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Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York, was a German composer active from a Twenties until his dying. He was the leading composer for the stage as well as a composer of concert works.
Life and Work
When growing higher inside the religious Jewish family, & composing the series of works prior to he was Xx (The song period Ofrahs Lieder, the String quartette & the Suite for orchestra), he exposed music composition by owning Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin and wrote his first symphony. Although he experienced a select few profits by using his number one matured non-stage works which were influenced by Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky (such as a String Quartet op.Octet or even a Concerto for Fiddle & Wind Orchestra, op.Xii), Weill tended extra & supplementary to vocal music & music theatre. His music theatre operate & his songs were highly popular by having a wider public around Germany at a prevent of a Twenties & the beginning of the Thirties. Weill's music was admired by composers like Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Darius Milhaud and Stravinsky, but it was as well critized by others (Schoenberg, who late revised his opinion).
He met a actress Lotte Lenya for the first period inside 1924 & married her twice: Around 1926 and agawithin in 1937 after their divorce around 1933. Lenya took groovy care to trend lines Weill's operate, & when his demise she took it upon herself to increase awareness of his music. She formed a Kurt Weill Foundation.
His virtually all easily-known function is the Threepenny Opera 1928 written in collaboration by using Bertolt Brecht, itself a reworking of John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera. A Threepenny Opera'' contains Weill's most famous song, "Mack the Knife" ('Die Moritat von Mackie Messer'). Weill's working association using Brecht, although successful, come to an prevent above differing politics within 1930. Based on datthe from Lotte Lenya, Weill processed a comment that he was unable to "set the communist party manifesto to music."
Weill fled Nazi Germany in March 1933. He was seen as the particular threat per Nazi authorities, existence a large Jewish composer. Nazi person members orchestrated riots at performances of his late works. In point of fact, a opening performance of Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) was unable to proceed due to Nazi violence. He experienced there are no stock however to leave, and so he left for Paris, where he worked again using Bertolt Brecht (after the design by having Jean Cocteau failed) - the ballet A Seven Fatal Sins. Inside 1934 he completed his Symphony No.Ii, his survive strictly orchestral act, & it was conducted around Amsterdam & Up to date York by Bruno Walter.
Within 1935 he emigrated to the United States. A United States experienced been his dream, his fantasyland of democracy and the yours free! globe, in which he became the naturalized citizen in 1943. Whilst a ocean liner steamed into New York harbour, Weill left his life in Germany behind. He believed virtually all of his operate to become destroyed, & he single seldomly & reluctantly spoke & wrote German once again, by using a exception of, for instance, letters to his parents world health organization experienced escaped to Israel.
When good deal of Weill's Our contries act is considered to become of the moo profile than his German efforts, his works for Broadway include a total of extremely respected & admired shows. Among which are actually Lady in the Dark and Love Life, seen as germinal works in the development of the Western musical. He worked by using writers like Maxwell Anderson and Ira Gershwin, and potentially wrote the film score for Fritz Lang (You & Us, 1938). Weill himself strived to buy the fresh way of creating an U.s. opera, that would be each commercially & artistically successful. A virtually all interesting attempt in that counsel is Street Scene, based on the play by Elmer Rice.
Apart from either "Mack the Knife", his most famous songs include "Alabama Song" (from Mahagonny), "Surabaya Johnny" (from Happy Prevent), "Youkali" (from Marie Galante), & a "September Song" (from Knickerbocker Holiday).
Among modern day musicians world health organization keep close at hand been influenced per music of Kurt Weill come Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, The Doors, Tom Waits, Danny Elfman, Steve Bartek, David Bowie, Nick Cave, The Tiger Lillies, Marilyn Manson, Radiohead and The Dresden Dolls. Creative person world health organization use performed Weill's compositions include The Doors, Lou Reed, Bryan Ferry, Tom Waits, Marianne Faithfull, Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, The Tiger Lillies, Nina Hagen, Polly Jean Harvey and Tim Curry.
List of selected works
1920-1927
1920 – Sonata for Cello & Piano
1921 – Symphony No.Ace for orchestra
1923 – String Quartet op. 8
1923 – Quodlibet. Suite for orchestra from either a dumb show Zaubernacht, op. 9
1923 – Frauentanz: sieben Gedichte des Mittelalters for soprano, flute, viola, clarinet, horn and bassoon, op. 10
1924 – Concerto for Violin & Wind Orchestra, op. 12
1926 – Der Protagonist, op.15 (Opera inside of these work, text by Georg Kaiser)
1927 – Der Neue Orpheus. Cantata for soprano, solo violin & orchestra op.Sixteen (text by Yvan Goll)
1927 – Royal Palace op.17 (Opera around a single work, text by Yvan Goll)
1927 – Der Zar lässt sich photographieren op.21 (Opera around 1 work, text by Georg Kaiser)
1927 – Mahagonny (Songspiel) (Bertolt Brecht)
Works 1928-1935
1928 – Berlin im Licht Song. March for even concert b& (wind ensemble) or voice and piano
1928 – Die Dreigroschenoper, or a Threepenny Opera (Bertolt Brecht)
1928 – Kleine Dreigroschenmusik (Little Threepenny Music), Suite for wind orchestra based on a Threepenny Opera
1928 – Zu Potsdam unter den Eichen for even chorus a cappella or voice & soft (Bertolt Brecht)
1928 – Das Berliner Requiem (Berlin Requiem). Oratorio for ternion male voices & wind orchestra (Bertolt Brecht)
1929 – Der Lindberghflug (first version). Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra. Music by Weill & Paul Hindemith and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
1929 – Happy End (Elisabeth Hauptmann and Bertolt Brecht)
1929 – Der Lindberghflug (second version). Oratorio for tenor, baritone, & bass soloists, chorus & orchestra. Music completely by Weill & lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
1930 – Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, or Rise & Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Bertolt Brecht)
1930 – Der Jasager (Elisabeth Hauptmann and Bertolt Brecht)
1932 – Die Bürgschaft, or The Pledge (Caspar Neher)
1933 – Der Silbersee, or Silver Lake
1933 – Die sieben Todsünden, or The Seven Deadly Sins. Ballet chanté for voices & orchestra (Bertolt Brecht)
1934 – Marie galante for voices & little orchestra (book and lyrics by Jacques Deval)
1934 – Symphony No. Deuce for orchestra
1935 – Der Kuhhandel, or The Kingdom for the Cow (Robert Vambery) (unfinished)
Works 1936-1950
1936 – Johnny Johnson (Paul Green)
1937 – The Eternal Road (Desmond Carter, first, bare version around German by having the text by Franz Werfel, directed by Max Reinhardt (theatre director))
1938 – Knickerbocker Holiday (Maxwell Anderson)
1938 – Railroads on Parade (Edward Hungerford)
1940 – Ballad of Magna Carta. Oratorio for storyteller & bass soloists, chorus & orchestra (Maxwell Anderson)
1940 – Lady in the Dark (Moss Hart and Ira Gershwin)
1941 – Fun to be Free Pageant
1942 – ''And what was sent to the Soldier's Wife? (Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib?). Song for voice & soft (Bertolt Brecht)
1942 – Mine Eyes Have Seen a Glory. Loyal song arrangements by Weill for teller, chorus, & orchestra
1943 – One Touch of Venus (Ogden Nash)
1945 – The Firebrand of Florence (Ira Gershwin)
1945 – Down in the Valley
1947 – Hatikvah Arrangement of the Israeli National Anthem for orchestra
1947 – Four Walt Whitman Songs for even voice and orchestra (or piano)
1947 – Street Scene (Elmer Rice and Langston Hughes)
1948 – Love Life (Alan Jay Lerner)
1949 – Lost in the Stars (Maxwell Anderson)
1950 – Huckleberry Finn'' (Maxwell Anderson) Unfinished.
Discography
Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill's A Seven Fatal Sins & Berlin Theatre Songs (Sony 1997)
The Threepenny Opera. Lotte Lenya & Others, conducted by Wilhelm Brückner-Ruggeberg (Columbia 1987)
Rise & Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Lotte Lenya/ Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (Sony 1990)
Berliner Requiem/ Violin Concerto op.12/ Vom Tod im Walde. Ensemble Musique Oblique/ Philippe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi, 1997)
Kleine Dreigroschenmusik/ Mahagonny Songspiel/ Happy End/ Berliner Requiem/ Violin Concerto op.Dozen. London Sinfonietta, David Atherton (Deutsche Grammophon, 1999)
Kurt Weill á Paris, Marie Galante & more works. Loes Luca, Ensemble Dreigroschen, directed by Giorgio Bernasconi, assai, 2000
The Eternal Road (Highlights). Berliner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester/ Gerard Schwarz (Naxos, 2003)
The Doors (Elektra, 1967). Including Alabama Song
Bryan Ferry. When Period Goes By (Virgin, 1999). Including September Song
Lost in A Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill (performed by Tom Waits, Lou Reed & others). (The&M Records, 1987)
September Songs: A Music of Kurt Weill (performed by Elvis Costello, PJ Harvey & others) (Sony Music, 1997)
Youkali: Art Songs by Satie, Poulenc & Weill. Patricia O'Callaghan (Marquis, 2003)
Gianluigi Trovesi/ Gianni Coscia: Spherical All about Weill (ECM, 2005)
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