Drew Writings on Weill: Genre List
The list of David Drew’s Weill-related writings below is organized by genre: book, essay, program note, lecture, etc. Please see also chronological and subject listings. David Drew’s writings are copyright by the Estate of David Drew, and permission to reprint must be secured from the Estate.
Books
Prefaces, Forewords, Etc.
Essays and Articles Published in Books
Essays and Articles Published in Periodicals
Dictionary and Encyclopedia Entries
Program Notes: Single Works
Program Notes: Multiple Works
Program Notes: Introductory, Biographical
Liner Notes
Reviews: Books and Scores
Reviews: Performances
Letters to the Editor
Typescript Lectures and Conference Papers
Talks
Other
BOOKS[ps2id id=’Books’ target=”/]
Kurt Weill: A Handbook (London: Faber & Faber; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987).
Kurt Weill: Ausgewählte Schriften (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1975).
Über Kurt Weill (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1975).
Excerpts From Books Published In Other Sources
“How Was Weill’s Success Achieved?” In Kurt Weill Newsletter 4.2 (Fall 1986), pp. 4-6. (full text)
Note: Excerpted and reprinted from two entries in Kurt Weill: A Handbook: “Die Dreigroschenoper” and “Ofrahs Lieder.”
“Kurt Weill: Doubtful and Chimerical Works.” In The Musical Times no. 1736 (October 1987), pp. 548-551. (full text)
Note: Reprinted from Kurt Weill: A Handbook.
“Undiscovered Weill.” In Opera 38.10 (October 1987), pp. 1115-1124. (full text)
Note: Reprinted, with additions, from Kurt Weill: A Handbook.
PREFACES, FOREWORDS, ETC.[ps2id id=’Prefaces’ target=”/]
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
“Afterword as Introduction to the Kurt Weill Edition.” In Edward Harsh (ed.), Die Dreigroschenoper: A Facsimile of the Holograph Full Score (New York: Kurt Weill Foundation ; Valley Forge: European American Music, 1996), pp. 149-150. (full text)
“Vorwort.” Foreword in German to Stephen Hinton and Jürgen Schebera (eds.), Kurt Weill, Musik und Theater, Gesammelte Schriften, mit eine Auswahl von Gesprächen und Interviews (Berlin: Henschel, 1990), pp. 13-15. (full text)
“Editor’s Preface” and “Editor’s Report” for Das Berliner Requiem: Partitur (Wien: Universal Edition, 1976), pp. V-VI. (full text)
Note: Dated “January 1967, rev. 1976” at end of report. Lightly revised from Universal Edition publication of Klavierauszug (vocal score) in 1967.
“Vorwort.” In Kurt Weill: Ausgewählte Schriften (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1975), pp. 11-15. (full text)
Note: Dated 9 May 1975.
“Vorwort” and “Zu dieser Ausgabe.” In Über Kurt Weill (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1975), pp. VII-XXXIV. (full text)
Note: Dated December 1974 and 7 January 1975, respectively; both pieces included in full text display.
“Preface to the 1969 Edition.” Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny: Klavierauszug (Wien: Universal Edition, 1969), pp. [6], 1-2. (full text)
“Preface” and “Editor’s report.” Symphony no. 1: Studien-Partitur (Mainz: Schott, 1968), pp. IX-XIII. (full text)
Note: Dated May 1968 at end of report.
“Editor’s preface” and “Editor’s Report.” Das Berliner Requiem: Klavierauszug (Wien: Universal Edition, 1967), pp. V-VII. (full text)
Note: See above. Dated January 1967 at end of report.)
“Preface.” Symphony no. 2: Studien-Partitur (Mainz: Schott, 1966), pp. [4]-[5]. (full text)
“Mahagonny-Songspiel.” Editor’s note. Mahagonny-Songspiel: Urfassung 1927: Klavierauszug (Wien: Universal Edition, 1963), pp. 1-5. (full text)
ESSAYS AND ARTICLES FROM BOOKS[ps2id id=’essays-books’ target=”/]
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
“Royal Palace and its Critics.” In David Rosen and Claire Brook (eds.), Words on Music. Essays in Honor of Andrew Porter on the Occasion of his 75th Birthday (Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon, 2003), pp. 91-119. (full text)
“Reinhardt’s Choice: Some Alternatives to Weill?” In Helmut Loos and Guy Stern (eds.), Kurt Weill: Auf dem Weg zum “Weg der Verheißung” (Freiburg: Rombach Verlag, 2000), pp. 237-254. (full text)
“Britten and His Fellow Composers: Six Footnotes for a Seventieth Birthday.” In Philip Reed (ed.), On Mahler and Britten: Essays in Honour of Donald Mitchell on His Seventieth Birthday (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press; Aldeburgh: The Britten-Pears Library, 1995), pp. 146-166. (full text)
“The Bürgschaft Debate and the Timeliness of the Untimely.” In Kim H. Kowalke and Horst Edler (eds.), A Stranger Here Myself: Kurt Weill Studien (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1993), pp. 159-184. (full text)
“Schoenberg and Weill.” In Chris Banks, Arthur Searle, and Malcolm Turner (eds.), Sundry Sorts of Music Books: Essays on The British Library Collections, presented to O.W. Neighbour on his 70th birthday (London: British Library, 1993), pp. 346-353. (full text)
“Motifs, Tags, and Related Matters.” In Stephen Hinton (ed.), Kurt Weill: The Threepenny Opera (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), pp. 149-160. (full text)
Note: “Cambridge Opera Handbooks” series.
“Reflections on the Last Years: Der Kuhhandel as a Key Work.” In Kim H. Kowalke (ed.), A New Orpheus: Essays on Kurt Weill (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), pp. 217-267. (full text)
Note: See Talk, 2 Nov 1983.
“Beiträge zu einer musikalischen Perspektive.” In Ingo F. Walther (ed.), Paris-Berlin 1900-1933 (München: Prestel-Verlag, 1979), pp. 550-557. (full text)
Note: Survey of German composers from the first third of the twentieth century, translated by Horst Leuchtmann and introduced by Pierre Boulez.)
“Weill, Borchardt und Kaiser–Notizen zu dem Problem: Deutsche Dramatiker in Amerika.” In Lothar Schirmer, ed. Theater im Exil 1933-1945, Ein Symposium der Akademie der Künste (Berlin: Akademie der Künste, 1979), pp. 236-241. (full text)
Note: Published version of paper given at 1973 conference.
“Gespräch mit Lotte Lenya.” In Lothar Schirmer, ed. Theater im Exil 1933-1945, Ein Symposium der Akademie der Künste (Berlin: Akademie der Künste, 1979), pp. 242-249. (full text)
Note: Round table discussion with Lenya, Drew, and several others, mostly pertaining to The Eternal Road.
“Neher und Weill.” In: Gottfried von Einem and Siegfried Melchinger (eds.), Caspar Neher (Hannover: Friedrich Verlag, 1966), pp. 96-100. (full text)
Note: Anonymous translation of essay entitled “Neher and Weill,” edited, translated, and published without consultation.
ESSAYS AND ARTICLES FROM PERIODICALS[ps2id id=’essays-periodicals’ target=”/]
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
“Mahagonny‘s Musical Roots” (Part I, Mahagonny and “Popular” Idioms; Part II, Mahagonny and Tradition). Part I published in Kurt Weill Newsletter 42.1 (Spring 2024), p. 4-6. Full text of both parts.
Note: Published posthumously.
“Struggling for Supremacy: The Libretto of Mahagonny.” In Kurt Weill Newsletter 27.2 (Fall 2009), pp. 6-9. (full text)
Note: Published posthumously.
“Fifty Years of Working on Kurt Weill [interview with Elmar Juchem].” In Kurt Weill Newsletter 23.2 (Fall 2005), pp. 6-9. (full text)
“Der Weg der Verheissung: Weill at the Crossroads.” In Tempo 208 (April 1999), pp. 33-50. (full text)
Note: Companion essay to “Der Weg der Verheissung and the Prophecies of Jeremiah” (see below).
“Der Weg der Verheissung and the Prophecies of Jeremiah.” In Tempo 206 (September 1998), pp. 12-20. (full text)
Note: Companion essay to “Der Weg der Verheissung: Weill at the Crossroads” (see above).
“I Sing of War.” In The Musical Times no. 1828 (June 1995), pp. 279-283. (full text)
Note: Drew remarked, “This is the first part . . . of a version of the notes for LARGO’s Testimonies of War CD edited for separate publication.”
“Weill and Schoenberg.” In Kurt Weill Newsletter 12.1 (Spring 1994), pp. 10-13. (full text)
Note: Reprinted from Sundry sorts of Music Books with “Introduction: An Open Letter to O.W. Neighbour” appended.
“Kurt Weill.” In Soundings (the magazine of the Friends of the Aldeburgh Foundation), Autumn 1992.
Note: Reprint with revisions of article originally published in 1976.
“Kurt Weill and his Critics — 2.” In Times Literary Supplement vol., no. (10 October 1975), pp. 1198-1200. (full text)
“Kurt Weill and his Critics.” In Times Literary Supplement, vol., no., (3 October 1975), pp. 1142-?. (full text)
Note: English version of introduction to Über Kurt Weill (q.v.).
“An Epic Cantata.” In The Listener, 23 July 1970, pp. 125-126. (full text)
“Weill herontdekt.” In Ouverture 2.5 (January 1968), pp. 4-5. (full text)
“Kurt Weill’s Symphonies.” In Radio Times, 11-17 November 1967. (full text)
Note: The broadcast of Weill’s Symphony no. 1 and Symphony no. 2 took place on 13 November.
“Weill’s School Opera.” In The Musical Times, vol.106, no.1474 (December 1965), pp. 934-937. (full text)
“Kurt Weill.” In Radio Times, 24 July 1965. (full text)
Note: Program note for broadcast performance of Violin Concerto on BBC Third Programme page.
“Off to Mahagonny.” In New Statesman, 26 February 1965. (full text)
“”Weill’s ‘Deadly Sins.'” In The Listener, 22 August 1963. (full text)
“The History of Mahagonny.” In The Musical Times vol. 104, no. 1439 (January 1963), pp. 18-24. (full text)
“Trips to Mahagonny.” In New Statesman, 5 October 1962.
“Towards the City of Mahagonny.” In New Statesman, 24 September 1960.
“Brecht versus Opera, Some Comments.” In The Score no. 23 (July 1958), pp. 7-10. (full text)
“Topicality and the Universal: The Strange Case of Weill’s Die Bürgschaft.” In Music and Letters no. 39 (July 1958), pp. 242-255. (full text)
DICTIONARY AND ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES[ps2id id=’Dictionary’ target=”/]
(Listed alphabetically.)
“Brecht, Bertolt.” In Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: Macmillan, 1980), vol. 3, pp. 247-248.
“Brecht, Bertolt.” In Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), v. 1, p. 591.
“Kurt Weill: 1900-1950.” In David Drew (ed.), The Decca Book of Ballet (London: Frederick Muller, 1958), pp. 389-391. (full text)
Note: Covers Judgment of Paris extensively.
“Lenya, Lotte.” In Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: Macmillan, 1980), vol. 10, pp. 665-666.
“Lenya, Lotte.” In Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (eds.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), v. , pp.
“Lenya, Lotte.” In Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), v. 2, p. 1144.
“Neher, Caspar.” In Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: Macmillan, 1980), vol. 13, p. 97.
“Weill, Kurt.” In Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: Macmillan, 1980), vol. 20, pp. 300-310.
“Weill, Kurt.” In Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (eds.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), v. , pp. (with J. Bradford Robinson).
PROGRAM NOTES: SINGLE WORKS[ps2id id=’single-works’ target=”/]
Note: Please see also listings under PROGRAM NOTES: MULTIPLE WORKS for additional entries.
(The “single works” list below is arranged alphabetically by original work title and in reverse chronological order within each work.)
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny and Mahagonny Songspiel
“Brecht und Weill.” Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny. Freiburg, Grosses Haus, 13 October 1990.
Mahagonny Songspiel. Wiesbaden, Hessisches Staatstheater, 17 December 1975.
Mahagonny Songspiel. London, Festival of the City of London, staged by Drew and John Cox, 16-17 July 1968.
Mahagonny-Songspiel. Brighton Festival, 22 April 1967.
Note: Drew provided program notes for both the general festival program (full text) and the evening program (full text).
“Mahagonny” (i.e., Mahagonny Songspiel). Gelsenkirchen, Städtische Bühnen, 2 March 1961, p. 199-201. (full text)
Das Berliner Requiem
“Das Berliner Requiem, Anmerkungen zu einer Rekonstruktion.” Lucerne, Lucerne Festival, John Axelrod (cond.), 29 August 2006. (full text)
Das Berliner Requiem. London, BBC Proms concert, 27 July 2000. (full text)
Das Berliner Requiem. Aldeburgh, orchestral concert, 17 June 2000. (full text)
Das Berliner Requiem. Berlin, Ensemble Modern, 18 March 1991.
Note: German translation of note from 1975.
Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra
“Concerto for Violin and Wind Instruments (1924).” London, BBC Proms, 14 August 2000. (full text)
Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera)
Dreigroschen-Songspiel (sung in German with an English narration translated by Stephen Hinton from two narrations prepared by Brecht himself). London, “Kurt Weill From Time to Time” festival, 10 October 1999. (full text)
The Threepenny Opera. London, English Music Theatre Company, Sadler’s Wells, 8 September 1976. (full text)
Happy End
Happy End. London, London Sinfonietta, 30 March 1993.
Note: Revised version of 1986 note.
Johnny Johnson
War Play. Boston, Musica Viva, 18 March 1988. (full text)
Note: First American performance of Drew’s concert arrangement of Johnny Johnson.
Kleine Dreigroschenmusik
Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. London, South Bank Summer Music, 9 August 1981.
Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. London, London Sinfonietta, 23 January 1977. (full text)
Program note. Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. London, London Sinfonietta, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 4 December 1974.
Der Lindberghflug
Der Ozeanflug (The Lindbergh Flight). London, Royal Festival Hall, 20 January 1971. (full text)
Note: Revised version of 1970 program note.
Der Ozeanflug (The Lindbergh Flight). London, BBC Prom, 25 July 1970. (full text)
Lost in the Stars
“Lost in the Stars and Cry the Beloved Country: The Quest for a Concert Sequence.” Program note. London, Tenth Almeida International Festival of Contemporary Music, Matrix Ensemble, Robert Ziegler (cond.), 14 June 1990. (full text)
Note: Only a portion of the program note is entitled “Lost in the Stars and Cry the Beloved Country: The Quest for a Concert Sequence.”
Mahagonny (Songspiel)
See Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny.
Marie Galante
Marie Galante. New York, Les Dames et Las Damas, 26 September 1991.
Marie Galante. London?, Siva Oke, Unicorn-Kanchana, 1989.
Recordare
Recordare. Utrecht, Holland Festival, 2 July 1971. (full text)
Note: Drew’s account of the discovery of the score of Recordare in 1970 appended.
Die sieben Todsünden
Die sieben Todsünden. London, St John’s Smith Square, Sally Burgess (soprano), 3 July 2001.
Die sieben Todsünden. London, London Sinfonietta, Simon Rattle (cond.), 24 January 1988.
The Seven Deadly Sins. London, BBC Prom, Evelyn Lear (soprano), 24 August 1968. (full text)
“Musical Theatre.” Program note on The Seven Deadly Sins, Edinburgh Festival, 4 September 1961, pp. 39-40. (full text)
Der Silbersee
“Weill and The Silver Lake (Der Silbersee)”. London, Broomhill Opera, 29 March 1999. (full text)
Der Silbersee/The Silver Lake, London, BBC Prom, 21 July 1996. (full text)
Note: Drew’s synopsis of Der Silbersee included.
“A Winter’s Fairy Tale.” Introduction to Der Silbersee/The Silver Lake. BBC Proms Guide, 1996. (full text)
String Quartets
String Quartet, no. 1, op. 8. London, Camden Festival, 2 May 1972. (full text)
Symphonies
Symphony no. 1. Scottish National Orchestra, 27 November 1973. (full text)
Symphony no. 2. London, BBC Prom, Gary Bertini (cond.), 7 August 1968. (full text)
Symphony no. 2. De Doelen, Rotterdam Philharmonic, 14 January 1968. (full text)
Note: Accompanied by biographical note also written by Drew.
Arrangements of Weill’s Music by David Drew
Propheten
Propheten. Bochum, Ruhr-Universität, 14 November 1998.
Propheten. London, BBC Prom, 26 July 1998. (full text)
Note: Drew’s synopsis of Propheten included.
“Weill–Propheten: David Drew on the remarkable history of a vast Biblical drama and its suppressed final act.” In BBC Prom Guide 1998, pp. 99. (full text)
Propheten. Vienna, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, 28 May 1998. (full text)
Note: World premiere.
Other Arrangements
Trains Bound for Glory. London, “Berlin to Broadway: The Music of Kurt Weill” festival, 16 January 2000. (full text)
“Lost in the Stars and Cry the Beloved Country: The Quest for a Concert Sequence.” Program note. London, Tenth Almeida International Festival of Contemporary Music, Matrix Ensemble, Robert Ziegler (cond.), 14 June 1990. (full text)
Note: Only a portion of the program note is entitled “Lost in the Stars and Cry the Beloved Country: The Quest for a Concert Sequence.”
War Play. Boston, Musica Viva, 18 March 1988. (full text)
Note: First American performance of Drew’s concert arrangement of Johnny Johnson.
Bastille-Musik (“Barnovsky music”). Aberdeen, University of Aberdeen, 17 May 1970. (full text)
PROGRAM NOTES: MULTIPLE WORKS[ps2id id=’multiple-works’ target=”/]
Festivals
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
Kurt Weill from Time to Time, 2000: “Berlin im Licht,” Violin Concerto, Panamanian Suite, Vom Tod im Wald, Oil-Music, Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. London, “Kurt Weill from Time to Time” festival, 2 March 2000. (full text)
Kurt Weill from Time to Time, 1999: Mahagonny Songspiel, Marie Galante, Cry, The Beloved Country. London, “Kurt Weill from Time to Time” festival, 14 October 1999.
Kurt Weill from Time to Time, 1999: Der Jasager, Happy End Songspiel. London, “Kurt Weill From Time to Time” festival, 4 October 1999. (full text)
Britten/Weill Festival, 1992: Violin Concerto, Symphony no. 2, String Quartet in B minor, Frauentanz, Songs from Knickerbocker Holiday and Johnny Johnson, Happy End. Aldeburgh, Britten/Weill Festival, 22-25 October 1992. (full text)
Almeida Festival, 1990: Suite panaméenne, Marie Galante, War Play, Cry, the Beloved Country London, Tenth Almeida International Festival of Contemporary Music, Matrix Ensemble, Robert Ziegler (cond.), 14 June 1990. (full text)
Note: A portion of the program note is entitled “Lost in the Stars and Cry the Beloved Country: The Quest for a Concert Sequence.”
Kurt Weill Festival, 1987: Violin Concerto, Vom Tod im Wald, “Der Song von Mandelay,” Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. New York, Kurt Weill Festival, Merkin Hall, 30 September 1987. (full text)
Kurt Weill Festival, 1987: Kiddush, Two Folksongs of the New Palestine, Ofrah’s Lieder, selections from Der Weg der Verheißung, Recordare. New York, Kurt Weill Festival, Merkin Hall, 20 September 1987. (full text)
Kurt Weill Festival, 1987: Bastille Music; Four Walt Whitman Songs; String Quartet no. 1, op. 8; Marie Galante. New York, Kurt Weill Festival, Merkin Hall, 17 September 1987. (full text)
Summerscope, 1986: Happy End, Das Berliner Requiem. London, Summerscope 1986, 18 August 1986.
Note: Reprint of March 1977 program note.
Camden Festival, 1986: The Protagonist, The Tsar Has His Photograph Taken. London, Camden Festival, Abbey Opera, 12-15 March 1986. (full text)
Berliner Festwochen, 1975: “Weberlied I und II,” Bastille Musik, Kriegschöre, Öl-Musik, Das Berliner Requiem, War Play. Berlin, Berliner Festwochen, program titled “Of War and Revolution,” London Sinfonietta, 13 September 1975. (full text)
Note: All Berliner Festwochen program notes are included in the same PDF file; in the original program, a single note covered concerts on 12 and 13 September.
Berliner Festwochen, 1975: “Berlin im Licht,” “Klops-Lied,” Pantomime from Der Protagonist, Vom Tod im Wald, “Tango Angèle,” Mahagonny Songspiel, Happy End (Songspiel). Berlin, Berliner Festwochen, program titled “Of Peace and Prosperity,” London Sinfonietta, 12 September 1975. (full text)
Note: All Berliner Festwochen program notes are included in the same PDF file; in the original program, a single note covered concerts on 12 and 13 September.
Berliner Festwochen, 1975: Der neue Orpheus, Symphony no. 2, Der Silbersee (Concert Suite), Berlin, Berliner Festwochen, Anja Silja, et al., 10 September 1975. (full text)
Note: All Berliner Festwochen program notes are included in the same PDF file; in the original program, a single note covered concerts on 12 and 13 September.
Berliner Festwochen, 1975: String Quartet in B Minor, Cello Sonata, Frühe Lieder und Balladen, Späte Songs, Sieben Stücke nach der Dreigroschenoper (arr. Stefan Frenkel). Berlin, Berliner Festwochen, 9 September 1975. (full text)
Note: All Berliner Festwochen program notes are included in the same PDF file; in the original program, a single note covered concerts on 12 and 13 September.
Holland Festival, 1971: Royal Palace, Der Silbersee (concert version). The Hague, Holland Festival, 25-26 June 1971. (full text)
Note: Program notes titled, “Before Hearing ‘Royal Palace’ and “Before Hearing ‘Der Silbersee’.”
Note: Program note taken from the event program. Drew’s “conversation” with Jo Elsendoorn was printed in the general festival program (full text).
London Sinfonietta
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
Oil Music, “Klopslied,” Pantomime I from Der Protagonist, Vom Tod im Wald, “Cranes’ Duet,” Mahagonny Songspiel. London, London Sinfonietta Voices, 10 April 1984. (full text)
“Tango Angèle,” “Alabama-Song,” “Bilbao-Song,” Das Berliner Requiem, Happy End. De Doelen and Utrecht, London Sinfonietta, 12-13 June 1977. (full text)
“Berlin im Licht,” “Klopslied,” Pantomime I from Der Protagonist, Vom Tod im Wald, “Tango Angèle,” Mahagonny Songspiel, Bastille Musik, “Können ihm Essig holen,” Oil Music, Das Berliner Requiem, String Quartet in B minor, “Kraniche-Duett,” Happy End, Violin Concerto, Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. London, series of London Sinfonietta concerts, March 1977.
Note: An abridged version of the note on the Violin Concerto was reprinted in the Polydor CD release (1989) of the 1955 MGM recording.
Violin Concerto, Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. London, London Sinfonietta, 3 May 1974.
Other Performances
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
The Seven Deadly Sins, Mahagonny Songspiel. London, BBC Prom, 3 August 1997.
Note: Reprints of previous notes from August 1968 (Sins) and August 1993 (Songspiel).
Suite panaméenne, “Cowboy Song,” “Captain Valentine’s Song.” New York, Tisch Center, 23 February 1997.
Note: Reprint of Berlin im Licht liner notes, Largo 5114, 1990.
Suite panaméenne, Vom Tod im Wald, “Cowboy Song,” “Captain Valentine’s Song,” Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. Vienna, Wiener Konzerthaus, 12 February 1997.
Note: Reprint of Berlin im Licht liner notes, Largo 5114, 1990.
Frankfurt, concert of Ensemble Modern, 11 October 1994.
Note: Program note entitled, “Weill 1900-1950.”
“Berlin im Licht,” Suite panaméenne, Öl-Musik, Lieder aus Johnny Johnson. Berlin, Ensemble Modern, 9 October 1994.
Reprinted from Berlin im Licht liner notes, Largo 5114, 1990.
Mahagonny Songspiel, Cry, the Beloved Country. London, BBC Prom, 25 August 1993.
Note: See also program note for Mahagonny, 3 August 1997.
Kleine Dreigroschenmusik, Violin Concerto. London, BBC Prom, 6 September 1983.
Note: Reprint of liner notes to the 1976 Deutsche Grammophon LP.
Kleine Dreigroschenmusik, Violin Concerto. Paris?, Ensemble Intercontemporain, 1983.
Quodlibet, Frauentanz. New York, Town Hall, Friends of Live Music, 24 February 1963. (full text)
Der Protagonist, Der Zar lässt sich photographieren, and Die sieben Todsünden. Frankfurt, Städtische Bühnen, 6 April 1960, pp. 78-92. (Program notes entitled “Kurt Weill.”) (full text)
PROGRAM NOTES: INTRODUCTORY, BIOGRAPHICAL[ps2id id=’Introductory’ target=”/]
“Portraits and Snapshots (Weill Has His Photograph Taken).” Introductory essay in programs for “Kurt Weill From Time to Time” festival, London, October 1999. (full text)
Note: The version presented here is reproduced from the February 2000 festival program, representing Drew’s final revisions.
“Kurt Weill–Eine Annäherung. Einleitende Gedanken von David Drew.” Program note (introductory article) for “Kurt Weill Festival: Berlin–Paris–New York,” Vienna, Jeunesse musicale, 29 September – 24 October 1995, pp. 7-9. (full text)
Note: German translation of 1976 liner notes for Deutsche Grammophon album, revised for 1986 Handbook Foreword.
“Weill on the Road to Broadway.” Introductory essay for program, Aldeburgh, Britten/Weill Festival, 22-25 October 1992. (full text)
“Kurt Weill: A Profile.” Introductory essay for program, Aldeburgh, Britten/Weill Festival, 22-25 October 1992. (full text)
Note: Reprint of the “Foreword” to Kurt Weill: A Handbook.
“Gespräch über Weill.” Introductory essay for program, Berliner Festwochen, September 1975, p. 11. (full text)
“Kurt Weill 2.3.1900-3.4.1950.” In Deutsche Oper Berlin brochure (Fortsetzung 1974/75), June 1975.
Note: Excerpted from Vorwort to Über Kurt Weill.)
LINER NOTES[ps2id id=’Liner-Notes’ target=”/]
(alphabetical by title of recording)
The Art of Lotte Lenya, vol. 1, Lotte Lenya, Philips ABE 10118, 7″ disc, 45 rpm. (full text)
Note: Liner note entitled “The Art of Lotte Lenya.”
Note: Re-issue of selections from Lotte Lenya singt Kurt Weill, originally issued by Philips and Columbia in 1955.
Berlin im Licht. Largo 5114, Ensemble Modern, HK Gruber (cond.), CD, 1990 (“Berlin im Licht,” “Slow-Fox und Algi-Song,” “Klopslied,” “Ach, wär mein Lieb ein Brünnlein kalt,” Frauentanz, Bastille-Musik, Öl-Musik, Suite panaméenne, “Cowboy Song,” “Captain Valentine’s Song,” “Die stille Stadt”).
Die Dreigroschenoper. Columbia O2L 257, Lotte Lenya, Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg, LP, 1958. (full text)
Note: Liner note entitled, “Weill and Die Dreigroschenoper.”
Die Dreigroschenoper. Columbia Odyssey Y2 32977 (re-issue), Lotte Lenya, et al., Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (cond.), LP, date originally published?
Note: Liner note entitled “Weill/Brecht/Gay.” Abridged and revised version of “Weill and Die Dreigroschenoper” (see above).
Happy End. Columbia COS 2032, Lotte Lenya, Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (cond.), LP, 1973? (full text)
Note: Liner note entitled, “Unhappy Beginning.”
Happy End. Lotte Lenya, Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (cond.), Philips ABL 3364, LP, 1960. (full text)
Kaddish. Nimbus NI 5807, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, John Axelrod (cond.), CD, 2007. (full text)
Note: Liner note entitled “Kurt Weill, Berliner Requiem: Notes on a Reconstruction.”
Kleine Dreigroschenmusik, Violin Concerto. Deutsche Grammophon 2543 808, LP, 1976.
Note: Abridged version of liner notes printed with the 3-LP set on Deutsche Grammophon (see below).
Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. Angel S 35927, Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer (cond.), LP, 1962. (full text)
Note: Unsigned note.
Kurt Weill. Deutsche Grammophon 2740 153 (later 2709 064), London Sinfonietta, David Atherton (cond.), 3-LP set, May 1976 (Mahagonny Songspiel, Pantomime I from Der Protagonist, Vom Tod im Wald, Happy End (Songspiel), Das Berliner Requiem, Kleine Dreigroschenmusik, and supplementary biographical and critical notes). (full text)
Note: Drew’s chronology of Weill’s life from the LP booklet has been appended to the full text of the liner notes.
Note: The note on Berliner Requiem was reprinted in the Polydor CD release (paired with Die sieben Todsünden), 429 333-2 (1989).
Kurt Weill in Berlin. Angel 35727, Peter Sandloff and his Orchestra, LP, 1959. (full text)
Mahagonny Songspiel. Ute Lemper, RIAS Berlin Sinfonietta, John Mauceri (cond.), Decca 430 168-2, CD, 1990.
Die sieben Todsünden, Happy End. CBS Masterworks Portrait MPK 45 886, CD, 1990 (re-issue of Lenya’s earlier recordings).
Note: Liner notes entitled, “About this recording.”
Die sieben Todsünden. Philips ABL 3363, Lotte Lenya, Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (cond.), LP, date originally published? (full text)
Note: Not written for original release; only on re-issue.
Speak Low: The Great Music of Kurt Weill. Warner B1313, Maurice Levine (cond.), LP, 12 May 1959. (full text)
Note: Liner note entitled “The Music in the Album.”
Symphonies no. 1-2. EMI/HMV ASD 2390, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gary Bertini (cond.), LP, 1968. (full text)
Note: The original EMI issue printed a separate biographical note on weill written by Drew; the full text is here.
Testimonies of War/Kriegszeugnisse 1914-1945. Largo Records 5130, CD, March 1995.
Violin Concerto. Polydor 839 727-2, CD, August 1989 (re-issue of 1955 recording).
Note: Abridged version of 1977 program note for London Sinfonietta.
REVIEWS: BOOKS AND SCORES[ps2id id=’Reviews-Books’ target=”/]
“The flight from Behemoth.” Review of Brinkmann and Wolff (eds.), Driven into Paradise: The Musical Migration from Nazi Germany to the United States. In Times Literary Supplement, 7 July 2000, pp. 18-19. (full text)
“Kurt Weill in Europe and America.” Review of The days grow short (Ronald Sanders) and Kurt Weill in Europe (Kim H. Kowalke). In London Review of Books, v. 2, no. 18 (18 September – 1 October 1980), pp. 17-18.
Review of Untwisting the Serpent: Modernism in Music, Literature, and Other Arts by Daniel Albright. In Kurt Weill Newsletter 19.1 (Spring 2001), pp. 18-20. (full text)
“Two Weill Scores.” In The Musical Times, vol. 107, no. 1483 (September 1966), pp. 797-798. (full text)
Note: Review of Down in the Valley vocal score (Schirmer) and Violin Concerto piano score (Universal Edition).
REVIEWS: PERFORMANCES[ps2id id=’Reviews-Performances’ target=”/]
Review of Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Stuttgart, Staatstheater, Ruth Berghaus (dir.). In Kurt Weill Newsletter 10.2 (Fall 1992), pp. 20-21.
Note: Reprinted from The Times of London (see below).
“Building a Model Mahagonny.” Review of Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Stuttgart, Staatstheater, dir. Ruth Berghaus. In The Times of London, 22 March 1992, p. 10. (full text)
“Fault-ridden Mahagonny.” Performance review. Hamburg Staatsoper. In The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post, 18 September 1962. (full text)
Review of Der Lindberghflug, Mürzzuschlag, Mürzthaler Werkstatt, 24 October 1984. In Kurt Weill Newsletter 3.1 (Spring 1985), p. 16. (full text)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR[ps2id id=’Letters’ target=”/]
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
“Lost in the Stars: A Concert Sequence.” Letter to the Editor, Kurt Weill Newsletter 7.1 (Spring 1989), p. 7. (full text)
Note: Reply to Glen Becker’s review of Cry, the Beloved Country.
Letter to the Editor. In Kurt Weill Newsletter 5.2 (Fall 1987), pp. 3-4. (full text)
Note: Reply to Richard Taruskin’s review of A New Orpheus: Essays on Kurt Weill.
“Mahagonny.” Letter to the Editor, The Observer, 14 March 1965. (full text)
“Mahagonny.” Letter to the Editor, The Observer, 27 January 1963.
Note: Reply to Kenneth Tynan’s review of Sadler’s Wells production.
TYPESCRIPT LECTURES OR CONFERENCE PAPERS[ps2id id=’Lectures’ target=”/]
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
“Die Nachwelt: Kurt Weill 1950-2000.” Conference paper delivered at a symposium at the Kurt Weill Fest Dessau, 20 February 2000.
“Reinhardt’s Choice: Some Alternatives to Weill?” Conference paper given at “Kurt Weill–Leben und Werk-—unter Berücksichtigung des Bibelspiels ‘Der Weg der Verheißung,'” Chemnitz, 12 June 1999.
Note: Later published.
Paper on Der Zar lässt sich photographieren delivered at symposium on Der Protagonist and Der Zar lässt sich photographieren as part of Kurt Weill Week at the Santa Fe Opera, 31 July 1993.
“Die Bürgschaft und die Aktualität des Unzeitgemässen.” Conference paper delivered (in English?) at Internationales Kurt-Weill-Symposium, Duisburg, 24 March 1990.
Note: Later published in English in A Stranger Here Myself, ed. Edler and Kowalke, 1993 (q.v.).
“Kurt Weill and the German Theatre in Exile.” Paper delivered at “Konferenz zur Austellung ‘Theater im Exil 1933-1945,'” Berlin, Akademie der Künste, 10 November 1973.
Note: Original text in English. Subsequently transcribed with footnotes, in 1974. Translated into German by Lothar Schirmer, under the title “Weill, Borchardt und Kaiser–Notizen zu dem Problem Deutsche Dramatiker in Amerika.” Published 1979 as part of Theater im Exil 1933-1945, Ein Symposium der Akademie der Künste.
“Kurt Weill–Musica e Società 1918-1939, Una sequenza dei documenti, commentari e musica.”
Note: Conference paper given at Convegno Internazionale di Studi sull’Espressionismo, Firenze, chaired by H.H. Stuckenschmidt, 18-23 May 1964. Drew described the paper as follows: “A collage of brief spoken texts–some quoted, some original-–juxtaposed with sections from Weill’s music for Strindberg’s Gustav III recorded by Ian Kemp and student orchestra.”
“Kurt Weill and German Expressionism.” Conference paper given at Convegno Internazionale di Studi sull’Espressionismo, Firenze, 18-23 May 1964.
TALKS[ps2id id=’Talks’ target=”/]
(Listed in reverse chronological order.)
“Kurt Weill und die Nachwelt, 1950-2000.” Pre-concert talk at Frauen-Kammerorchester von Oesterreich, Wien, 28 June 2000.
“Der Silbersee.” Pre-concert talk, London, BBC Prom, 21 July 1996.
“Weill in Berlin.” Intermission talk for BBC broadcast of recorded concert from the Berliner Festwochen, 10 September 1975 (Der Neue Orpheus, Symphony No.2, Der Silbersee, Concert Suite arr. Drew), 16 January 1977.
“Weill: Recordare.” Talk broadcast on the BBC Third Programme(?), 11 December 1975 (recorded 17 November 1975).
“Kurt Weill für (oder gegen?) den Broadway.” Talk given during “Offenbach und Eisler” weekend, Frankfurter Funkhaus, 13-14 September 1975.
“Weill–Der Silbersee.” Introductory talk for broadcast of program from 1971 Holland Festival on BBC Radio Three, 13 January 1972.
“Weill–Royal Palace.” Introductory presentation for broadcast of program from 1971 Holland Festival on BBC Radio Three, 9 January 1972.
Introduction to broadcast. Symphonies no. 1 and 2. BBC Third Programme, Gary Bertini (cond.), 13 November 1967.
Note: First performance in the UK.
“Musical Theatre in the Weimar Republic.” Talk extracted from the proceedings of the Royal Musical Association 88th Session 1961/62, 16 May 1962. (full text)
“Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny.” BBC broadcast talk for “Music Magazine” with Julian Herbage, 1962.
Introduction to broadcast of Lenya recordings (from Berlin Theatre Songs), BBC Third Programme, 29 August 1960. (full text)
Note: Typescript annotated in an unknown hand.
Short introductory talk in German on Der Protagonist, Der Zar lässt sich photographieren, and Die sieben Todsünden. Frankfurt, Städtische Bühnen, late March 1960.
Note: Some small corrections in another hand on typescript.
OTHER[ps2id id=’Other’ target=”/]
[“Questions on Weill supplied for BBC Television Mastermind.”], 1988. (full text)
Note: Used in broadcast of quiz program; questions 11-16 missing from full text display.