George Gershwin

George Gershwin (1898-1937) is a composer of both jazz and classical music from the US remembered mainly for Rhapsody in Blue.


 * Fair for Its Day: Porgy and Bess
 * Family Business: He worked with his brother Ira until he (George) tragically died from a brain tumor.
 * Political Correctness Gone Mad: Porgy and Bess has been a victim of this. Depending on who one talks to, it's either demeaning to African-Americans or Fair for Its Day. Of course, it's still one of the most important US operas of the 20th century.
 * Throw It In: You know that famous clarinet glissando at the beginning of Rhapsody in Blue? It was a silly little musical prank that Gershwin liked so much that he wrote it into the score.