The Gershwins Abroad

On March 10, 1928, the celebrated American lyricist Ira Gershwin and his wife Leonore set sail for Europe aboard a luxury ocean liner, accompanied by Ira’s brother George, the esteemed composer of Rhapsody in Blue, and his sister Frances (“Frankie”). Over the course of the next several months, Ira recorded their experiences visiting five countries during the height of the American expatriate period in Europe.

Ira’s extensive account of their travels includes vivid – oftentimes humorous – descriptions of the numerous parties given for the Gershwins; the concerts of George’s compositions and his work on the tone poem An American in Paris; meetings with such artistic luminaries as Sergei Prokofiev and Alban Berg; encounters with members of high society; Ira’s wide-ranging choice of reading material; and entertaining anecdotes about the food and drink consumed along the way, so different from that available in Prohibition-era New York City.

This notebook has been a valuable archival source for previous scholarship on the Gershwins, and now it appears, in full, for the first time in print. Ira Gershwin’s biographer, Michael Owen, who has been the archivist and historian for the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts since 2005, has provided illuminating commentary and annotations to guide us through the Gershwins’ European journey.