By Sarah Sisk In 1934, George Gershwin hosted his own radio show, called Music by Gershwin. Although little-known today, this program happens to be crucial to the existence of one of Gershwin’s greatest works, Porgy and Bess. “George Gershwin belonged to the radio age. His genius freshened the life-blood of radio—Music. His growth and triumphs paralleled the magic advances of broadcasting which in a flash introduced his popular melodies to the entire nation.” New York Times, July 18, 1937. So begins a July 18, 1937, New York Times article, written in homage a mere week after the beloved composer’s unexpected […]

PBS will air the tribute concert for the legendary Motown and R&B singer and songwriter on February 10, 2017. By: Sarah Sisk On November 16, the award ceremony and tribute concert for the eighth annual Gershwin Prize for Popular Song was held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. The Gershwin Initiative’s editor-in-chief Dr. Mark Clague and managing editor, Dr. Jessica Getman, traveled to D.C. to attend the annual concert that celebrates each year’s Gershwin Prize recipient. (Perhaps you have seen some of their photos from the evening on our Facebook page, American Music Institute / Gershwin Initiative.) Smokey Robinson […]

Ever wonder what Hanukkah in the Gershwins’ world was like? Turns out it was only just coming into its own as the celebratory holiday we know today. Let’s take a peek at this well-loved festival’s face in the 1920s… By Cassidy Goldblatt Prior to the ‘20s, Hanukkah as celebrated by America’s Jewish population was a rather humble holiday, centered around lighting the menorah candles in commemoration of the 2nd-century BC Maccabean Revolt and the Temple’s subsequent purification. But the 1920s saw the rise of new opinions about tradition and religious devotion. Victor Emanuel Reichert quoted a rabbi in 1927 speaking […]

By Sarah Sisk Ira Gershwin, Pulitzer-prize-winning lyricist and supplier of words to some of the most iconic songs in American musical history, may often be referred to as “the other Gershwin”, overshadowed by the popularity of his younger brother George. But while Ira may not always get the attention he deserves, the disparity in the Gershwin brothers’ respective notorieties has led to a sixty-year-running Gershwin joke—and of course poor Ira is the butt of it. The story goes that in the 1950s, a radio disk jockey, when playing a piece written by the Gershwin brothers, attributed the song to “George […]

Just a quick note from me (Kristen) today to share with you some of the reasons my colleagues and I love working here at the Gershwin Initiative and to tell you about the University of Michigan’s Giving Blue Day campaign. Giving Blue Day is the U-M version of Giving Tuesday—Go Blue! Our ability to make rapid progress on our editions (this year we’ve completed drafts of An American in Paris, Concerto in F, the Whiteman-band Rhapsody in Blue, and Porgy and Bess has finally been fully engraved into the music software) depends on donations to support our army of assistants, research travel, and much more.  You can donate […]

In today’s post, Frances traces some of the various transformations (or potential misprints) of the Gershwin family name. George and Ira’s father arrived in New York in 1890 still accompanied by his Russian Jewish name: Moishe Gershovitz. Moishe soon changed his name to the much more Americanized Morris Greshevin, as was frequently the custom with immigrants’ names upon arriving in America. Morris’s wife, Roza Bruskin, similarly became known as simply Rose. By the time of their union in 1895, their marriage license read “Gershvin.” In the 1900 US census, two years after George’s birth, Morris was back to using the […]

As word spread about a new Porgy production with George Gershwin, popular American entertainer Al Jolson inquired about the pending “musical.”  Four letters between DuBose Heyward and George Gershwin detail the matter.  Letters used with kind permission of the South Carolina Historical Society. By Frances Sobolak After George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward secured the operatic rights for Porgy in May of 1932, one of their next labors was to determine who would star in an operatic production. Though the theater production written by DuBose and his wife Dorothy featured an all-black cast, the same wasn’t an initial guarantee for an operatic […]

“ Love is Here to Stay” has been a celebrated jazz standard for more than six decades, and it is most often treated as a straightforward love ballad. However, the lack of gendered language in its lyrics opens up the possibility for alternative interpretations, as well as creative and political performances. By Megan Hill, Ph.D. The presence of gendered language (he/she/him/her, man/woman, etc.) in song lyrics provides the opportunity for people concerned with gender and sexuality politics to perform the song in order to make political statements, regardless of whether or not the song’s composer and/or lyricist had such politics […]

  George Gershwin is well-known for his mixed use of popular and traditional idioms. But what was his personal attitude towards contemporary composers, and how did this influence his approach towards composition? Take a look at how An American in Paris, situated at a critical point in George’s career, reflects both his developing tastes and shifting musical ambitions. By Cassidy Goldblatt George Gershwin began his career in the streets of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway, writing songs inspired by his love of jazz. Yet popular genres could only capture his attention for so long, and he soon felt the itch […]

Hello everyone! Just a quick note today for our blog followers to let you know we have some special things going on this week as we lead up to Friday’s test performances. We are taking over the U-M School of Music, Theater, and Dance instagram account! We will be posting behind-the-scenes looks at what we do here at the initiative and a few sneak peeks at George’s manuscripts we get to work with each day.  Follow along on instagram @UMichSMTD We also have some amazing new videos and interviews we are releasing on our Facebook page, be sure to check […]