and it was published while Gershwin was still working on Tin Pan Alley. It just so happened that Al Jolson (a famous musical theater performer) loved the song and decided to perform it in his show Sinbad giving it the publicity it needed to become a number one chart.18This was Gershwin’s biggest hit and it helped him move on to composing larger works.19 Gershwin had no idea that “Swanee” would be such a success.

But Gershwin did not believe that this was his best work. Gershwin said, “The best song I have written, measured by its reception, is “Swanee.””20 He certainly realized the public liked his song, but he saw this small musical success as an opportunity to attempt “serious” compositions.

Rhapsody in Blue was Gershwin’s first serious composition. Paul Whitman commissioned Rhapsody in Blue in 1924. This was created by combining elements of classical styles (mainly through the structure or format of the work) and jazz styles (mainly through the flatted notes, the extended techniques, and the instrumentation of the score).21

At first, Gershwin was a little shy about Paul Whitman getting a hold of his work. He had never before experienced a formal concert setting in which his work was the main focus for the audience. The title alone is an infusion of the classical and jazz styles. Rhapsody refers to single movement work with a free structure and a high range of musical moods. Blue refers to the use of “blue” notes (flatted third and sevenths) typically found in jazz music.22

18 Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin,195. 19 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 93. 20 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 93. 21 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 78. 22 Teachout, Terry. 1998. "Gershwin at 100." Hunnewell 7

The controversy around Rhapsody in Blue is that many critics believe that Gershwin borrowed many of his jazz ideas from other places. The only thing about this a criticism is that jazz was still in its very early stages, and there was not really much to borrow from.

Another criticism arises from the belief that Ferde Grofe was responsible for scoring

Rhapsody in Blue.23 Some people believe that Grofe had more influence in the composition process, when in reality Gershwin did all of the composing and probably most of the scoring himself.

As mentioned earlier, Gershwin was not able to compose as many serious works as he might have liked due to his untimely death in 1937. However, each of his orchestral works was ground breaking for him in some way. American in Paris, for example, is a symphonic poem that Gershwin composed during his time studying in Paris.24 In this work sounds of an awestruck American are heard as Gershwin writes down his experiences through music. It is easy to pick up on the hustle and bustle of city life depicted in this work, but one can also hear excitement and confusion Gershwin experienced while learning to navigate a new city and while learning new compositional techniques. This work is certainly one of Gershwin’s more memorable works to hear and to study. The fusion of the classical style along with jazz and the American poplar song comes together to create and solidify Gershwin’s individual style of composing.25

In addition to the aforementioned works, Gershwin’s Concerto in F for piano was also a major success. This was also the work that Gershwin was most proud of. Unlike “Swanee,” which was a huge success with the listeners, Concerto in F was the composition that

23 Teachout, Terry. 1998. "Gershwin at 100." 24 Schiff, David. 1998. "Misunderstanding Gershwin." 25 Teachout, Terry. 1998. "Gershwin at 100." Hunnewell 8

Gershwin believed represented his very best composing work. He stated, “The peak of my highest joy in complete work was when I listened to that concerto played by the fifty thorough musicians I had engaged for it.”26 To Gershwin, there was nothing as breath taking as hearing his own composition performed for the first time. Of course, hearing

“Swanee” played all the time and having it become part of a notable musical show was exciting and impressive. Gershwin did not compose “Swanee” with aspirations of greatness.

However, Concerto in F was composed not only for entertainment in the arts, but also to showcase Gershwin’s own compositional skills. Concerto in F was such as huge success that

Aaron Copland was slightly jealous because his own piano concerto never reached such heights. 27

Arnold Schoenberg was a groundbreaking composer himself; he created the twelve- tone compositional system. Although Gershwin and Schoenberg had drastically different musical styles, they were unlikely friends as well as colleagues. After Gershwin’s death,

Schoenberg wrote a short eulogy concerning Gershwin as a composer. In defense against

Gershwin’s critics, Schoenberg stated, “[Gershwin’s] melodies are not products of a combination... but they are units and therefore could not be taken to pieces.”28 Essentially,

Schoenberg believed that Gershwin “through-composed” his works, unlike some critics who believed that Gershwin wrote in a more sectional style. Olin Downes also wrote a eulogy following a memorial service for Gershiwn. Downes spoke more to the vernacular aspect of Gershwin’s work when he said, “[Gershwin] talked, musically speaking, the language that his countrymen and generation knew.” To Downes, Gershwin’s music was

26 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 92. 27 Schiff, David. 1998. "Misunderstanding Gershwin." Atlantic 282, no. 4: 100. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 4, 2016). 28 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 273. Hunnewell 9 relatable and accessible to the general public. The melodies were created in the style of spirituals and folk songs, which is one way that people understood what the music was expressing. The timbres created in Gershwin’s works were also heavily influenced by Jazz music, which was in the beginning stages of popularity at the time. Irving Berlin, another composer, also spoke to the emotional appeal of Gershwin’s works. Instead of a eulogy,

Berlin wrote a poem about Gershwin and his works, the first stanza says this:

His were tunes with more than just rhythm,

for just rhythm will soon gather “corn,”

and those melodies written by Gershwin are

as a fresh now as when they were born.29

Berlin was obviously a fan of Gershwin’s uniquely constructed melodies. While most people think of complex rhythms when they hear Gershwin’s name, they fail to realize that the complexity of the rhythms is supported by a sing-able melodies. Because of the complexities in Gershwin’s works, the listener always has something to listen to keeping the music “fresh” and alive.

Leonard Bernstein, on the other hand, was not a fan of Gershwin. Gershwin lived and composed before Bernstein came on the scene and Bernstein probably felt like he was living in Gershwin’s shadow his entire career. Bernstein revealed some of his true feelings towards Gershwin in his fictional dialogue entitled, Why Don’t You Run Upstairs and Write a

Nice Gershwin Tune?.30 Hints of jealousy are found everywhere in this work as Bernstein writes down his opinions in a theatrical way. “Gershwin was a songwriter who turned into

29 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 278. 30 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 296. Hunnewell 10 a serious composer. I am a serious composer trying to be a songwriter”31 was Bernstein’s response to people who compared him to Gershwin. He did not have much patience for people who did not recognize the beauty in his music. Ironically, Bernstein performs one of the most famous recordings of Rhapsody in Blue, Bernstein said this “[Gershwin’s]

Rhapsody in Blue is not a real composition in the sense that whatever happens in it must seem inevitable, or even pretty inevitable.”32 Unlike Schoenberg, Bernstein thought that the musical ideas presented in Rhapsody in Blue were patched together and that one could take the themes and rearrange them in any order and the integrity of the work would not be compromised. When asked why he continued to perform Gershwin’s works, he replied:

“Yes, I guess you can love a bad composition. For non-compositional reasons.”33

Several years after Gershwin’s passing, the created an award in his honor. The award is called “The Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.”

Recipients include , , , , , Paul

McCartney, , and . Each of these individuals was chosen, not for musical appeal but rather for their musical expression. More specifically, this award

“celebrates the work of an artist whose career reflects lifetime achievement in promoting song as a vehicle of musical expression and cultural understanding.”34 All of these artists’ faced opposition and criticisms concerning their particular genre of music but despite these set backs, they were still able to make music. Willie Nelson’s music and Billy Joel’s music are completely different; their music reaches a completely different audience. Willie

31 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 298. 32 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 296. 33 Wyatt. The George Gershwin Reader, 296. 34 "Gershwin Prize." The Library of Congress. Accessed April 02, 2016. https://www.loc.gov/about/awards- and-honors/gershwin-prize/. Hunnewell 11

Nelson “helped make country music one of the most universally beloved forms of American artistic expression.”35 Billy Joel composed “piano-fueled narratives” that are “relatable and deeply personal [in] moments of life.”36 Each of these artists offers something different, new, and innovative to the overall musical experience. In the same way Gershwin disregarded the critics of his time and continued to write his own style of music. Not everyone enjoys Gershwin’s music, but it has greatly shaped the progression of American music.

Gershwin does not fit into just one category of music. He certainly was a music composer in an era of transition, not only musical transition, but also a transition to new technologies and thought patterns. Even though he faced opposition, Gershwin kept trying new techniques and styles with his compositions not knowing the lasting impact that he was going to have. Gershwin said it best when he stated: “Don’t condemn jazz on the say-so of any old fogy. Avoid musical snobbery. Think for yourself.”37

35 "Willie Nelson to receive Library of Congress' Gershwin prize for popular song." USA Today (Magazine), 2015. 78. General Reference Center Gold, EBSCOhost (accessed February 4, 2016). 36 "News from the Library of Congress." Billy Joel to Receive Gershwin Prize. Accessed April 24, 2016. https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2014/14-122.html. 37 Wyatt, Robert, and John Andrew. Johnson. The George Gershwin Reader: (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 98.

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Work Cited

Ewen, David. The Story of George Gershwin. New York: H. Holt and Company, 1943.

"Gershwin Prize." The Library of Congress. Accessed April 02, 2016.

https://www.loc.gov/about/awards-and-honors/gershwin-prize/.

Kostka, Stefan, and Dorothy Payne. Tonal Harmony. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013.

"News from the Library of Congress." Billy Joel to Receive Gershwin Prize. Accessed April

24, 2016. https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2014/14-122.html.

Schiff, David. 1998. "Misunderstanding Gershwin." Atlantic 282, no. 4: 100. MasterFILE

Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 4, 2016).

Teachout, Terry. 1998. "Gershwin at 100." Commentary no. 3: 46. Literature Resource

Center, EBSCOhost (accessed February 4, 2016).

"Willie Nelson to receive Library of Congress' Gershwin prize for popular song." USA Today

(Magazine), 2015. 78. General Reference Center Gold, EBSCOhost (accessed February

4, 2016).

Wyatt, Robert, and John Andrew. Johnson. The George Gershwin Reader. New York: Oxford

University Press, 2004.