George Gershwin: An Intimate Portrait

by Walter Rimler

George Gershwin lived his life with delight and vitality, but with melancholy as well, for he was unable to make a place for himself--no family of his own and no real home in music. He and his siblings received little love from their mother and no direction from their father. The closest George came to domesticity was his long time affair with fellow composer Kay Swift. But she remained married to another man while he went  from woman to woman. Only in the final hours of his life did he realize how much he needed her. Fatally ill, unprotected by (and perhaps estranged from) his older brother Ira, he was exiled by Ira's hard-edged wife Leonore from the house that she and the brothers shared, and he died alone at the age of thirty-eight. Nor did Gershwin find a satisfying musical harbor. For years his genius could be expressed only in the ephemeral world of show business, as his brilliance as a composer of large-scale works went unrecognized by highbrow music critics. When he resolved this quandary with his opera Porgy and Bess, critics were unable to understand or validate it.Decades would pass before his most ambitious composition was universally regarded as one of music's lasting treasures and before his stature as a great composer became secure. In this book, Walter Rimler makes use of fresh sources, including newly discovered letters by Kay Swift as well as correspondence between and interviews with intimates of Ira and Leonore Gershwin. It is written with spirited prose and contains more than two dozen photographs.

Genres: Biography, Music

204 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why can't every biography be like this!? It's a tight 178 pages. Skips the boring stuff. He's already writing Broadway shows by page 4! None of this "first let's talk about his grandparents for 50 pages." Just the good stuff. The focus here is on Gershwin’s lifelong search for his place in the world - both within his family and in the music world. There's a sadness to both as you learn about his relationships, his loves, his professional ups and downs, and his tragic final days. Terrific read.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Derivative biography of an incredibly interesting dude, a man with a buoyant spirit, a glorious sense of fun and an interesting mix of humility and arrogance. Oh, and a total, total cad around the ladies, banging them left and right while he wrote some of the 20th century's greatest music. This biography should have been much more interesting than it was.

One can't help thinking: what is it that makes a biography interesting? Why do some biographies feel like work to read, while.... [see the rest on my book review site.]

[Tim Sivils · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better biographies I've read! Well-written, interesting, and NOT filled with a ton of complicated musical terms that would discourage the non-musician. If you're a Gershwin fan, I highly recommend it.

[Rarity Manor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully detailed and respectful biography. I knew it would end it tears, but his final year was so a much mor tragic than I thought. Fortunately he is remembered as the true genius he was.

[Lori Hooten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice look at the life and work of George Gershwin, a composer I've always enjoyed. I found a lot of interesting information here, though not all what I had expected. A good read.

[Lynnda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow and heavy burdened in spots, but still a good read.

[Steve Coscia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring book. Makes me want to play the piano with more gusto. Gershwin had it all and yet, as this book describes, he didn't reach his full potential. Gershwin's relationships described here are through personal letters. Intimate indeed.

Walter Rimler writes with economy and he uses esoteric nervacular (to me anyway). Had to look up words (i.e. autodidact, elegiac, funereal,) in the dictionary and I learned much as a result.

This is a book I will read again and again during my lifetime. Highly recommended.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a biography of George Gershwin when I was much younger and adored it. It was not this book though, just a book about George Gershwin (among the many biographies). I think this book was the first book that I enjoyed reading because it was about a musician.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a tragedy his death was! This author certainly hates Ira's wife, Leonore, and if his description of how she treated George is accurate, with good reason. Author focuses on Gershwin's major works, not the theatrical music, which is the only way he can cover this short life in so few pages.

[Stephen]

Quick and readable. A nice overview of the man's life, but not in-depth or technical.