Ever wonder what Hanukkah in the Gershwins’ world was like? Turns out it was only just coming into its own as the celebratory holiday we know today. Let’s take a peek at this well-loved festival’s face in the 1920s… By Cassidy Goldblatt Prior to the ‘20s, Hanukkah as celebrated by America’s Jewish population was a rather humble holiday, centered around lighting the menorah candles in commemoration of the 2nd-century BC Maccabean Revolt and the Temple’s subsequent purification. But the 1920s saw the rise of new opinions about tradition and religious devotion. Victor Emanuel Reichert quoted a rabbi in 1927 speaking […]

By Sarah Sisk Ira Gershwin, Pulitzer-prize-winning lyricist and supplier of words to some of the most iconic songs in American musical history, may often be referred to as “the other Gershwin”, overshadowed by the popularity of his younger brother George. But while Ira may not always get the attention he deserves, the disparity in the Gershwin brothers’ respective notorieties has led to a sixty-year-running Gershwin joke—and of course poor Ira is the butt of it. The story goes that in the 1950s, a radio disk jockey, when playing a piece written by the Gershwin brothers, attributed the song to “George […]

In today’s post, Frances traces some of the various transformations (or potential misprints) of the Gershwin family name. George and Ira’s father arrived in New York in 1890 still accompanied by his Russian Jewish name: Moishe Gershovitz. Moishe soon changed his name to the much more Americanized Morris Greshevin, as was frequently the custom with immigrants’ names upon arriving in America. Morris’s wife, Roza Bruskin, similarly became known as simply Rose. By the time of their union in 1895, their marriage license read “Gershvin.” In the 1900 US census, two years after George’s birth, Morris was back to using the […]

  George Gershwin is well-known for his mixed use of popular and traditional idioms. But what was his personal attitude towards contemporary composers, and how did this influence his approach towards composition? Take a look at how An American in Paris, situated at a critical point in George’s career, reflects both his developing tastes and shifting musical ambitions. By Cassidy Goldblatt George Gershwin began his career in the streets of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway, writing songs inspired by his love of jazz. Yet popular genres could only capture his attention for so long, and he soon felt the itch […]

Today we’d like to share the wonderful piece Marilou Carlin wrote to feature our upcoming test performenace here in Ann Arbor.  This story first featured on the UM Arts and Culture page, which is well worth a visit! September 15, 2016 By Marilou Carlin George Gershwin (left), James Rosenberg, percussionist for Cincinnati Symphony (center), and tenor Richard Crooks (right), pose with taxi horns from “An American in Paris” on February 28, 1929. Photo courtesy the Ira & Leonore Gershwin Trusts.   The University Symphony Orchestra at the University of Michigan will perform two George Gershwin masterpieces—”An American in Paris” (1928) and “Concerto in F” (1925)—in new critical editions that reveal, for the first time in decades, the composer’s original intent for the […]

  George and Ira Gershwin’s song “I’ve Got a Crush on You” is arguably one of their most famous creations. However, few people know that what made the song a hit was a change from a fast-tempo, Broadway dance piece into a leisurely, sentimental ballad. By: Rachel Fernandes “I’ve Got a Crush on You” I’ve got a crush on you, sweetie pie All the day and night time give me sigh I never had the least notion that I could fall with so much emotion Could you coo, could you care? For a cunning cottage we could share The world […]

  After George Gershwin’s death, Ira writes a letter to DuBose Heyward passing along his and George’s respect and affection for the author.  Take a look at Ira’s letter of August 2, 1937, to DuBose, held at the South Carolina Historical Society. By Frances Sobolak By the middle of 1937, just shy of two years after the premiere of Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin’s growing brain tumor, undetected at the time, was causing him severe headaches and fainting spells. On July 11, after having fallen into a coma two days before, George underwent extensive brain surgery—but the 38-year-old composer passed […]

George and Ira Gershwin were enjoying increasing success in the early 1920s, but they had yet to write a hit show together. Lady Be Good is the story of how a single show changed the future of their careers and the future of Broadway’s musical theater. By Sarah Sisk 1924 was a good year for the Gershwin brothers. That February had seen the premiere and subsequent popular success of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. It was also the year that Ira Gershwin, who had been working with George and other composers to write song lyrics for musical theater, decided to […]

Sarah and Frances, two undergraduates who joined the Gershwin team through the U-M UROP program, would like to step back and say a word about their journey into the world of research with the Gershwin Initiative over the 2015–16 school year.     What’s UROP, Exactly? UROP, the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, has been introducing undergraduate students to hands-on research experience at U-M for twenty-five years. Through it, students can assist with scholarly research projects alongside U-M professors and faculty, as well as graduate students and undergraduate peers. We, Frances and Sarah, both found a place as research assistants with the […]

Kristen Clough talks about our Public Musicology and Education Outreach program and the role our undergraduate researchers play in this project.   Good morning readers! Today I wanted to take a moment to let you in on some of the things going on behind the scenes at the Gershwin Initiative. In addition to our primary goal–creating our critical editions–we have a mission to foster Gershwin scholarship and music scholarship at our university, in our community, and in our K-12 schools.  We call this our Public Musicology and Education Outreach program, through which we seek to blend our musicological research with […]