(1898 - 1937)
George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, as well as the opera Porgy and Bess. Born in Brooklyn to a Ukrainian father of Jewish descent and a Russian mother, Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark and Henry Cowell. He began his career as a song plugger, but soon thereafter started composing Broadway theatre works with his brother Ira Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris in an attempt to study with Nadia Boulanger, where he began to compose An American in Paris. After returning to New York City, he wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and author DuBose Heyward. Initially a commercial failure, Porgy and Bess is now considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century. Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores until his death in 1937 from a brain tumor.
George Gershwin Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
An American in Paris
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26/23 Prem 32/30/28/25
4 percussion
Tuned taxi horns (A,B,C,D), jazz drum kit, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, snare drum, suspended cymbal, wood block
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Cuban Overture
Timpani + 7 percussion
Maracas, glockenspiel, xylophone, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, snare drum, bongos, guiro, claves, wood block
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Girl Crazy
Timpani + 3 percussion
1) drum kit, castanets, tom toms, wood block, 2 & 3) xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, tambourine, slapstick
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Piano Concerto in F
Timpani
Int'l 32/26/26 Prem 32/30/28
4 percussion
Snare drum, wood block, xylophone, glockenspiel, tam tam, whip, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, whip, suspended cymbal
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Piano Rhapsody No 2
Timpani + 4 percussion
1) xylophone, glockenspiel, 2) drum kit, 3) suspended cymbal, orchestral bass drum, 4) clash cymbals, wood block
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Porgy & Bess (suite)
Timpani + 3 percussion
Glockenspiel, xylophone, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, jazz drum kit, wood block, sandpaper blocks, cowbell, wood block, triangle, tubular bells
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Porgy and Bess - My Man's Gone Now
Timpani + 2 percussion
1) tom tom, glockenspiel, 2) orchestral bass drum, suspended cymbal
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Rhapsody in Blue
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26 Prem 32/30/28
3 percussion
Clash cymbals, orchestral bass drum, tam tam, glockenspiel, triangle, small jazz drum kit, suspended cymbal, snare drum
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Strike up the Band (Overture)
Timpani + 3 percussion
Orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, suspended cymbal, snare drum, wood block, triangle
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