Kurt Weill: Works
Mack the Knife, originally Die Moritat von Mackie Messer (Ballad of Mack the Knife), is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht (German poet, playwright, theater director; 1898 - 1956) for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928. Although the song became popular throughout Europe, it wasn't until 1952, in Marc Blitzstein's English version, that both The Threepenny Opera and Mack the Knife became famous in the United States. Mack the Knife has been recorded by numerous artists including Lotte Lenya, Louis Armstrong, Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. On BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, pop mogul Simon Cowell named Mack the Knife the best song ever written.
September Song is an American pop standard song composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, and introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical production Knickerbocker Holiday. After being used in the 1950 movie September Affair, the song has been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists, including Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Jimmy Durante. It was also used during screen credits in the British television series May to December, the name of which quotes the opening line of the song.
Kurt Weill (1900 - 1950), was a leading composer for the stage. With Bertolt Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work The Threepenny Opera. Born in Germany, he became a United States citizen in 1943. In Weill's lifetime, his work was most associated with the voice of his wife, Lotte Lenya, but shortly after his death, Mack the Knife was established by Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin as a jazz standard. His compositions have been recorded by numerous artists.
Tutorials
Mack the Knife
Reader's Digest Family Songbook
September Song
