George Gershwin at the piano

The theatre director Rouben Mamoulian describes Gershwin’s playing:

George at the piano was George happy … like a sorcerer celebrating his Sabbath.  He would draw out a lovely melody like a golden thread, then juggle it, twist it and toss it around mischievously, weave it into unexpected intricate patterns, and hurl it into a cascade of ever-changing rhythms and counterpoints.

Cited in: Greenberg, Rodney (2008) George Gershwin.  New York: Phaidon Press, p.47.

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