WEILL, Kurt
b Dessau, 2 March 1900
d New York, 3 April 1950, aged fifty

He was born of a Jewish family. His early music studies were with Bing and Humperdinck; then he became coach and conductor for the opera companies in Dessau and Ludenscheid. In 1921 he settled in Berlin and studied with Busoni for three years; then began his great collaboration with Bertolt Brecht. In 1933, with Hitler in power, Weill and his wife escaped to Paris, and they were quite penniless until he worked again with Brecht and received a commission to write a symphony. Unfortunately, the symphony was poorly received; his music was banned in Germany and copies of his scores were destroyed. After a brief stay in London he went to the USA, where his success was assured. He died of a heart attack.

1921 (21)

Symphony No 1

1923 (23)

Fantasie, Passacaglia and Hymn, for orchestra

1924 (24)

Quodlibet, for string quartet

The Protagonist, opera

1925 (25)

Concerto for violin and woodwinds

1927 (27)

Lindbergh's Flight, cantata

The New Orpheus, cantata

The Royal Palace, opera

Mahagonny, opera

1928 (28)

The Threepenny Opera

1933 (33)

The Silver Lake, opera

Symphony No 2

1935 (35)

A Kingdom for a Cow, musical play

1936 (36)

Johnny Johnson, musical

1937 (37)

The Eternal Road, incidental music

1938 (38)

Knickerbocker Holiday, musical

1939 (39)

The Ballad of the Magna Carta, incidental music for radio drama

1941 (41)

Lady in the Dark, musical

1943 (43)

One Touch of Venus, musical

1947 (47)

Street Scene, opera

Down in the Valley, folk opera

1949 (49)

Lost in the Stars, opera

Weill also wrote many songs.