Product Description
Fake Book style arrangments.Contains well over 100 songs from George and Ira Gershwin, this is an invaluable resource for all musicians and fans of the Gershwin legacy. Production teams took great care to ensure the accuracy and usability of each arrangement while making sure that each remained true to the composers’ intentions. Useful chord substitutions are indicated for each arrangement. Each song is extensively cross-referenced with appendices, a complete discography of suggested recorded versions, a section on how to play from a fakebook, and chord theory reference pages. Comb bound, approx. 200 pages. This new edition was produced with the full cooperation and approval of the Gershwin estate. ... Read more

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A complete guide to Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS, whichincludes the STORY SYNOPSIS, PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS in the opera, STORYNARRATIVE with ONE-BAR MUSIC HIGHLIGHT EXAMPLES, and an ESSAYproviding background about the opera and its composer, analysis, andinsightful commentary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Mini-sized guide laden with maxi-helpful information
The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is just wonderful; it's like a "CliffNote" of the opera, and extremely informative and educational.Iparticularly like the size; these guides are not cumbersome and fit rightinto my shirt pocket. The ladies will find sufficient room in theirpocketbooks.

The story narrative with the music examples is excellent. Iprefer it to a libretto; indeed, it's a much easier way to follow theessence of the story. The essay is magnificent; very well written, notpedantic, and extremely insightful and comprehensible. I congratulateBurton Fisher for a job very well done and Amazon for making these handy,information-laden booklets available. The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Seriesis a wonderful contribution to opera education and opera appreciation.

Mytip: acquire the entire collection because you will be in easy reach ofsuperbly presented opera guides consisting of story analysis, principalcharacters in the opera, story narrative with music highlights, background,analysis, and commentary.

Heinz Dinter, Ph.D. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

informative but not especially analytic
Jablonski and Stewart have done diligent research and this is a very useful compendium of data, but they are too much invested in a kind of sycophantic worship to present a truly incisive or analytic sense of thisimmensely creative duo. Stewart's contribution as Ira Gershwin's one-timeassistant is especially problematic for its lack of objectivity. And thewriting throughout is quite pedestrian. ... Read more

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The early twentieth century was a wonderful time for American music, and George Gershwin was the most gifted composer of that era. Songs such as "Summertime" and "Someone to Watch Over Me" continue to enchant listeners and performers. His Rhapsody in Blue is still performed around the world and Porgy and Bess, written near the end of his tragically short life, was the first successful use of traditional American music in an opera. ... Read more

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Vintage Piano Solo edition of "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin. ... Read more

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Easy Note Style Sheet MusicCustom Made Quality Arrangements Printed on Beautiful Colored Backgrounds ... Read more

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American composer George Gershwin, an icon of the American Jazz Age, indelibly marked 20th-century music, with many of his works becoming standards in the popular and jazz music repertory. This major bibliography includes a brief biography, which examines Gershwin's influence and situates him within the cultural context of his time, a complete cross-reference list of all his compositions, a discography of more than 1,150 items, and a descriptive filmography. The extensive bibliography includes writings by both George and Ira and more than 2,100 entries about George's compositions. ... Read more

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Enriched with excerpts and insights from personal correspondence and interviews--plus lively anecdotes and rare, never-before-published photographs--this fascinating portrait brings us closer to the real persona of George Gershwin than ever before. 81 black-and-white photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Chock Full of Information
This is pretty dreary read. It records an immense amount of information but doesn't deliver a picture of the man. Stil, there's a lot of value here -- particularly with the supplemental material on Ira after George's death, the list of the Gershwin brothers' collaborations, and a thoughtful discography.

Good information, but poorly written
Surprisingly poorly written. Much of the book seems like it was thrown together from various notes without the benefit of a rewrite or an editor. A person will be introduced in one paragraph as so-and-so's friend who did such-and-such, only to be reintroduced again the same way a couple of paragraphs later.

Conversely, though less often, someone will be referred to by last name only with no introduction, prompting the reader to rescan the preceding paragraphs, thinking he missed something.

The result is that many of the stories the author tells are murky and confusing. It's also clear that he doesn't know a lot about music, though that may be OK if that's not the approach you're looking for. On the plus side, the book seems well-researched and contains a lot of detail. It's a shame he didn't go the extra step of having a cowriter or at least a good editor.

Thorough but academic
This is probably the best Gershwin biography out there at the moment. It is very factual and academic. I wish that the author wrote in a more lively manner, though. Here we have one of the most fascinating figures of thetwentieth century; an incredibly talented composer and pianist; a man whoworked on Broadway, in the concert halls, in Hollywood; a man who knew manyof the most fascinating figures in entertainment. You would think abiography of his life would be a spell binding page turner. No. This onedrags in many places. ... Read more

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Lullaby was the name George Gershwin gave to an exercise in harmony (originally written for string quartet) that he prepared as an assignment while studying orchestration with Edward Kilenyi in 1919. Later in his life, Gershwin's soothing Lullaby became a favorite among Gershwin's string-playing friends, who often performed the piece privately. ... Read more

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The unbeatable Gershwin melodies and rhythms provide great rewards for duo pianists! This arrangement by Percy Grainger sends one great tune flying to another and another, creating a fantasy-like medley. This is a full- bodied work for accomplished pianists, and a wonderful treat for discriminating performers and audiences. Two copies required for performance. ... Read more

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George Gershwin is at once one of America's most popular and least appreciated composers. He is loved and revered for his wonderful songs, a few instrumental works, and for the opera Porgy and Bess. Most of his music, however, is virtually unknown--hundreds of songs, show music, and even several large and important instrumental works are gradually fading with the generations that first heard them.

This book promises to make a key contribution to American music research, and Schneider has corralled some of the best authors and authorities who have been involved in Gershwin research for years, along with those who come to Gershwin for the first time from interests in American music or popular music generally. Contributers include Wayne Shirley, Charles Hamm, Edward Jablonski, and Artis Wodehouse, who has transcribed most of Gershwin's piano performances.

The issues in this collection touch on such important topics of research as biography, source studies, analysis, and reception, and reflect the diversity of scholarship and thought regarding the Gershwins. ... Read more

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George Gershwin couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble when he was a boy. He was a tough kid who got in a lot of fights and frequently skipped school. When his family bought a piano, his life was transformed. He quickly mastered it, and then dropped out of school when he was fifteen to become a musician. Within a year, he had sold his first song. When he was 20, he wrote his first big hit. Five years after that, Rhapsody in Blue catapulted him to international fame. With his brother Ira as lyricist, he went on to compose some of the most famous musicals of the twentieth century and also wrote several movie scores. But he died tragically when he was only 38. ... Read more

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Focuses on the life and musical career of the composer who wrote a number of popular musicals and brought jazz into the realm of acceptable and respectable music. ... Read more

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A biography of the successful composer of musical comedies, popular songs, symphonic works, and the opera "Porgy and Bess." ... Read more

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Shortly after George Gershwin's premature death in 1937, Merle Armitage invited Gershwin's friends and associates to contribute memories and tributes for this volume, which was first published in 1938. In these 38 articles, a range of interests are covered, comprising a portrait of a musician who exerted a huge influence on his era. Here Ira Gershwin reminisces about his brother's childhood and career; Paul Whiteman traces the history of "Rhapsody in Blue"; DuBose Hayward and Rouben Mamoulian discuss the genesis of "Porgy and Bess"; J. Rosamond Johnson examines Gershwin's African-American influences; Arnold Schoenberg discusses Gershwin the musical innovator; Harold Arlen attests to Gershwin's kindness to his fellow composers; George Gershwin summarises his approach to modern music; Oscar Hammerstein II, Isamu Noguchi, Rudy Vallee, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, and many others contribute recollections, observations and thanks. This volume also includes 16 of Gershwin's own paintings, along with many other artworks and photographs. This book provides insights into Gershwin the man and the composer. ... Read more

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Songs include: Embraceable You
* I Got Rhythm
* The Man I Love
* Someone to Watch Over Me
* Swanee. ... Read more