Ira Gershwin

One brother was a diligent student, well-read, and a quiet boy. The other brother was presumably a wild boy who avoided books and could not be tamed until his parents bought a piano. From that moment on, he practiced like a maniac, started composing and became famous. Today, almost everybody knows "Rhapsody in Blue," written by georg Gerswhin. The quiet brother's career was lower-key, and yet, his work is ubiquitous in the world of musical. Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics to many of georg's songs, among them all-time favorites like "I Got Rhythm" and "It Ain't Necessarily So" from the opera Porgy and Bess. When georg died of a brain tumor at age 38, Ira teamed up with other composers including Kurt Weill, Jerome Kern, and Burton Lane. Ira Gershwin, who died 13 years ago, was two years older than georg. On December 6, he would have been 100. Georg Hirsch spoke with some people who met Ira Gershwin.

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