The George Gershwin Reader » (Bargain)

Robert Wyatt is a concert pianist and Gershwin authority who is now Executive Director of the Cape Cod Conservatory of Music. John Andrew Johnson is Assistant Professor of Musicology in the Department of Fine Arts at Syracuse University.

George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was both a brilliant writer of popular songs ("Swanee," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away From Me") and of more serious music, including "Rhapsody in Blue," "An American in Paris," and "Porgy and Bess." Now, in The George Gershwin Reader, music lovers are treated to a spectacular celebration of this great American composer.
The Reader offers a kaleidoscopic collection of writings by and about Gershwin, including more than eighty pieces of superb variety, color, and depth. There is a who's who of famous commentators: bandleader Paul Whiteman; critics Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and Brooks Atkinson; fellow musicians Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Alec Wilder (who analyzes the songs "That Certain Feeling" and "A Foggy Day"), Leonard Bernstein, and the formidable modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg (who was Gershwin's tennis partner in Hollywood). Some of the most fascinating and important writings here deal with the critical debate over Gershwin's concert pieces, especially "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris," and there is a complete section devoted to the controversies over "Porgy and Bess," including correspondence between Gershwin and DuBose Hayward, the opera's librettist (a series of excerpts which illuminate the creative process), plus unique interviews with the original Porgy and Bess—Todd Duncan and Anne Brown. Sprinkled throughout the book are excerpts from Gershwin's own letters, which offer unique insight into this fascinating and charming man. Along with a detailed chronology of the composer's life, the editors provide informative introductions to each entry.
Here then is a book for anyone interested in American music. Scholars, performers, and Gershwin's legions of fans will find it an irresistible feast.

Library Journal

Editors Wyatt (executive director, Cape Cod Conservatory of Music) and Johnson (musicology, Syracuse Univ.) have assembled a fascinating collection of articles, biographical reminiscences, reviews, musical analyses, and letters relating to the life and music of George Gershwin. Organized into seven sections that roughly follow the composer's life, the book is designed to supplement previous collections of source material, especially Edward Jablonski and Lawrence Stewart's The Gershwin Years, Jablonski's Gershwin and Gershwin Remembered, Robert Kimball and Alfred Simon's The Gershwins, and George Gershwin, edited by Merle Armitage. Most of the material is being reprinted from the original source for the first time, though several items were previously published in Gershwin books. Other information, such as taped interviews with the original leads of Porgy and Bess, have never before appeared in print. The items range from family members and friends' reminiscences, contemporary comment on Gershwin and his music, letters to and from Gershwin, several articles by Gershwin, and excerpts from books (including a delightful piece by Leonard Bernstein). Controversial aspects of Gershwin's career, such as the genesis of "I've Got Rhythm," the orchestration of concert works after Rhapsody in Blue, and Gershwin's place in American music, are well documented. Including a chronology and a selected bibliography, this excellent compendium is recommended for all libraries.-Bruce R. Schueneman, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Kingsville Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.