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Hyland reveals both the man and his creations, revealing how Gershwin became the first composer to apply popular music to classical forms, how his work reflected the turmoil of America in the Jazz Age, and how, despite his fame, he never achieved the happiness and contentment a genius of his stature deserved. This is a fascinating new biography that no Gershwin fan-and no music fan-should be without.
George Gershwin pioneered the crossover from Broadway musicals to concert audiences, culminating in what is arguably America's greatest opera,
Porgy and Bess. In William G. Hyland's new biography, Gershwin's personality and music are reexamined. Hyland illustrates how the composer's craftsmanship was criticized and his music was relegated to the status of lowbrow for decades, until the relatively recent appreciation of his achievements.
Yet for all of his artistic brilliance, Gershwin was vulnerable and discontented in his personal life. Hyland reveals both the man and his creations, revealing how Gershwin became the first composer to apply popular music to classical forms, how his work reflected the turmoil of America in the Jazz Age, and how, despite his fame, he never achieved the happiness and contentment a genius of his stature deserved. This is a fascinating new biography that no Gershwin fan-and no music fan-should be without.
List of contents
Preface
Introduction
Youth
Song Plugging
Musical Influences
Rhapsody in Blue
Jazz
Broadway
Lady Be Good and The Concerto
An American in Paris
Of Thee I Sing
Porgy and Bess
Hollywood
Personality
Keeping the Flame
American Music
Bibliography
Index
About the author
WILLIAM G. HYLAND served a long career with the United States Government—at the White House, the State Department, and the NSC—and for ten years was the editor of Foreign Affairs Quarterly. He is the author of many works on international politics, as well as The Song Is Ended: Songwriters and American Music, 1900-1950 and Richard Rodgers.
Summary
Hyland reveals both the man and his creations, revealing how Gershwin became the first composer to apply popular music to classical forms, how his work reflected the turmoil of America in the Jazz Age, and how, despite his fame, he never achieved the happiness and contentment a genius of his stature deserved.
