Source: Life, Letters to the Editor, vol. 22, no. 11 (March 17, 1947), p. 17

Note: The original letter bears the date February 21st, 1947.

Sirs:

Thanks very much for the kind words about Street Scene (“Three Musical Hits,” Life, Feb. 24). However I have a gentle beef about one of your phrases. Although I was born in Germany, I do not consider myself a “German composer.” The Nazis obviously did not consider me as such either and I left their country (an arrangement which suited both me and my rulers admirably) in 1933.

I am an American citizen and during my dozen years in this country have composed exclusively for the American stage, writing the scores for Johnny Johnson, Knickerbocker Holiday, Lady in the Dark, One Touch of Venus, The Firebrand of Florence (ouch!) and Street Scene.

Kurt Weill

New York, N.Y.