The Cambridge Companion to Gershwin

Explores how Gershwin's iconic music was shaped by American political, intellectual, cultural and business interests as well as technological advances.

Anna Harwell Celenza (Edited by)

9781108423533, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 August 2019

332 pages, 5 b/w illus. 9 music examples
25.3 x 17.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.8 kg

'In this rich cornucopia of essays about Gershwin's life, work, and continuing legacy, the authors individually and collectively bring new appreciations to an extraordinary multi-faceted musical career. Whether read as single chapters or cover to cover, this book is a joy.' William A. Everett, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory

George Gershwin is often described as a quintessentially American composer. This Cambridge Companion explains why, engaging with the ways in which his music was shaped by American political, intellectual, cultural and business interests. As a composer and performer, Gershwin embraced technological advances and broke new ground in music business practices. In the decades preceding World War II, he captured the mechanistic pulse of modern life with his concert works and lay the groundwork for the Great American Songbook with his Broadway shows and film music. With his brother Ira, and his cousins Henry and B. A. Botkin, Gershwin explored various ethnic and cultural identities and contemplated their roles in US culture. His music confronted race during the Jim Crow era and continues to engage with issues of race today. This interdisciplinary exploration of Gershwin's life and music describes his avowed pursuit of an 'American' musical identity and its ongoing legacy.

Part I. Historical Context: 1. The unlikely patriarch Michael Owen
2. Hearing Gershwin's New York Ellen Noonan
3. Gershwin's musical education Susan Neimoyer
4. Gershwin in Hollywood Jessica Getman
Part II. Profiles of the Music: 5. Blue Monday and New York theatrical aesthetics Kristen M. Turner
6. Broadway in blue: Gershwin's musical theatre scores and songs Todd Decker
7. The works for piano and orchestra Timothy Freeze
8. Harmonizing music and money: Gershwin's economic strategies from 'Swanee' to An American in Paris Mark Clague
9. Exploring new worlds: An American in Paris, Cuban Overture and Porgy and Bess Anna Harwell Celenza
10. Complexities in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess: historical and performing contexts Naomi André
11. Writing for the big screen: Shall We Dance and A Damsel in Distress Nathan Platte
Part III. Influence and Reception: 12. The coverage of Gershwin in music history text Howard Pollack
13. When Ella Fitzgerald sang Gershwin: a chapter from the Great American Songbook Will Friedwald
14. The afterlife of Rhapsody in Blue Ryan Raul Bañagale
15. Broadway's 'new' Gershwin musicals: romance, jazz, and the ghost of Fred Astaire Todd Decker
16. Gershwin and instrumental jazz Nate Sloan
Epilogue: the Gershwin I knew, and the Gershwin I know Michael Feinstein.

Subject Areas: Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups [AVH], 20th century & contemporary classical music [AVGC6], Music reviews & criticism [AVC], Music [AV]