Details

Subject(s)

• Music—United States—20th century—History and criticism [Browse]
• Gershwin, George 1898-1937—Criticism and interpretation [Browse]

Editor

• Celenza, Anna Harwell [Browse]

Series

Cambridge companions to music. [More in this series]

Summary note

George Gershwin is often described as a quintessentially American composer. This Cambridge Companion explains why, engaging with the ways in which his music was shaped by American political, intellectual, cultural and business interests. As a composer and performer, Gershwin embraced technological advances and broke new ground in music business practices. In the decades preceding World War II, he captured the mechanistic pulse of modern life with his concert works and lay the groundwork for the Great American Songbook with his Broadway shows and film music. With his brother Ira, and his cousins Henry and B. A. Botkin, Gershwin explored various ethnic and cultural identities and contemplated their roles in US culture. His music confronted race during the Jim Crow era and continues to engage with issues of race today. This interdisciplinary exploration of Gershwin's life and music describes his avowed pursuit of an 'American' musical identity and its ongoing legacy.

Notes

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 09 Aug 2019).

Contents

• Historical context. The unlikely patriarch / Michael Owen ; Hearing Gershwin's New York / Ellen Noonan ; Gershwin's musical education / Susan Neimoyer ; Gershwin in Hollywood / Jessica Getman
• Profiles of the music. Blue Monday and New York theatrical aesthetics / Kristen Turner ; Broadway in blue : Gershwin's musical theatre scores and songs / Todd Decker ; The works for piano and orchestra / Tim Freeze ; Harmonizing music and money : Gershwin's economic strategies from "Swanee" to An American in Paris / Mark Clague ; Exploring new worlds : An American in Paris, Cuban overture and Porgy and Bess / Anna Harwell Celenza ; Complexities in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess : historical and performing contexts / Naomi Andre ; Writing for the big screen : Shall we dance and a Damsel in distress / Nathan Platte
• Influence and reception. The coverage of Gershwin in music history texts / Howard Pollack ; When Ella Fitzgerald sang Gershwin : a chapter from the Great American Songbook / Will Friedwald ; The afterlife of Rhapsody in blue / Ryan Raul Banagale.

ISBN

• 1-108-53466-X
• 1-108-53040-0
• 1-108-52875-9

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