Kurt Weill: Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib?

Kurt Weill: Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib?

Weill had brainstormed for years on ways to use his talents towards the American war effort. In 1941, he wrote, “Like everybody else, I have the ardent desire to serve the country in some capacity. I would take any job. But it seems to me I could really be of some...
Marc Blitzstein: American Day

Marc Blitzstein: American Day

Five years after his production of The Cradle Will Rock was abruptly cancelled by the Works Progress Administration, Marc Blitzstein composed the score for the 1942 anti-fascist, anti-KKK documentary film Native Land, featuring today’s selection, “American...
Cole Porter: I’ve Got My Eyes on You

Cole Porter: I’ve Got My Eyes on You

On a recent foray into the jazz realm here in Pittsburgh, I was introduced to “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” by Cole Porter. It struck me as a charming little number at first hearing, but Porter’s veneer is thin; he is, after all, the master of...
Kurt Weill: Schicklgruber

Kurt Weill: Schicklgruber

This week, as I continue my preparations of the Weill and Blitzstein double-bill for NYFOS next month, I see the many parallels between the time in which these works were composed and our current era (and the reasons for which they were written). I would therefore...
Blitzstein:  Penny Candy

Blitzstein: Penny Candy

Marc Blitzstein’s No For An Answer will be featured on the Nov. 19 NYFOS concert at Merkin Hall. Steve Blier and I had our very first collaboration at Tully Hall in a Blitzstein celebration about 35 years ago. It cemented my friendship with Steve, and helped us see a...