Weill, Kurt (Julian)

(born March 2, 1900, Dessau, Ger.—died April 3, 1950, New York, N.Y., U.S.) German-born U.S. composer. Son of a cantor, by age 15 he was working as a theatre accompanist. He studied composition briefly with Engelbert Humperdinck, and a conductor's post gave him wide experience. For a master class with Ferruccio Busoni (1920), he wrote his first symphony. He gained attention with his one-act opera (1925); its sparse and spiky style prefigured that of his greatest works. In 1927 he teamed with Bertolt Brecht to write (1928) in a new “cabaret” style; the musical had enormous success in Berlin and elsewhere. In 1930 the two produced . When the Nazis took power in 1933, he fled to Paris with his wife, Lotte Lenya, where he wrote (1933). In 1935 the couple immigrated to the U.S.; there he collaborated on musicals such as (1938) and (1949). Two of his songs, the “Morität” (“Mack the Knife”) from and “September Song” from , have remained especially popular.

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