Irving Berlin - America's Composer

Irving Berlin’s music does not have the rhythmic or harmonic complexities of a Gershwin tune. His music does not have the sly naughtiness of a Cole Porter hit. His shows are no longer the staple of high school and community productions in the same way Rodgers & Hammerstein plays live on.  And yet it is impossible to find a single composer who did more for ‘The American Songbook’ than Irving Berlin.  Along with a discussion of Berlin's amazing personal biography, from penniless refugee to Hollywood and Broadway icon, this talk will demonstrate, with both recorded and live performance, the elegant and masterful ways in which an Irving Berlin song such as “White Christmas” or “What will I Do?  are crafted with brilliant subtlety.