George Gershwin, An American in Paris

August 20, 2024

Date of Composition: 1942–1943
Duration: 18 minutes

Gershwin (1898–1937) was also the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He grew up in New York City and earned a reputation on the Broadway stage as one of the greatest American songwriters of the twentieth century. In 1910, Gershwin’s parents bought a piano, intended for use by his older brother Ira, but the instrument was fully embraced by George. He left school after the ninth grade, taking his first regular job as a “song plugger” for a Tin Pan Alley publishing firm. In this position, he played newly issued sheet music in the company’s front room, to be considered for use by performers, distributors, and Broadway producers. He also recorded more than one hundred piano rolls for the company. He then moved onto Broadway as a vaudeville rehearsal pianist, providing him with connections to promote his own compositions. Gershwin’s big break came in 1920 when Al Jolson recorded “Swanee,” which led to a contract with George White’s yearly Scandals from 1920 through 1924. That final year, Gershwin’s Lady Be Good, with lyrics by brother Ira and starring Fred and Adele Astaire, opened to critical acclaim. About the same time, classical vocalists began programming Gershwin songs at the ends of their concerts, adding a sense of respectability to his catalog. His ability to crossover to mediums beyond the theatre was cemented in 1924 when the composer performed his piano concerto Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman’s jazz orchestra. Gershwin later ventured into the world of folk opera with Porgy and Bess, and his music was featured in many films of the 1930s. Fellow Broadwayist Irving Berlin remarked that Gershwin was “the only songwriter I know who became a composer.”

In 1928, Gershwin completed his first true orchestral work, a tone poem titled An American in Paris. The piece was premiered by the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. Gershwin said he wrote the three-section programmatic work “to portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city, listens to the various street noises, and absorbs the French atmosphere.” His orchestration, which called for multiple saxophones as well as taxi horns, may have shocked that first audience, but neatly captures Gershwin’s unique compositional style and ability to tell a story. An American in Paris did this so well that the composition inspired the now iconic 1951 film of the same title. Gershwin, however, never saw Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron dance to his music, for he died of a brain tumor in 1937 at the young age of thirty-eight, leaving us to wonder what other stories this great composer might have told with his music.

© 2024, Dr. K. Dawn Grapes