John DeMain

All Music Guide:

In a career tragically cut short in mid-stride by a brain tumor, George Gershwin (1898-1937) proved himself to be not only one of the great songwriters of his extremely rich era, but also a gifted "serious" composer who bridged the worlds of classical and popular music. The latter is all the more striking, given that, of his contemporaries, Gershwin was the most influenced by such styles as jazz and blues.

Gershwin's first major hit, interpolated into the show Sinbad in 1919, was "Swanee," sung by Al Jolson. Gershwin wrote both complete scores and songs for such variety shoes as George White's Scandals (whose annual editions thus were able to introduce such songs as "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise" and "Somebody Loves Me").

After 1924, Gershwin worked primarily with his brother Ira as his lyricist. The two scored a series of Broadway hits in the '20s and early '30s, starting with Lady Be Good (1924), which included the song "Fascinatin' Rhythm." 1924 was also the year Gershwin composed his first classical piece, "Rhapsody in Blue," and he would continue to work in the classical field until his death.

By the '30s, the Gershwins had turned to political topics and satire in response to the onset of the Depression, and their Of Thee I Sing became the first musical to win a Pulitzer Prize. In the mid '30s, Gershwin ambitiously worked to meld his show music and classical leanings in the creation of the folk opera Porgy and Bess, with lyrics by Ira and Dubose Heyward. The Gershwins had moved to Hollywood and were engaged in several movie projects at the time of George Gershwin's death.

Wikipedia:

John DeMain is an American conductor. In 2011 he begins his 18th season as music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin. He is also artistic director of the Madison Opera. DeMain lives in Madison with his wife Barbara and their daughter Jennifer (b. 1992).

He served as music director and principal conductor for Houston Grand Opera for eighteen years, and later as artistic and music director for the now-defunct Opera Pacific. DeMain has also been a guest conductor for Los Angeles Opera.

The conductor is respected for his work on new operas: he led the world premières of Leonard Bernstein's A Quiet Place (1983), John Adams's Nixon in China (1987), and Michael Tippett's New Year (1989). DeMain also conducted the United States première of Philip Glass's Akhnaten. His 1976 recording of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for RCA Victor won a “Grammy” and remains a benchmark interpretation of this American masterpiece.