Larry Starr's George Gershwin

"As readers of this blog are aware, I have for some time been proclaiming a "new Gershwin" - in, e.g., the New York Times and the Times Literary Supplement. In Classical Music in America (2005), he ranks with Ives as our most important concert composer (my view of Copland, in that book, irked some reviewers). My book-in-progress is a study of Gershwin and Rouben Mamoulian, the theatrical genius who directed Porgy and Bess. And my latest Gershwin rant takes the form of a review of Larry Starr's superb new George Gershwin (Yale University Press), in the current Times Literary Supplement. Gershwin is no longer patronized as a "pops" composer, as an inspired dilettante. "The new Gershwin is versatile, protean, universal," I write. Here's the full review:"

For the full story, please see Arts Journal.

To read Dr. Starr's new book, please see the library catalog.