George Gershwin : A New Biography


Printed:	2003	Author:	William G. Hyland
Publisher:	Praeger Publishers	ISBN:	0275981118
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Hardcover, 312 pages, (August 2003) Usually ships within 24 hours.
Amazon Review
In this in-depth, well-researched biography, Hyland (Richard Rodgers [1998]) explores Gershwin's complex personality and his pioneering music. He begins with chapters on the legendary composer's youth ("He was, frankly, a bad child who might have become a gangster"), his early days as a song plugger, his musical influences, and his composing and performing of Rhapsody in Blue (first performed by Paul Whiteman's orchestra with Gershwin as the solo pianist in 1924 in New York's Aeolian Hall). Hyland provides fresh insights on how Gershwin forged a link between jazz and the concert hall, new musical trends on Broadway in the 1920s, the composer's life and work in Hollywood, and his place in the pantheon of American music. The author also writes knowledgeably about such famous Gershwin shows as Lady Be Good; Tip Toes; Oh, Kay; Strike up the Band; and Funny Face, among others, and the opera Porgy and Bess. Hyland explains how Gershwin became the first composer to apply popular music to classical forms and how his compositions reflected the restlessness of our country during the Jazz Age. With 14 pages of black-and-white photographs, this is a scrupulous portrait of a musical genius. George Cohen Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved