| Contents |
In lieu of biography: concepts and images from a short but full life -- In search of Gershwin's style -- In search of the Gershwin musical, featuring Lady, be good! With special appearances by Oh, Kay! and other surprise guests -- Entr'acte: the showman in the concert hall -- Something completely different: Of thee I sing and the musical as a "work" -- The nonpareil: Porgy and Bess in Catfish Row, on Broadway, in America, and throughout the world -- An unintended Hollywood coda -- Principal works by George Gershwin. |
| Abstract |
George Gershwin, one of America's best-loved twentieth-century composers, left a rich legacy of popular music that includes musicals, concert pieces, an opera, and movie scores. In this book, Larry Starr focuses fresh attention on George Gershwin's Broadway contributions and examines their centrality to the composer's entire career. Starr presents Gershwin as a composer with a unified musical vision--a vision developed on Broadway and used as a source of strength in his well-known concert music. In turn, Gershwin's concert-hall experience enriched and strengthened his musicals, leading eventually to his great "Broadway opera," Porgy and Bess. Through the prism of three major shows--Lady Be Good (1924), Of Thee I Sing (1931), and Porgy and Bess (1935)--Starr highlights Gershwin's distinctive contributions to the evolution of the Broadway musical. In addition, the author considers Gershwin's musical language, his compositions for the concert hall, and his movie scores for Hollywood in the light of his Broadway experience. |
