George Gershwin

Leonard Bernstein

"The Sunday morning [July 11, 1937] when I heard on the radio that George Gershwin had died, I was absolutely devastated.

I tried to get out of playing [at summer camp, where I was swimming and music counselor]. I came into the dining room where all the parents were sitting, flattering and chattering, and instead of playing “Tea for Two” …

I held up my hand, or played a chord, or something to get them quiet. Then I announced that Gershwin had died, that he had been an idol of mine, and that I was going to play his second Prelude as a memorial. They all put down their silverware and listened as I played this very slow, very sad music. As the last notes wafted away, I rose from the piano and left the hall in silence.

That was the first inkling I ever had of the power of music, of its possibilities for control. It was a great turning point for me. Perhaps the most theatrical thing in the world is a roomful of hushed people, and the more people there are who are silent, the more dramatic it is."

Leonard Bernstein
Interview with Thomas Willis, Chicago Tribune, 1976

[Photo: George Jacob Gershwin on the cover of TIME Magazine, 1925]