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George Gershwin Quotes

1898–1937 United States

Jacob Gershowitz (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937), better known as George Gershwin, was an American songwriter and composer who worked in both popular and classical styles. Most of his songs were written to words by his brother Ira Gershwin.

United States
Composers
Pianists
Songwriters

Random George Gershwin quote

10 quotes

My people are American, my time is today…music must repeat the thought and aspirations of the times.

An entire composition written in jazz could not live.

The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

I like to think of music as an emotional science.

The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

Not many composers have ideas. Far more of them know how to use strange instruments which do not require ideas.

The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

The European boys have small ideas but they sure know how to dress 'em up.

I frequently hear music in the heart of noise.

When jazz is played in another nation, it is called American. When it is played in another country, it sounds false. Jazz is the result of the energy stored up in America.

The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

Jazz I regard as an American folk music; not the only one, but a very powerful one which is probably in the blood and feeling of the American people more than any other style of folk music.

A skyscraper is at the same time a triumph of the machine and a tremendous emotional experience, almost breath-taking. Not merely its height but its mass and proportions are the result of an emotion, as well as of calculation.

The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

The composer does not sit around and wait for an inspiration to walk up and introduce itself…Making music is actually little else than a matter of invention aided and abetted by emotion. In composing we combine what we know of music with what we feel.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: George Gershwin (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.