George Gershwin an American Music Phenomenon-Paper

Hunnewell 1 George Gershwin an American Music Phenomenon Rebekah Hunnewell Musicology III Dr. McGinnis May 3, 2016 Hunnewell 2 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 George Gershwin 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 Rhapsody in Blue, American in Paris, and Concerto in F, 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 Porgy and Bess.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.

Load more