George Gershwin Inscribed Special Detroit Symphony Concert Display Program.

GERSHWIN, George.

$2,750.00

Item Number: 145295

Detroit:, January 20, 1937.

Special Detroit Symphony Concert display program featuring Gershwin as conductor and pianist. One page, small octavo, Special Detroit Symphony Concert display program, selections of ‘Porgy and Bess’ and ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ clipped and adhered to the front, advertisements to the rear. Presentation copy, inscribed by George Gershwin, “to Charlotte Good wishes George Gershwin.” In near fine condition with a few tiny punctures and light corner creasing. The piece is 5.5 inches by 8.75 inches.

Famed musician George Gershwin signed this program only six months before his death. The Special Detroit Symphony Concert, featuring Gershwin conducting and on the piano, highlighted some of his best work, including 'Rhapsody in Blue' and 'Porgy and Bess.' The concert was well-received, and Gershwin was invited to perform the next season; however, after Gershwin returned to Beverly Hills to prepare for another concert, he began to suffer blinding headaches and a recurring impression that he smelled burning rubber. At his Los Angeles performance on February 11, 1937, Gershwin, normally a superb pianist, suffered coordination problems and blackouts during the concert. These headaches and olfactory hallucinations continued for months, until his collapse and subsequent coma. In the early hours of July 11, 1937, doctors at Cedars removed a large brain tumor, but unfortunately, Gershwin died that morning at the age of 38.