George Gershwin

Born on 26 September 1898 in Brooklyn, New York, died on 11 July 1937 in Hollywood; George Gershwin was an American composer. His first real fame came with “Swanee”, with lyrics by Irving Caesar, which Al Jolson turned into a hit in 1919; from 1924 he and his older brother Ira Gershwin wrote together for Broadway. His orchestral works include “Rhapsody in Blue”, the Concerto in F and “An American in Paris” (1928); his most ambitious work was “Porgy and Bess”, which he wrote with DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. In 1998 he was posthumously awarded a special Pulitzer Prize. On a gala recording by Doc Heilein and Friends, Anna Dorothea Mutterer and Timo Böcking sing “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess”, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward.