George Gershwin

Widely regarded as one of the finest songwriters and composers of the 20th century, George Gershwin began his career playing piano in vaudeville, recording piano rolls, and working in Tin Pan Alley, where he wrote his first hit, "Swanee," in 1919. Collaborating with his brother, Ira (who wrote lyrics for much of his music), he created the Broadway musical LADY BE GOOD in 1924, which yielded the soon-to-be standards "Fascinating Rhythm" and the title song. That same year saw the release of Gershwin's first major orchestral work, RHAPSODY IN BLUE, in concerto form--designed to present jazz as "serious" music akin to classical. Between 1925 and 1933, he wrote at least 12 new works for Broadway, including FUNNY FACE and GIRL CRAZY (which included the classic "I Got Rhythm"). His 1935 opera, PORGY AND BESS, successfully fused elements of classical, show tunes, and African American forms, and proved to be one of the composer's greatest achievements. Gershwin wrote numerous other orchestral pieces, works for solo piano, and compositions for stage and film, but his career was cut suddenly short when he died of a brain tumour in 1937.

• classical
• jazz