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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.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
She and her family moved to New York because of increasing anti-Jewish sentiment in Russia, changing her first name to Rose. Moishe, faced with compulsory military service if he remained in Russia, moved to America as soon as he could afford to. Once in New York, he changed his first name to Morris.
George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 26, 1898 as Jacob Gershowitz. He hailed from a Russian Jewish family. His father, Morris (Moishe) Gershowitz, changed the family name to Gershvin on immigrating to United States from St. Petersburg, Russia in the 1890s.
- 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.
- 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.
Apr 2, 2014 · Early Life. Gershwin was born Jacob Gershowitz on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Gershwin began his foray into music at age 11 when his family...
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1898–1937) US composer and pianist, known for his popular songs, musicals, and his folk opera Porgy and Bess. Born in Brooklyn of impoverished Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, he grew up on the tough East Side of New York City.
