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Article: George Gershwin: an American rhapsody. (100 years of George Gershwin music)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- September 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Midnight would find George Gershwin seated at his Steinay piano in pajamas and bathe, cigar clenched in his mouth, the shimmer of Manhattan as his backdrop. Such was the penthouse setting in which Gershwin best liked to compose, alone at the keyboard, seeking out yet another eloquent melody.
Gershwin expressed not only himself, but an American era, in his music--whether fast-paced, melodious, amorous, sentimental, light-hearted, or deep-toned. It sang of the Big City, the Big Boom, and the Big Depression. The years between World Wars I and II were a time of gangsters, Prohibition, millionaires, poverty, high hopes, and despair. With the nation reaching toward a ...