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George Gershwin: Composers
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In July, 1925, George Gershwin became the first American composer to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. The Concerto in F premiered December 3 that same year, and, though the reviews were mixed, the concerto was a huge success, becoming the first American concerto to find a secure place in the concert repertoire.
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When George was 12, the moderately well-off family purchased a piano; he soon showed a marked inclination for improvising melodies and was given piano lessons. Later he studied the theory of music and harmony. Though Gershwin was not interested in formal education and never finished high school, he continued to study music. Even after his success in musical comedy, he studied with composer Henry Cowell and with music theorist Joseph Schillinger.
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Gershwin tried various piano teachers for two years, and then was introduced to Charles Hambeetzer by Jack Miller, the pianist in the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. Hambeetzer acted as George's mentor until his death, in 1918. Hambeetzer taught George conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European classical tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestral concerts. (At home following such concerts, young George would attempt to reproduce at the piano the music he had heard.) He later studied with classical composer Rubin Goldmark and avant-garde composer-theorist Henry Cowell.
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A 25-year-old Gershwin made his first public appearance as both a composer and a pianist. He accompanied the Canadian-born singer Eva Gauthier. The program included several of his own compositions. It was called "the beginning of sophisticated jazz".
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Gershwin's own Concerto in F was criticized as being strongly rooted in the work of Claude Debussy, more so than in the jazz style which was expected. The comparison didn't deter Gershwin from continuing to explore French styles. The title of An American in Paris reflects the very journey that he had consciously taken as a composer: "The opening part will be developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and the Six, though the tunes are original."[19]
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Gershwin wrote stuff more technically advanced than Rachmaninoff. The latter wrote bombastic garbage which is considered some of the worst music by many professionals. Rachmaninoff was aping Beethoven and adding a romantic twist to it. The only problem was he lacked both Ludwig's taste and musical intelligence. In terms of 20th century composers, Bartok could compose RINGS around Rachi.
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