George Gershwin: An Intimate Portrait (Music in American Life)

George Gershwin lived with purpose and gusto, but with melancholy as well, for he was unable to make a place for himself—no family of his own and no real home in music. He and his siblings received little love from their mother and no direction from their father. Older brother and lyricist Ira managed to create a home when he married Leonore Strunsky, a hard-edged woman who lived for wealth and status. The closest George came to domesticity was through his longtime relationship with Kay Swift. She was his lover, musical confidante, and fellow composer. But she remained married to another man while he went endlessly from woman to woman. Only in the final hours of his life, when they were separated by a continent, did he realize how much he needed her. Fatally ill, unprotected by (and perhaps estranged from) Ira, he was exiled by Leonore from the house she and the brothers shared, and he died horribly and alone at the age of thirty-eight. Nor was Gershwin able to find a satisfying musical harbor. For years his songwriting genius could be expressed only in the ephemeral world of show business, as his brilliance as a composer of large-scale works went unrecognized by highbrow music critics. When he resolved this quandary with his opera Porgy and Bess, the critics were unable to understand or validate it. Decades would pass before this, his most ambitious composition, was universally regarded as one of music’s lasting treasures and before his stature as a great composer became secure. In George Gershwin: An Intimate Portrait, Walter Rimler makes use of fresh sources, including newly discovered letters by Kay Swift as well as correspondence between and interviews with intimates of Ira and Leonore Gershwin. It is written with spirited prose and contains more than two dozen photographs. George Gershwin lived his life with delight and vitality, but with melancholy as well, for he was unable to make a place for himself--no family of his own and no real home in music. He and his siblings received little love from their mother and no direction from their father. The closest George came to domesticity was his long time affair with fellow composer Kay Swift. But she remained married to another man while he went from woman to woman. Only in the final hours of his life did he realize how much he needed her. Fatally ill, unprotected by (and perhaps estranged from) his older brother Ira, he was exiled by Ira's hard-edged wife Leonore from the house that she and the brothers shared, and he died alone at the age of thirty-eight. Nor did Gershwin find a satisfying musical harbor. For years his genius could be expressed only in the ephemeral world of show business, as his brilliance as a composer of large-scale works went unrecognized by highbrow music critics. When he resolved this quandary with his opera Porgy and Bess, critics were unable to understand or validate it.Decades would pass before his most ambitious composition was universally regarded as one of music's lasting treasures and before his stature as a great composer became secure. In this book, Walter Rimler makes use of fresh sources, including newly discovered letters by Kay Swift as well as correspondence between and interviews with intimates of Ira and Leonore Gershwin. It is written with spirited prose and contains more than two dozen photographs. From street kid to Wunderkind Falling in love with Kay A piano concerto Ira takes a wife Porgy Paris "That long drip of human tears" The losing streak begins "Something big" "Don't make it too good, George!" Kay, Jimmy, and FDR The heart of American music Kay's divorce Todd Duncan Casting, rehearsals, and an omen The critics have their say Limbo Hollywood beckons Pleasure Island Final concert, final affair Last songs Epilogue. SUPERANNO Dynamic and fast-paced, this new biography goes beyond the ��known�� Gershwin. Focusing on his private life through the use of fresh sources, including newly discovered letters by Kay Swift as well as correspondence between and interviews with intimates of Ira and Leonore Gershwin. It contains more than two dozen photographs. George Gershwin was celebrated as a musician, but in this biography, Walter Rimler argues that Gershwin was unable to make a place for himself. Without family & not able to focus on any single musical genre, Gershwin may have lived with 'gusto', but there was a deep melancholy in the background The dramatic story of a legendary American composer focusing on his private life through the use of fresh sources