UHF No 70 (Net).indd - Ultra High Fidelity Magazine

Marguerite d’Alvarez.
In 1927 the premiere of Strike Up the
Band at Philadelphia’s Shubert Theater,
is but a modest success, though its title
song becomes a hit. Based on a book by
Morrie Ryskind, it is the fi rst collaboration
of George S. Kaufman with the
Gershwins. The show will be revived at
the Times Square Theater in 1930.
January of 1928 sees the premiere of
Rosalie, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld,
a huge hit. It includes seven Gershwin
songs, including How Long Has This Been
Going On?
The following March George begins
a three-month visit to Europe, accompanied
by his sister Frances, a singer, his
brother Ira and his wife Leonora. They
are in the spotlight as soon as they arrive
in London, thanks to a revival of Oh
Kay! Gershwin revisits Ravel, Milhaud,
Poulenc and Prokofiev in Paris, and
Alban Berg in Vienna. The Rhapsody in
Blue is played by the Pasdeloup Orchestra,
and in April a ballet based on it is
performed.
He returns from Europe with enough
material to compose an orchestral work
inspired by his stay in Paris. An American
in Paris is premiered in December in
Carnegie Hall, with Walter Damrosch
conducting the New York Philharmonic.
The gulf between the classics and jazz
has fi nally been fi lled. Gershwin will
reuse the music for a ballet scene in Show
Girl, at the Ziegfeld Theatre in 1929. It
will later be performed integrally in the
1952 fi lm bearing the ballet’s title.
The economic crash of 1929 shakes
both Europe and America. Banks close
their doors and worldwide unemployment
soars. During this dark period,
Gershwin begins composing Of Thee I
Sing.
Girl Crazy, the following year, will be
one of Gershwin’s best musicals. What
makes it memorable, despite its idiotic
script, is a series of remarkable songs
from the Gershwin brothers, including
Singin’ in the Rain, Embraceable You and
I Got Rhythm.
Like so many other artists, actors
and musicians, George Gershwin cannot
resist the allure of the West Coast,
taking Ira with him. They leave New
York in November of 1930. The fi lm
Delicious, with their songs, opens just
over a year later. The same month, back
in New York, Of Thee I Sing opens. It
is a brilliant satire by three lyricists on
Gershwin’s superb music. The following
year the show is accorded a Pulitzer
Prize. Because the Pulitzer has no category
for musical comedies, the prize is
given the lyricists…who publicly deplore
the injustice.
In January 1932 in Boston he premieres
his Second Rhapsody for Piano and
Orchestra, with Koussevitsky conducting
the Boston Symphony. During a short
stay in Havana, he is inspired by the
rhythm and percussion of the island, and
he writes a Cuban Overture (originally
titled Rumba). The New York Philharmonic
premieres it. A month later,
Simon and Schuster publishes The George
Gershwin Song Book.
October 1933 sees the premiere of Let
’em Eat Cake, a logical successor to Of
Thee I Sing, confi rming Ira Gershwin’s
taste for satire.
In 1934 Gershwin plays the solo part
in his I Got Rhythm Variations. You have
to hear these variations on a familiar
melody to appreciate fully the genius
of Gershwin. When the time came to
improvise, his prodigious imagination,
so well served by the agility of his fi ngers,
knew no bounds.
But the Great Depression is showing
no signs of ending, and its effects on
Broadway are disastrous. The theatres
and music halls are empty. A long list
of artists must fight against despair,
for so many are without work. And yet,
on October 10, 1935, Gershwin’s opera
Porgy and Bess opens on Broadway. It
is Gershwin’s longest work, though
it is staged in abbreviated form. To
soothe music lovers not yet used to his
innovative style, Gershwin avoids the
word opera altogether. The libretto is
by DuBose Heyward, with lyrics by
Heyward and Ira Gershwin. This African-American
story is set on Catfi sh
Row in Charleston, SC. Later considered
a masterpiece, Porgy and Bess is not an
immediate success, though strangely
some of its songs will become immensely
popular even among people who had
not yet seen the show. The song lineup
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 61
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