George Gershwin Essay

Johannes Brahms was a German Composer, Pianist and conductor of the 19th century or the Romantic period. He was one of the 3 B's or the Big three: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Johannes was a very self-critic man he burned many of his pieces before he could get anyone's opinion on them and he burned all of his compositions that he wrote before the age of 19.

In the passage by Igor Stravinsky, he uses not only comparison and contrast, but also language to convey his point of view about the conductors of the time and their extreme egotism. Stravinsky believes that conductors exploit the music for their own personal gain, so rather, he looks on them in a negative light.

​The Roaring Twenties was a decade absorbed with the growth of the music industry thanks to the radio being born in 1920 (Tyle). The excitement of the war being over brought the Roaring Twenties forth. The American people hungered for change, and the new music of the era, jazz, satisfied their great hunger (100 Favourite Songs). Jazz was a brand new type of music drastically different from anything the American people had heard before. Unfortunately, the Great Depression, which occurred in the thirties, brought forth an aroma of sadness and despair in the lives of the American people. Would jazz also cave into the Depression? Or fight back? Although the mood of the American people changed from the Roaring

George Gershwin is one of the greatest influences to American music in the 20th century. His compositions can be found throughout the entertainment world, ranging from Broadway to motion pictures. Though he had a short career, George Gershwin's music continues to bring inspiration and delight almost sixty years later.

Oklahoma! The first collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein was entitled Oklahoma! The idea of the musical came from a play called Green Grow the Lilacs, written by Lynn Riggs in 1931. This story is about the state of Oklahoma at the turn of the century, when the Indian Territory joined the United States. It is the story of a girl named Laurey Williams and her (sort of) love triangle with two boys by the names of Curley McClain and Jud Fry. Laurey is in love with Curley, but she attends a dance with Jud instead. At the dance, Curley surprised Laurey by bidding an enormous amount on the basket of food she has prepared. They soon marry, and after the wedding, Jud starts a fight with Curley, but he

Howard Cosell, a legendary commentator, spoke words about this legendary man that more or less sums up his legendary career. He said "Frank Sinatra, who has the phrasing, who has the control, who understands the composers, who knows what losing means as so many have, who made the great comeback, who stands still, enduringly, on top of the entertainment world. Ladies and gentlemen, from here on in it's Frank Sinatra!" Frank Sinatra, the only singer in history to have hit records in five consecutive decades, led a lot more distinctive life than people were led to believe.

George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is one of those timeless classics that is instantly recognizable to many people’s ears today, even ninety years after it was first introduced to the world. It is a piece that has found its way into contemporary movies and advertisements, making it likely as recognizable as Chopin’s Funeral March or Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. But unlike these two pieces of iconic classical music, Rhapsody in Blue “resists classification.”1 In it are elements of classical music, blues and jazz, making it at once “Gershwin’s most famous piece” but also “possibly his least understood composition.”2 Indeed, while Rhapsody became a popular hit in the

George Gershwin‘s opera Porgy and Bess is said to have been racist and outdated even in the time that it was written in 1935. There are many aspects of this work that are incorrect and prolong stereotypes about African Americans by depicting them as violent and religious. Gershwin classified this opera as a folk opera, a term which was offensive to African Americans. George Gershwin, arguably a great composer, composed an opera that is considered to be controversial due to its negative representation of African Americans. Porgy and Bess is a cultural artifact and when discussing it we bring up complex issues of race from the time it was written and even to this day in the United States.

     Jazz is a style of music that began and has been revolutionized within the United States. Jazz music first appeared in the city of New Orleans and eventually moved onto Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, and New York City. Jazz unites different elements of African, African- American, religious, brass brand, and blues style of music. The music of Jazz, and its changes through the years, is now a form of music that is known and respected throughout this nation and the world.

On 17 December 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven was born. He was an amazing and great classical musical composer. He is known for being the most famous composer of the classical and romantic periods of music. According to the “Enjoyment of Music” manual, Beethoven was born in Bohn, Germany. His father, with his grandfather, was the two singers at the court of a local prince, Friedrich Max. (Forney and Machlis 197).

Gershwin was greatly influenced during his lifetime by several musicians. The strongest influence on his life as a musician came during his youth from his instructor Charles Hambitzer. Hambitzer introduced Gershwin to the music of Debusy and Ravel, the early works of Arnold Schoenberg, and classical piano. Certain

Over the course of nearly 260 years of social and political happenings and Fourth of July celebrations, the easily malleable ditty has spawned a vast multitude of improvised verses, which both feed and are testimony to its lasting appeal as a veritable ‘song of the people’. However, this does create some problems. Yankee Doodle’s celebrated melody is one of the very few things about the song that have remained constant throughout its history. With a long history of continual adaptation and evolution, its lyrical origins are more difficult to pinpoint. It is unsurprising that there is little iron-clad evidence for each aspect of a traditional song whose composition was born of on-the-go, impromptu improvisation. Even the most commonly accepted

German composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven, was born December 1770 and spent most of his life in Vienna, Austria. His first teacher was his alcoholic father, who worked as a musician at the Court of Bonn. Teaching him day and night, Ludwig suffered from his father's harsh and erratic behavior. For a time, he and his father played at the Church. As his father's alcoholism increased, Ludwig became the main musician.

Composers rely heavily on ritornello form. More freedom in the form although a sinfonia proper is later developed.

Over time there have been many eras of music and many genres. One could say that the Classical music, or the Romantic era has been the most significant in music history. Although those times are very important to the music world, Jazz in the early 20th century is very significant to the history of music in the United States. Next is a little bit of history and what makes Jazz music Jazz.