Gershwin, G :: Rialto Ripples

Musicians Publications presents George Gershwin's 'Rialto Ripples arranged for flute trio with piano accompaniment by Bill Holcombe. Scored for 3 C flutes, this trio also includes an alto flute part to substitute for flute 3 when available for performance.

Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrant parents. His father, Morris (Moishe) Gershovitz, changed their family name to Gershwin sometime after emigrating from St. Petersburg, Russia. Gershwin's mother, Rosa Bruskin, also emigrated from Russia. She married Gershovitz four years later. George Gershwin was the second of four children. He first displayed interest in music at the age of ten, when he was intrigued by what he heard at a friend's violin recital. The sound and the way his friend played captured him. His parents had bought a piano for his older brother Ira, but to his parent s surprise and Ira's relief it was George who played it. He tried out various piano teachers for two years, and then was introduced to Charles Hambitzer by Jack Miller, the pianist in the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. Hambitzer acted as George's mentor until Hambitzer's death in 1918. Hambitzer taught George conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European Classical tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestral concerts. (At home following such concerts, young George would attempt to reproduce at the piano the music he had heard). He later studied with classical composer Rubin Goldmark and avant-garde composer-theorist Henry Cowell. His first job as a performer was as a piano pounder for Remick's, a publishing company on Tin Pan Alley. His 1917 novelty rag Rialto Ripples was a commercial success, and in 1919 he scored his first big national hit with his song Swanee . - Mark Nelson, 2007