Rare GEORGE GERSHWIN Concert Performance 1936 Newark, New Jersey Program

Description

This is a rare combined program from the ESSEX COUNTY SYMPHONY SOCIETY Stadium Concerts in Newark, New Jersey in June and July of 1936 ..... On Tuesday evening, July 7th, 1936, composer GEORGE GERSHWIN was the featured soloist in a rare concert appearance. The first half of the concert closed with Gershwin's "Piano Concerto in F" and concertgoers were treated to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" in the second half. The orchestra was conducted by Erno Rapee ..... Biography: GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898 – 1937) dropped out of school at age fifteen and found his first job as a
performer, "
song plugger
" for Jerome H. Remick and Company, a publishing firm on New York's
Tin Pan Alley
, where he earned a week. Gershwin played newly published songs for prospective customers and soon began to write his own. He then decided he wanted to move on to work in musical theatre on Broadway, first working as a rehearsal pianist and soon becoming recognized as a composer. In 1919 he scored his first big national hit with the song "
Swanee
"
with words by
Irving Caesar
. The same year he wrote his first Broadway score ("La, La, Lucille") and had a contract with a music publisher with many songs in print. He was not yet twenty-one years old. In the early 1920's Gershwin frequently worked with the lyricist
Buddy DeSylva
.
Together they created the experimental one-act jazz opera
Blue Monday
set in Harlem, which is widely regarded as a forerunner to the groundbreaking
Porgy and Bess
. In 1924, George and his brother Ira Gershwin collaborated on a musical comedy
Lady Be Good
,
which included such future
standards
as "
Fascinating Rhythm
" and "
Oh, Lady Be Good!
". This was followed by
Oh, Kay!
(1926);
Funny Face
(1927);
Strike Up the Band
(1930);
Girl Crazy
(1930), which introduced Ethel Merman and the standard "
I Got Rhythm
"; and
Of Thee I Sing
(1931), the first musical comedy to win a
Pulitzer Prize
. In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major classical work,
Rhapsody in Blue
for orchestra and piano. It was orchestrated by
Ferde Grofé
and premiered by
Paul Whiteman
's concert band in New York. It proved to be his most popular work. His most ambitious composition was
Porgy and Bess
(1935). Gershwin called it a "folk opera," and it is now widely regarded as one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century. Based on the novel
Porgy
by
DuBose Heyward
,
Porgy and Bess
contains some of Gershwin's most sophisticated music. Even the "set numbers" (of which "
Summertime
", "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" and "
It Ain't Necessarily So
" are well known examples) are some of the most refined and ingenious of Gershwin's output. Throughout the 1930's, Gershwin was a featured soloist in symphony orchestra concerts when his schedule allowed. Early in 1937, Gershwin began to complain of blinding headaches and doctors discovered he had developed a type of cystic
malignant
brain tumor. He began to suffer "musical blackouts" during his final concert performances. It was in
Hollywood
,
while working on the score of
The Goldwyn Follies
,
that he collapsed. He died on July 11th, 1937 at the age of 38 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital following surgery for the tumor. A memorial concert was held at the Hollywood Bowl on September 8th, 1937 at which
Otto Klemperer
conducted his own orchestration of the second of Gershwin's
Three Piano Preludes
. Gershwin received his sole
Academy Award
nomination, for
Best Original Song
, at the 1937 Oscars, for "
They Can't Take That Away from Me
"
written with his brother Ira for the 1937 film
Shall We Dance
.
The nomination was
posthumous
; Gershwin died two months after the film's release. (Reprinted in part from Wikipedia.)
.....
DETAILS: The oversized 16 page program measures 8 1/2" X 11" inches and includes the performance credits for the four summer concerts: June 16th, 1936, Metropolitan Opera soprano LILY PONS with the Essex County Symphony Orchestra; June 23rd, 1936, Metropolitan Opera contralto BRUNA CASTAGNA and Metropolitan Opera tenor TITO SCHIPA with the Essex County Symphony Orchestra; June 30th, 1936, Wagnerian tenor PAUL ALTHOUSE and VIOLA PHILO in an ALL WAGNER PROGRAM with the Essex County Symphony Orchestra and July 7th, 1936, GEORGE GERSHWIN performing with the Essex County Symphony Orchestra. Also includes photos of each of the featured solists, details about the inaugural season of the Essex County Symphony Society, a photo and brief bio of conductor ERNO RAPEE and schedule of future concerts including JOSEF HOFMANN, MISCHA ELMAN and LOTTE LEHMANN (last scanned image) ..... CONDITION: With the exception of seam splits at both the top and bottom and a light corner crease, this rare program is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian ..... Check my "Other Auctions" for additional vintage Broadway programs and playbills, Original Cast CD's and other theatre related memorabilia. Multiple purchases are always combined to save on shipping costs ..... NO RESERVE! ..... This item will be carefully packaged in a protective sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard ..... U.S. SHIPPING: Buyer pays choice of .75 USPS first class/ media rate shipping with delivery confirmation (50 cents for each additional program or playbill purchased when combined into a single payment - U.S. addresses only) or .95 USPS Priority with delivery confirmation. PayPal preferred ..... INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: (Please Note!) I can now ship by USPS International First Class Airmail (.00 to Canada / .50 to all other international destinations) or by USPS Priority International recorded delivery (.00 to Canada / .00 to all other international destinations, however up to 10 playbills can easily be shipped together in a Priority flat rate envelope for one shipping charge when all purchases are combined into a single payment). Please email me with any other inquiries ..... THANKS !!!
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