George Gershwin was a Jewish American composer who brought popular American music to concert halls. he also composed a wealth of memorable songs, for which his brother, Ira Gershwin, wrote most of the lyrics.
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A brother musical duo active in the early 20th century who had profound and lasting influence on American music. Ira, a lyricist, and George, a pianist and composer, were born in New York to Russian immigrants. George was among the first composers to introduce jazz, blues, classical music and ragtime into his compositions. He began as an automatic piano score perforator before writing music for theater plays and vaudeville acts. With his brother, the two wrote music for hit Broadway musicals and Hollywood films, including the opera Porgy and Bess (1935) about the lives of Blacks in America. Many of their pieces became international standards.
