George Gershwin was one of the greatest American composers of the 20th century. Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, New York on September 26, 1898 , George's legacy had started. George's brother, Ira Gershwin, was also involved in music at a young age. At one of Ira's piano lessons George began to play, with no prior lessons, and his parents discovered his love and natural talent for music they put him in lessons. His first mentor and teacher, Charles Hambitzer, early on had realized George's exceptional talent with the piano so he denied charging the Gershwin family because he knew he had the privilege of teaching a future phenomenon. He was only eleven at the time of his humble beginnings with music, by 15 years old he dropped
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The song was from the Broadway hit musical "Sinbad" and gave George an overwhelming amount of success and fame (The Editors of Encyclopedia). By the age of 20, George had already made a name for himself in the classical music world and Broadway music. What came next was his most famous piece of work on Broadway, "Porgy and Bees". The play is about the lifestyle of African-Americans in 1912 in South Carolina (The Editors of Encyclopedia). George started to get musical inspiration from the bestseller book Porgy (Zax, David). Even though the play itself got rave reviews the music critics didn't enjoy what Gershwin had composed. Gershwin's "Folk Opera" did not go over well with the African-American community because he incorporated popular music from the present time that represented black people in poverty. The play's music was mistaken for black appropriation instead of appreciation. At this time one of George's mentors, Joseph Schillinger, came into his life. He was an advocate for the arts and music and expressed feelings and stories through mathematical expressions. He became a big part of the writing of "Porgy and Bees", for he was a consultant for George's musical advances in the play's music (The Editors of
The song was from the Broadway hit musical "Sinbad" and gave George an overwhelming amount of success and fame (The Editors of Encyclopedia). By the age of 20, George had already made a name for himself in the classical music world and Broadway music. What came next was his most famous piece of work on Broadway, "Porgy and Bees". The play is about the lifestyle of African-Americans in 1912 in South Carolina (The Editors of Encyclopedia). George started to get musical inspiration from the bestseller book Porgy (Zax, David). Even though the play itself got rave reviews the music critics didn't enjoy what Gershwin had composed. Gershwin's "Folk Opera" did not go over well with the African-American community because he incorporated popular music from the present time that represented black people in poverty. The play's music was mistaken for black appropriation instead of appreciation. At this time one of George's mentors, Joseph Schillinger, came into his life. He was an advocate for the arts and music and expressed feelings and stories through mathematical expressions. He became a big part of the writing of "Porgy and Bees", for he was a consultant for George's musical advances in the play's music (The Editors of