New York City native and gifted pianist George Gershwin (1898-1937)
blossomed as an accompanist before his talent as a songwriter opened the
way to Broadway, where he composed a long run of musical comedies, many
with his brother Ira as lyricist. But his aspirations reached beyond
commercial success. Appealing to listeners on both sides of the
purported popular-classical divide, his first instrumental composition,
Rhapsody in Blue, was an instant classic. He pushed boundaries again a
decade later with the groundbreaking folk opera, Porgy and Bess--his
magnum opus. In 1936, he and Ira moved west to write songs for
Hollywood, but their work was cut short when George developed a brain
tumor. He died at thirty-eight, a beloved artist who had fashioned his
own brand of American music. Drawing extensively from letters and
contemporaneous accounts, acclaimed music historian Richard Crawford
traces the arc of Gershwin's remarkable life, seamlessly blending
colorful anecdotes with a celebration of his unforgettable music-making.