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Kurt Weill Prize

Showtime & Highbrow/Lowdown Posters
2011 Kurt Weill Prize Winners: Larry Stempel (book prize), for Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater, and David Savran (article prize), for the chapter entitled "Fascinating Rhythm" in his book Highbrow/Lowdown: Theater, Jazz, and the Making of the New Middle Class.

 

In September 1994, the Board of Trustees of the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music announced the establishment of a Kurt Weill Prize, which is awarded biennially. The purpose of the Kurt Weill Prize is to encourage distinguished scholarship in the disciplines of music, theater, dance, literary criticism and history addressing music theater since 1900 (including opera). Two Prizes are awarded each cycle: to the author of one book ($5,000) and to the author of one article ($2,000).

Weill’s works crossed several genres and his creative life spanned two continents; his Threepenny Opera has entered the musical canon as one of the masterpieces for the musical stage of this century. The idea for establishing this Prize originated from Harold Prince, renowned director of the musical stage and Board member of the Kurt Weill Foundation. Prince suggested the Prize as a means of recognizing excellence in the scholarly domain of music theater in the broadest sense.

Call for Nominations

The Foundation welcomes nominations for the 2025 Kurt Weill Prize for distinguished scholarship in music theater since 1900 (including opera), for works first published in calendar years 2023 and 2024. Two 2025 Kurt Weill Prizes will be awarded: a cash prize of $5,000 to the author of the winning book entry; and a prize of $2,000 to the author of the winning article entry.

Media may include not only print (book, major scholarly article in a journal, chapter or essay, critical edition), but also audio-recording, video-recording, multi-media projects, and on-line publications, provided there is a significant scholarly component. Edited multi-author collections of essays are not eligible in the book category, although single essays from such collections may be nominated in the article category. Works addressing the American music theater are particularly encouraged.

There are no citizenship or language restrictions. Nominations are solicited from individuals, publishers, scholarly societies, and institutions, but self-nominations are encouraged as well. The address of the author and five copies of the nominated work must be submitted before 30 April 2025 to the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, 7 East 20th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA.

For more information, contact:

Brady Sansone
Secretary of the Foundation and Director of Programs and Business Affairs

212.505.5240 | Ext. 204
bsansone@kwf.org

 Past Kurt Weill Prize Winners
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