![]() Gershwin’s professional career in songwriting began as a classical composer. In 1919, he composed the popular song Swanee, with lyrics by Irving Caesar and performed by Al Jolson. In 1916, he composed his first published song and his first solo composition Rialto Ripples. His piano teacher and mentor, Charles Hambitzer, however, refused payment upon discovering George’s exceptional musical abilities.Īt the age of 15, he dropped out of school and began working as a song plugger for a publishing company on Manhattan’s Tin Pan Alley. Surprised by George’s innate talent for music, his parents decided to pay for piano lessons for him instead of Ira. Frequently George ran errands for the members of the local Yiddish theaters and he even appeared as an extra in various vaudeville acts, musical shows, and plays.įascinated by a violin recital performed by his friend, 11-year old George Gershwin taught himself to play a popular song on a second-hand piano that his parents bought for Ira. His older brother, Ira, and younger siblings, Arthur and Frances, grew up in the center of the thriving Yiddish Theater District, the leading Yiddish theater in the world. ![]() George eventually changed his name to Gershwin after becoming a professional composer. He was named after his Jewish grandfather, Jakov Gershowitz, who had worked his entire life as a mechanic for the Imperial Russian Army in order to earn the right of residence in Russia. His father was Moishe (Morris) Gershowitz and his mother was Rosa (Rose) Bruskin and they moved from Russia to New York roughly eight years before George’s birth. ![]() Early Yearsīorn Jacob Gershwine, the ever-popular composer was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants in the U.S. His majestic compositions included celebrated orchestral works such as the 1928 classic An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue, and folk operas such as Porgy and Bess, and other great works. Born on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, George Gershwin was widely regarded as the most famous and popular American musical composer of the 20th century.
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