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Oct 5, 2020 · How did George Gershwin go from being from a high school dropout to become a wealthy composer? We look at how he made his fortune.
- Humble origins. George Gershwin was born in New York City into a Russian Jewish immigrant family. As a boy, George frequented the local Yiddish theatres, ran errands for them and appeared onstage as an extra.
- 'The boy is a genius' The acclaimed piano teacher Charles Hambitzer took Gershwin on at the age of 14 and immediately realized the level of talent he had on his hands. ‘
- Tin Pan Alley. Gershwin began his career as a song plugger in New York’s Tin Pan Alley. To earn extra, he also worked as a rehearsal pianist for Broadway singers.
- Early works for the stage. In his 20s, Gershwin started composing Broadway musical theatre works with his brother Ira writing the lyrics. They even created an experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday, set in Harlem – a pre-cursor to Porgy and Bess.
In 1934, in an effort to earn money to finance his planned folk opera, Gershwin hosted his own radio program titled Music by Gershwin. The show was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from February to May and again in September through the final show on December 23, 1934.
- At age 15, Gershwin dropped out of school and took a job as a pianist and song plugger for Tin Pan Alley, a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City.
- Gershwin especially liked parties and dated many glamorous women. He even proposed to one but he never married, he said he was too busy. Here is one of George Gershwin’s most famous quote: “Why should I limit myself to only one woman when I can have as many women as I want?”
- Gershwin began his hobby of painting and he got quite good at it. He became more serious about it as he went along. His last oil portrait was of his good friend, Arnold Schoenberg.
- Schoenberg and Gershwin got along very well, they used to play tennis weekly at Gershwin’s Beverly Hills court. He even asked Schoenberg for composition lessons but Schoenberg refused by saying: “I would only make you a bad Schoenberg, and you’re such a good Gershwin already.”
- George Gershwin Was Not His Given Name. Indeed, the name George Gershwin is known worldwide — it’s synonymous with great American music. However, it may surprise some to know that this was not his birth name.
- He Had Humble Origins. Gershwin was the second of four children in a working-class family of Russian Jewish immigrants. His parents were Morris and Rose, and his siblings were Ira, Arthur, and the young sister, Frances.
- He Had No Formal Training. George Gershwin is known as one of the greatest composers in American history. That’s why it may come as a surprise to many that he had no formal training in music theory or composition.
- Gershwin Was A Piano Prodigy. As we mentioned above, when George Gershwin was still a child, his parents bought his brother a piano. Yet it was George who took to the instrument like a moth to a flame.
Gershwin dropped out of school by the age of 15 and made an income by making piano rolls for the piano players. He also played at New York nightclubs. One of his most important jobs George Gershwin had when he had just dropped out of school was as a song plugger.
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Oct 21, 2024 · George Gershwin, one of the most significant and popular American composers of all time. He wrote primarily for the Broadway musical theatre, but his orchestral and piano compositions were also important. His notable works included the composition Rhapsody in Blue and the opera Porgy and Bess.
