George Gershwin

In brief

George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist renowned for fusing elements of jazz, popular song, and classical music into innovative works that defined much of the Golden Age of Broadway and American concert music.

Born Jacob Gershwin in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents Morris (originally Moishe Gershovitz) and Rose Bruskin, he was the second of four children, including his older brother and frequent collaborator Ira Gershwin. The family moved frequently around Manhattan's Lower East Side and Harlem during his childhood, where Gershwin showed early interest in music despite his parents' initial reluctance to invest in formal training. He attended public schools and briefly the High School of Commerce before dropping out in 1914 at age 15 to pursue music full-time.

George Gershwin was born Jacob Gershowitz on September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents Morris (originally Moishe Gershovitz) and Rose (Rosa Bruskin) Gershwin. The family, which included four children—Ira (the eldest, born in 1896), George, Arthur (1900–1919), and Frances (1906–1989)—faced financial instability due to Morris's series of unsuccessful business ventures, including a Turkish bathhouse, a bakery, and several restaurants. This led to frequent relocations, with the Gershwins moving 28 times within Brooklyn and later Manhattan before George turned 18, reflecting the precarious economic life of many immigrant families in early 20th-century New York.

Growing up in New York's vibrant immigrant communities, Gershwin was immersed in the cultural challenges of assimilation, including exposure to Yiddish theater on the Lower East Side and Second Avenue, where he regularly attended performances as a teenager and absorbed the lively melodies of Jewish folk music and operettas. This environment, combined with the sounds of street vendors, ragtime bands, and synagogue chants, shaped his early auditory landscape amid the family's efforts to navigate American life.