"Music is a phenomenon that to me has a very marked effect on the emotions. It has the power of moving people to all the various moods. Through the emotions, it can have a cleansing effect on the mind, a disturbing effect, a drowsy effect, an exciting effect...
I like to think of music as an emotional science."
--George Gershwin, 1933
For many years Roger Hall, a music preservationist, radio host, and film music critic, has been studying the music of George Gershwin.
Ever since he first heard "Rhapsody in Blue" while in high school, he has been fascinated with Gershwin's music.
Over the years he has taught college level classes on Gershwin's music and also lectured widely on the subject,
and produced radio tributes to Gershwin's music.
The George Gershwin Guide contains information about his music mainly on radio and in films.
It was originally published in 1998 for the centennial of Gershwin's birth and reprinted with additions in a second edition in 2004. It is now available exclusively here as a PDF publication with a new pictorial supplement.
Among the features in this Guide are a Top 40 list of Gershwin songs and an extensive list of recommended recordings of Gershwin music
and books about Gershwin. There are also quotes from people who knew Gershwin like his brother, Ira,
Jerome Kern, and band leader, Paul Whiteman, who conducted the premiere of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" in 1924.
Excerpt from an essay in
I Got Rhythm - The Genius of George Gershwin (PineTree Press)
"George Gershwin was America's greatest musical genius. The word "genius" is thrown around too often today,
but Gershwin firmly resided in that illustrious domain. How does he hold up when compared to other American musical giants of our country? He holds up extremely well. His concert music, especially Rhapsody in Blue, is performed regularly all over the world. Naturally other American composers are widely performed too, such as Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein.
But Gershwin remains the most popular of them all." -- Roger Hall, July 1998
A GUIDE TO GEORGE GERSHWIN by Roger L. Hall, with New Pictorial Supplement, PineTree Press, 2024
You will receive the George Gershwin Guide (PDF) in the latest edition which includes the first edition of 1998
plus a bonus audio from the 1993 radio tribute, "A George Gershwin Gala" produced by Roger Hall, host of the radio program.
Receive the Gershwin Guide and audio file for only $14.95. Your order will be sent directly to you by email attachment.
There is no additional charge for shipping in the U.S. or in other countries.
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Music by George Gershwin
100th Anniversary of RHAPSODY IN BLUE
The year 2024 marks the centennial anniversary of RHAPSODY IN BLUE, premiered on February 12, 1924
at Aeolian Hall in New York with the orchestra conducted by Paul Whiteman.
Listen to the 1927 recording with George Gershwin performing RHAPSODY IN BLUE on YouTube -- click here
Watch the first film performance with Paul Whiteman conducting from KING OF JAZZ (1930) -- click here
Rare Gershwin In Illustrated Webinar:
Otto Hermann Kahn (1867-1934) was one of America's wealthiest citizens in the early 20th century and his beautiful Oheka Castle was the second largest private residence in America and is now the largest private residence which has been restored after being almost completerly destroyed by vandals.
Otto spent considerable time and money in support of music and other arts. He was a major supporter of the Metropolitan Opera in New York in its early years
and brought major opera
people from Europe, like the famous Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso.
Kahn also helped support many musicians and actors on Broadway, including composer, George Gershwin, and actor, Paul Robeson.
This virtual program
is sponsored by the NY Adventure Club
and presented by Roger Hall, Director of the Center for American Music Preservation (CAMP).
He
celebrates the 70th anniversary when he was a resident in Oheka Castle as a cadet in Eastern Military Academy and first sang in the glee club. Also when he sang at the Friends of Oheka Garden Party in 2004.
Over the years he has researched the life of the Kahn family including his son, Roger Wolfe Kahn, who had his own jazz orchestra in the 1920s and one of the songwriters for this popular Roaring Twenties song --
To register for this popular illustrated webinar on 17 October 2024 from eventbrite
presented by music preservationist and composer, Roger Hall
--
"Otto Kahn: A Personal Connection with the Gilded Age Music Patron" -- click here
Available separately:
Webinar: "I Got Rhythm - The Genius of George Gershwin" presented by Roger Hall
Based on the information in "A Guide to George Gershwin," this program will discuss the brilliance of Gershwin's popular songs and concert works.
The foucs will be on his songs written with his brother, Ira, for Broadway and Hollywood and also Gershwin's concert works in the 1920s and 1930s.
You will hear samples of Gershwin songs and also some videos.
To discuss the webinar scheduling with music preservationist and former radio host, Roger Hall -- click here
Read about Roger Hall's singing several songs, from rare recordings by George Gershwin,
for a Summer Garden Party at Oheka Castle on Long Island,
the former estate of
wealthy New York banker, Otto H. Kahn (1867-1934),
which the New York Times once called--
"the finest country home in America"
To read about that program and Roger Hall's book of memories
based on a 1920s song popular during the decade when Gershwin's songs were popular
and
co-written by Otto Kahn's son,
click here
It you wish to contact Roger Hall for an interview
about his research on George Gershwin's music,
write to him for scheduling -- click here
A Few Recommended CDs
Retrophonic Gershwin
Broadway to Hollywood
Gershwin: Remembrances and Discovery (CD)
recommended DVDs by Pianist Richard Glazier
A few recommended books
about George and Ira Gershwin
Vol. 1: 1918-1930
Vol. 2: 1931-1954
George Gershwin
Edited & Designed by Merle Armitage
George Gershwin: His Life and Work
by Howard Pollock
The George Gershwin Reader
by Robert Wyatt and John Andrew Johnson
Remembering Radio:
Singers, Songwriters and Big Bands
Name Those Tunes!
What are some of your favorite Gershwin songs?
Participate in this annual free Online event.
For details, see
National Carry A Tune Week
See the list of composers and songwriters
from the past chosen for the
Tunemaker Hall of Fame
Songwriters Series
"Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive"
Johnny Mercer in Hollywood
"High Hopes"
A Centennial Tribute To Sammy Cahn
"I Hear Music"
A Centennial Tribute To Frank Loesser
"The Last Roundup" -- Billy Hill
"Moon River" - Memories Of Henry Mancini
"River Of No Return" -- Ken Darby
CAMP Song Links
A Century of American Songs