• 44 • PORGY AND BESS, SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION: INSCRIBED BY GERSHWIN TO HIS LOVER AND COLLABORATOR IN THIS PIECE, KAY SWIFT 44GERSHWIN, George. Porgy and Bess. An Opera in Three Acts. By George Gershwin. Libretto by DuBose Heyward. Lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. Production Directed by Rouben Mamoulian. New York, 1935. Folio, original full red morocco gilt, custom clamshell box. $48,500 Deluxe limited edition of the piano-vocal score of Porgy and Bess, number 103 of only 250 copies signed by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, and director Rouben Mamoulian, additionally inscribed by Gershwin to his lover Kay Swift, who was intimately involved in the composition of the piece: “For Kay —/ Best —/ George / Nov. 1 1935.” According to Ohl, “best,” their code word for “love,” allowed them to be discreet. This deluxe edition of the piano-vocal score was published in 1935, the year of Porgy and Bess premiere, almost simultaneously with the first edition, and is boldly signed on the limitation page (at the rear) by George and Ira Gershwin and the other principal creators of Porgy and Bess: librettist DuBose Heyward and director Rouben Mamoulian. Fuld, 539. The recipient, Kay Swift, met Gershwin in 1925. A highly educated beauty of prominent social position, she was not yet known as a songwriter. “If one measures by the dedication of his Song-Book to her, his generous gifts of paintings, manuscripts, and other keepsakes that betokened affection, plus the many hours he spent with her, Gershwin obviously had a special place in his heart for Kay Swift “ (Schwarz, 190). Swift was extensively involved with the composition of Porgy and Bess. “’He’d call me and tell me to rush over to play the orchestra part of a song. He couldn’t sing. Neither could Ira. But we’d all sing Ira’s or DuBose Heyward’s lyrics, sounding like a chorus of crows… It was thrilling to hear the themes develop, the recitatives build into such an inevitable part of the score that they flowed as naturally as spoken words would. The whole sparkled with a fantastic quality of imagination… She also had an even more direct part in the opera’s development. In addition to listening, singing, and playing the work in progress, Swift sometimes notated portions of pieces for Gershwin, evidently to expedite his later work on the compositions.” Extensive portions of the original manuscript (now in the Gershwin collection at the Library of Congress) are in Swift’s hand” (Ohl, 95-96). At the premiere in New York, “Swift was seated between George and Ira”. Later, “Ira recalled that she had memorized the entire 559-page score and would be illustrating songs from it at the piano” (Ohl, 97-98). “After her yeoman’s effort during Porgy and Bess, he presented her with a leatherbound autographed score [the present copy] that reads simply, ‘To[sic] Kay. Best. George.’ (Ohl, 115). Interior fine, spine somewhat toned, light rubbing to spine ends. A nearfine copy with an extraordinary association.
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