- Gershwin composed this piece for string quartet around 1919-20.
- This was Gershwin’s first classical composition. At the time, Gershwin was studying harmony, form and orchestration with a private composition teacher, Edward Kilenyi, and it is likely that Gershwin composed Lullaby as a harmony exercise for his teacher.
- Gershwin had no conservatory training, instead honing his craft as a tin pan alley song plugger (employed to demonstrate songs at the piano to buyers) and then a Broadway songwriter. Because he had ambitions to compose large scale compositions, he studied classical composition techniques by hiring private teachers for lessons. 1
Sources
- Richard Crawford and Wayne J. Schneider, “Gershwin, George,” Grove Music Online (October 16, 2013), accessed October 9, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002252861.
Cut IDs
42566