A Critical Edition of the Works of American Composers George Gershwin (1898–1937) and Ira Gershwin (1896–1983)

FAIN: RQ-286922-22

Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1015)
Andrew S. Kohler (Project Director: November 2021 to September 2022)
Andrew S. Kohler (Project Director: September 2022 to March 2023)
Mark Allan Clague (Project Director: March 2023 to present)
Andrew S. Kohler (Co Project Director: March 2023 to present)

Preparation of a critical edition and performance scores of An American in Paris and Porgy and Bess by George (1898-1937) and Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), and to commence work on nine other musicals that include Cuban Overture, I Got Rhythm Variations, Primrose, and Blue Monday, among others. (36 months)  

While the works of George and Ira Gershwin are readily accessible in non-scholarly imprints and recordings, they too often circulates in inconsistent and inaccurate versions. Until our project, even such landmark musical scores as Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and Porgy and Bess suffered from substandard editions that misrepresented the Gershwins’ artistic vision. The George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition provides scholarly yet practical editions to restore the brothers' intentions. We also have a public educational program, with three primary goals: 1. To inform the public of the GCE’s research and performance activities through its website, blogs, and informational videos. 2. To provide scholars and performers with each volume’s critical reports, as well as with associated forums through which they can discuss the Initiative’s research. 3. To mentor U-M students in writing and research, particular through editorial work as assistants and through the Initiative’s blog.

Associated Products

Assembling Of Thee I Sing (Article)
Title: Assembling Of Thee I Sing
Author: Jacob Kerzner
Abstract: Jacob Kerzner, Volume Editor for Of Thee I Sing and Associate Editor of the Gershwin Initiative, describes the process sorting archival materials and editing the Gershwins' 1931 collaboration with George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind.
Year: 2024
Primary URL: https://www.shubertarchive.org/the-passing-show.html
Primary URL Description: Homepage for the journal; article in Volume 37.
Secondary URL: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.shubertarchive.org/uploads/1/6/9/1/16916350/passingshowvol372023-2024finalwithcorrections.pdf
Secondary URL Description: Link to the specific volume.
Access Model: Open access
Format: Other
Periodical Title: The Passing Show: Newsletter of the Shubert Archive, Volume 37
Publisher: Shubert Archive

Rediscovering La, La, Lucille (Blog Post)
Title: Rediscovering La, La, Lucille
Author: Jacob Kerzner
Abstract: In this post, Associate Editor Jacob Kerzner describes discovering materials that had been thought lost from George Gershwin’s first full musical, La, La, Lucille (1919), and some of the challenges of preparing the new critical edition.
Date: 02/09/2024
Primary URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20240612092003/https://smtd.umich.edu/ami/gershwin/?p=35520
Blog Title: The Gershwin Initiative Blog

Gershwin Centennial Celebration: Rhapsody in Blue at 100 (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Gershwin Centennial Celebration: Rhapsody in Blue at 100
Abstract: We presented a concert with the original version of Rhapsody in Blue to celebrate its centennial, using the recently published edition. We also included an announcement of Jacob Kerzner's discovery of materials for La, La, Lucille that had been thought lost, excerpts of Of Thee I Sing, selections from the four Gershwin musicals of 1924, and Gershwin arrangements by Logan Skelton and Kevin Cole. The concert was attended by about a thousand people.
Author: Gershwin Initiative with Contemporary Directions Ensemble, Jayce Ogren, Kevin Cole, and others
Date: 02/11/2024
Location: Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVy2jdQD7GRxmglc8n_S-3AYUdRfBuety
Primary URL Description: Video footage of the concert may be found here.
Secondary URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20240612135739/https://smtd.umich.edu/ami/gershwin/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/CDE-2.11.24-for-website-1.pdf
Secondary URL Description: The concert program may be read here.

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Director: David Alan Miller
Producer: Naxos Records
Abstract: First recording of three of our editions, with pianist Kevin Cole and the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, conducted by David Alan Miller: Rhapsody in Blue, symphonic version, ed. Jessica Getman Second Rhapsody, ed. James Wierzbicki Cuban Overture, ed. Gershwin Initiative and Loris Schissel
Date: 02/01/2024
Primary URL: https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.559934
Primary URL Description: Naxos catalogue page.
Access Model: Available for purchase, or through subscription to Naxos.
Format: CD

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