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George Gershwin

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of George Gershwin.

Gershwin started life in the music business as a song-plugger on Tin Pan Alley, becoming a fine pianist into the bargain. Donald Macleod begins by looking at the songs that established his reputation as a composer of popular songs and the work with which he crossed the threshold of the concert hall for the first time.

It was not long before George Gershwin and his brother Ira conquered Broadway, and George went on to win the hearts of the public - if not the critics - in the concert hall. Donald Macleod introduces the show that reinforced the brothers' reputation and the concerto with which Gershwin attempted to prove his worth as a serious composer.

Donald Macleod introduces Gershwin's evocation of the sights and sounds of Paris and the Broadway show that was saved from obscurity by the Wall Street Crash. Next he looks at the first all-Gershwin concert was staged in 1932 at the Lewisohn Baseball Stadium, playing to a huge crowd.

Finally, Donald Macleod introduces what was to be Gershwin's final concert work, his first and only opera, and some of the most memorable songs from the final years of his life.

Release date:

Duration:

1 hour, 8 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Composer George Gershwin