By Date

Compositions are entered in the chronology under the date of the premiere performance. Works which did not receive a contemporary performance are entered under the date of completion. All entries for compositions conform to the following format: Title (author of the text). Type of composition [if necessary]. Date of composition [if different from year of performance].

Premiere performance: theater, city [omitted if obvious from entry]; principal performers. Annotation.

1913

Mi Addir. Jewish wedding song.

Es blühen zwei flammende Rosen. Song fragment.

1914

Ich weiss wofür (Guido von Güllhausen).

"Reiterlied" (Hermann Löns). First modern performance: Akademie der Künste, West Berlin; Barry McDaniel, baritone, 9 September 1975.

1915

Gebet (Emanuel Geibel). Composed for sister Ruth's confirmation.

1916

Sehnsucht (Joseph, Freiherr von Eichendorff).

Ofrah's Lieder (Jehuda Halevi). A cycle of five songs. First known performance: Merkin Hall, New York; Beverly Hoch, soprano, John van Buskirk, piano, 20 September 1987.

Zriny. Opera after the play by Karl Theodor Körner. Lost.

Im Volkston (Arno Holz). First modern performance: Akademie der Künste, Berlin; Barry McDaniel, baritone, 9 September 1975.

1917

Volkslied (Anna Ritter).

Das schöne Kind (author unknown). Possible first performance: Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.; Joy Bogen, soprano, Lys Symonette, piano, 17 November 1980.

Intermezzo. For piano solo.

1918

"Maikaterlied" and "Abendlied" (Otto Julius Bierbaum). Saal des Evangelischen Vereinshauses, Dessau; Clara Ossent and Gertrud Prinzler, 6 Feburary 1918.

Andante aus der As-Dur-Sonate von C.M. von Weber. Orchestrated by Weill, Dessau, March 1918.

String Quartet in B Minor. First known performance: Akademie der Künste, West Berlin; Melos-Quartett, 9 September 1975.

1919

Orchestra Suite in E major. First modern performance: Marienkirche, Dessau; Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen; Victor Symonette, conductor, 12 March 1995.

Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke. Symphonic poem. Manuscript lost.

Weberlied (Gerhart Hauptmann). [Composed in autumn, 1920, according to David Drew.]

Schilflieder (Nikolaus Lenau). [May have been composed earlier.]

Ninon von Lenclos. Opera after the play by Ernst Hardt. Composed in Lüdenscheid. Manuscript lost, probably unfinished.

Die stille Stadt (Richard Dehmel). Friedrich-Theater (Konzertsaal), Dessau; Elisabeth Feuge, soprano, Kurt Weill, piano, 4 September 1919.

1920

Sulamith. Chorfantasie for soprano, chorus, and orchestra. Incomplete draft survives.

1921

Sonata for Cello and Piano. Probably composed Spring 1919-Summer 1920. Possible premiere: Hannover; Martin Missner, cello, Albert Bing, piano, February 1921. First known performance: Akademie der Künste, West Berlin; Siegfried Palm, cello, Aloys Kontarsky, piano, 9 September 1975.

Langsamer Fox und "Algi-Song." Two pieces, the first for piano solo, the second a parodic cabaret number. Possibly performed by Weill himself in the Bierkeller where he played piano.

Symphony no. 1. Four-hand piano version performed in Busoni's master class, autumn 1921. First known orchestral performance: Nordwestdeutsche Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Hamburg; Wilhelm Schüchter, conductor, 1956.

[Polka], for piano. Unfinished.

Die Bekehrte (Goethe). First known performance: Yale University, New Haven; 2 November 1983.

Rilkelieder (Rainer Maria Rilke). Probably composed in November. Manuscript lost. First modern performance (one song): Akademie der Künste, West Berlin; Barry MacDaniel, baritone, 9 September 1975.

1922

Psalm VIII. For a cappella chorus. First known performance: BBC Chorus, Peter Gellhorn, director, January 1972. Incomplete or partly missing.

Divertimento für Flöte und Orchester, Op. 52, von Ferruccio Busoni. Arrangement for flute and piano. Published 1923 by Breitkopf und Hartel.

Zaubernacht. Children's pantomime with scenario by Wladimir Boritsch. Theater am Kurfürstendamm, Berlin; Franz Ludwig Hörth, director, 18 November 1922.

Divertimento. For small orchestra with men's chorus. Last movement: Sing-Akademie, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Heinz Unger, conductor, 7 December 1922. Entire work: Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Heinz Unger, conductor, 10 April 1923.

1923

Fantasia, Passacaglia und Hymnus für Orchester, op. 6 [Sometimes known as Sinfonia sacra]. Composed 1922. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexander Selo, conductor, 12 March 1923.

Quodlibet, op. 9. Suite for orchestra from the pantomime Zaubernacht. Friedrich-Theater, Dessau; Albert Bing, conductor, 14 June 1923.

String Quartet no. 1, op. 8. Frankfurt, Kammermusikwoche; Hindemith-Amar Quartet, 24 June 1923. The quartet became part of the repertory of the Roth Quartet, which performed it twice in Paris in 1924.

Recordare, op. 11 (Lamentations V). In 1925, Weill asked Universal Edition to suggest a performance of Recordare at the Donaueschingen Musikfest. First known performance: Holland Festival, Pieterskerk, Utrecht; NCRV Vocaal Ensemble, Marinus Voorberg, conductor, 2 July 1971.

1924

Frauentanz: sieben Gedichte des Mittelalters, op. 10. Composed 1923. Akademie der Künste, Berlin; Nora Pisling- Boas, soprano, Fritz Stiedry, conductor, January or February 1924.

[Pantomime]. Scenario by Georg Kaiser. Unfinished.

1925

Das Stundenbuch (Rainer Maria Rilke). Cycle of six songs for baritone and orchestra. Composed 1923-25. Berlin Philharmonic Hall; Manfred Lewandowsky, baritone, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Heinz Unger, conductor, 22 January 1925. Manuscript partly lost.

Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra, op. 12. Composed 1924. Théâtre de l'Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, Paris; Marcel Darrieux, violin, Orchestre des Concerts Straram, Walter Straram, conductor, 11 June 1925.

Klops-Lied (Jean de Bourgois [pseudonym]). Privately performed in Berlin, 14 December 1927. First known public performance: Akademie der Künste, West Berlin; Philip Langridge, tenor, 12 September 1975.

1926

Der Protagonist (Georg Kaiser). Composed 1924-25. Dresden Staatsoper, Fritz Busch, conductor, 27 March 1926.

Herzog Theodor von Gothland. Incidental music for a play by Christian Dietrich Grabbe. Berliner Rundfunk, Bruno Seidler-Winkler, conductor, 1 September 1926. Largely lost.

1927

Der neue Orpheus and Royal Palace (Ivan Goll). Both works composed 1925-26. Staatsoper unter den Linden, Berlin; Delia Reinhardt, soprano, Rudolf Deman, violinist, Erich Kleiber, conductor, 2 March 1927.

Na und? (Felix Joachimson). Two-act comic opera, unperformed. Universal Edition rejected the composition; only sketches survive.

Mahagonny (Songspiel) (Bertolt Brecht). Deutsches Kammermusikfest, Baden-Baden; Ernst Mehlich, conductor, Walter Brügmann, director, 17 July 1927.

Gustav III. Incidental music for a play by August Strindberg. Theater in der Königgratzerstrasse, Berlin; Walter Goehr, conductor, Victor Barnowsky, director, 29 October 1927.

Vom Tod im Wald (Bertolt Brecht). Heinrich Hermanns, bass, Berlin Philharmonic, Eugen Lang, conductor, 23 November 1927.

1928

Der Zar lässt sich photographieren (Georg Kaiser). Composed 1927. Neues Theater, Leipzig; Gustav Brecher, conductor, Walter Brügmann, director, 18 February 1928.

Leben Eduards des Zweiten von England. Incidental music for a play by Bertolt Brecht and Lion Feuchtwanger. Altes Theater, Leipzig; Alwin Kronacher, director, 10 March 1928. Fragment survives.

Konjunktur. Incidental music for a play by Leo Lania, with song texts by Felix Gasbarra. Lessing Theater, Berlin; Edmund Meisel, conductor, Erwin Piscator, director, 8 April 1928. Partly missing.

Katalaunische Schlacht. Incidental music for the play by Arnolt Bronnen. Staatliches Schauspielhaus, Berlin; 25 April 1928. Manuscript missing.

Die Dreigroschenoper (Bertolt Brecht). Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, Berlin; Theo Mackeben, conductor, Erich Engel, director, 31 August 1928.

Berlin im Licht (Kurt Weill). Military band version: Wittenberg-Platz, Berlin; Hermann Scherchen, conductor, 13 October 1928. Song version: 16 October 1928, Staatsoper am Platz der Republik (Kroll-Oper), Berlin; Paul Graetz, vocalist.

Petroleuminseln. Songs and possibly incidental music for a play by Lion Feuchtwanger. Berlin Staatstheater; Jürgen Fehling, director, 28 November 1928. Partly missing.

1929

Kleine Dreigroschenmusik. Composed 1928. Staatsoper am Platz der Republik (Kroll-Oper), Berlin; Preussische Staatskapelle, Otto Klemperer, conductor, 7 February 1929.

Das Berliner Requiem (Bertolt Brecht). Composed 1928. Frankfurt Radio; Ludwig Rottenberg, conductor, 22 May 1929.

Der Lindberghflug (original version, composed half by Weill and half by Paul Hindemith, text by Bertolt Brecht). Kurhaus, Baden-Baden; Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Hermann Scherchen, conductor, 27 July 1929.

Happy End (lyrics by Bertolt Brecht; play by Elisabeth Hauptmann and Brecht). Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, Berlin; Theo Mackeben, conductor, Erich Engel, director, 2 September 1929.

Die Legende vom toten Soldaten and "Zu Potsdam unter den Eichen" (Bertolt Brecht). Berliner Schubertchor, Karl Rankl, conductor, November 1929.

Der Lindberghflug (second version with music entirely by Weill; text by Bertolt Brecht). Staatsoper am Platz der Republik (Kroll-Oper), Berlin; Otto Klemperer, conductor, 5 December 1929.

1930

Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Bertolt Brecht). Composed 1927-1931. Neues Theater, Leipzig; Gustav Brecher, conductor, Walter Brügmann, director, 9 March 1930.

Universal Edition published Sieben Stücke nach der Dreigroschenoper arranged for violin and piano by Stefan Frenkel, April 1930.

Der Jasager (Bertolt Brecht). Live broadcast on Berliner Rundfunk, 23 June 1930. Stage premiere: Zentralinstitut für Erziehung und Unterricht, Berlin, Kurt Drabek, conductor, 24 June 1930.

1931

Mann ist Mann by Bertolt Brecht. Incidental music for 1931 production. Berlin Staatstheater, 6 February 1931.

Premiere of Die Dreigroschenoper film directed by G.W. Pabst, 19 February 1931.

1932

Die Bürgschaft (Caspar Neher). Composed 1930-1931. Stadtische Oper, Berlin; Fritz Stiedry, conductor, Carl Ebert, director, 10 March 1932.

1933

Der Silbersee (Georg Kaiser). Composed 1932-1933. Three concurrent productions in Leipzig, Erfurt, and Magdeburg, 18 February 1933.

Die sieben Todsünden (Bertolt Brecht). Théâtre des Champs- Elysées, Paris; Maurice Abravanel, conductor, George Balanchine, choreographer, 7 June 1933. London premiere: Savoy Theatre, 30 June 1933.

Es regnet (Jean Cocteau?). First known performance: recording on Nonesuch label, Teresa Stratas, February 1981.

Der Abschiedsbrief (Erich Kastner). First known performance: recording on Nonesuch label, Teresa Stratas, February 1981.

La grand complainte de Fantômas (Robert Desnos). Radio Paris, Alejo Carpentier, conductor, 3 November 1933. Largely missing.

1934

Complainte de la Seine and Je ne t'aime pas (Maurice Magre). Performed frequently and recorded by Lys Gauty.

Symphony no. 2. Composed 1933-34. Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam; Bruno Walter, conductor, 11 October 1934.

Der Kuhhandel (Robert Vambery). Completed December 1934. First concert performance: Tonhalle Düsseldorf; Jan- Latham-König, conductor, Kay Lorentz, director, 22 March 1990. First staged performance: Deutsch-Sorbisches Volkstheater, Bautzen; Dieter Kempe, conductor, Wolfgang Poch, director, 18 June 1994. Original German version adapted in January-May 1935 for a production in England under the title A Kingdom for a Cow (see 1935).

Marie galante (Jacques Deval). Théâtre de Paris; Edmond Mahieux, conductor, H. Henriot, director, 22 December 1934.

1935

Youkali (Roger Fernay). First performance unknown. Published by Heugel in 1946.

A Kingdom for a Cow (English lyrics by Desmond Carter; English book adapted from Vambery by Reginald Arkell). Savoy Theatre, London; Muir Matheson, conductor, Ernst Matray and Felix Weissberger, directors, 28 June 1935.

Der Weg der Verheissung (Franz Werfel). Composed August 1934-December 1935 in Louveciennes, London, and Salzburg. The work was not performed in the original German version, but revised October 1935-December 1936 for an American production under the title The Eternal Road (see 1937).

1936

High Wind in Jamaica. Two songs, without texts.

The Fräulein and the Little Son of the Rich (Robert Graham).

Johnny Johnson (Paul Green). 44th St. Theatre, New York; Lehman Engel, conductor, Lee Strasberg, director, 19 November 1936. 68 performances.

1937

The Eternal Road (Franz Werfel; English translation by Ludwig Lewisohn with additional lyrics by Charles Alan). Manhattan Opera House, New York; Isaac van Grove and Leo Kopp, conductors, Max Reinhardt, director, Norman Bel Geddes, designer, 7 January 1937. 153 performances.

The River is Blue. Film score. The film's title was first changed to Castles in Spain and then to Blockade. Released in 1938. Weill's score was not used.

Tu me démolis and Pauv' Madam' Peachum! (Yvette Guilbert). Two songs for L'Opéra de quat' sous, the first of which is lost. Théâtre des Etoiles, Paris, 29 September 1937.

Albumblatt für Erika. Unpublished and unperformed piano transcription of a section from The Eternal Road for Erika Neher.

The Common Glory (Paul Green). Unfinished.

1938

Two Folksongs of the New Palestine: "Havu l'venim" and "Baa M'nucha" (traditional texts). Arranged for voice and piano. First performance unknown; published by Nigun Press in 1938.

Davy Crockett (H.R. Hays and Kurt Weill). Unfinished.

[The Opera from Mannheim] (E.Y. Harburg). Unfinished and lost.

You and Me (lyrics by Sam Coslow and Johnny Burke). Film score. Composed 1937-1938. Directed by Fritz Lang; screenplay by Virginia van Upp. First screened in New York on 1 June 1938.

Knickerbocker Holiday (Maxwell Anderson). Barrymore Theatre, New York; Maurice Abravanel, conductor, Joshua Logan, director, 19 October 1938. 168 performances.

1939

[Songs of Discovery] (author unknown). Two songs. Incomplete, partly missing.

Railroads on Parade (Edward Hungerford). Pageant. New York World's Fair; Isaac van Grove, conductor, Charles Alan, director, 30 April 1939. Revised and performed again at the 1940 World's Fair.

Ulysses Africanus (Maxwell Anderson). Unfinished; some songs later adapted and incorporated into Lost in the Stars.

Madam, Will You Walk? Incidental music for a play by Sidney Howard. Baltimore; with prerecorded music conducted by Maurice Abravanel, Margaret Webster, director, 13 November 1939.

Nannas Lied (Bertolt Brecht). Composed in New York. First known performance: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Teresa Stratas, soprano, Richard Woitach, piano, 4 January 1980.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (Robert Frost). Composed in New York. Manuscript missing.

1940

Two on an Island. Incidental music for a play by Elmer Rice. Composed 1939. Broadhurst Theatre, New York; Elmer Rice, director, 20 January 1940. No music survives.

Ballad of Magna Carta (Maxwell Anderson). Radio cantata. Columbia Broadcasting System, New York; Mark Warnow, conductor, 4 February 1940.

1941

Lady in the Dark (lyrics by Ira Gershwin, book by Moss Hart). Composed 1940. Alvin Theatre, New York; Maurice Abravanel, conductor, Moss Hart, director, 23 January 1941. 467 performances.

Fun to be Free (Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur). Pageant. Madison Square Garden, New York; Simon Rady, conductor, Brett Warren, director, 5 October 1941.

1942

Walt Whitman Songs: Oh Captain! My Captain!, Beat! Beat! Drums!, Dirge for Two Veterans. A fourth song, Come Up from the Fields, Father was composed in 1947. (First performance unknown: Beat! Beat! Drums! probably first performed by Helen Hayes on RCA Victor recording listed below; all three, plus the last setting, were recorded in 1947 by William Horne in a limited edition; performed publicly at the 92nd St. Y, New York with Randolph Symonette, baritone, 2 March 1952.)

Your Navy (Maxwell Anderson). Radio program. Incidental music. National Broadcasting Corporation, New York; Don Vorhees, conductor, Norman Corwin, director, 28 February 1942.

"Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory." Battle Hymn of the Republic, The Star Spangled Banner, America, Beat! Beat! Drums! Recording on RCA Victor label, Helen Hayes, narrator, Roy Shields, conductor, Victor M 909, 31 March 1942.

Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib? (Bertolt Brecht). Hunter College, New York; Lotte Lenya, vocalist, Kurt Weill, piano, 3 April 1943.

Propaganda Songs (Songs for the War Effort). Composed in New York. Schickelgruber (Howard Dietz) One Morning in Spring (St. Clair McKelway) The Good Earth (Oscar Hammerstein) Song of the Inventory (Lewis Allan) We Don't Feel Like Surrendering Today (Maxwell Anderson) Oh Uncle Samuel! (Maxwell Anderson, melody by Henry C. Work) Toughen Up, Buckle Down, Carry On (Dorothy Fields) Song of the Free (Archibald MacLeish). Roxy Theatre, New York; Bob Hannon, vocalist, 4 June 1942. First performances of other songs unknown.

Russian War Relief (J.P. McEvoy). Clarkstown Country Club, Nyack, New York; Lotte Lenya, vocalist, Kurt Weill, piano, August 1942.

1943

We Will Never Die (Ben Hecht). Pageant. Madison Square Garden, New York; Isaac van Grove, conductor, Moss Hart, director, 9 March 1943. The production traveled to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and Hollywood; it was also widely broadcast.

Brecht visited Weill at Brook House where the two began work on an operatic version of The Good Soldier Schweik and The Good Woman of Setzuan, which was to be half-opera. Neither was ever completed.

One Touch of Venus (lyrics by Ogden Nash, book by S.J. Perelman and Ogden Nash). Imperial Theatre, New York; Maurice Abravanel, conductor, Elia Kazan, director, 7 October 1943. 567 performances.

1944

Wie lange noch? (Walter Mehring). Recorded with Lenya for the Office of War Information; intended for broadcast in Germany behind enemy lines.

Salute to France. Film score. The film, starring Burgess Meredith and produced by the U.S. Office of War Information, was released in both English and French versions.

1945

Where Do We Go From Here? (lyrics by Ira Gershwin). Film score. Composed in 1944. Directed by Gregory Ratoff; screenplay by Morris Ryskind. Released in 1945 by 20th Century Fox.

The Firebrand of Florence (lyrics by Ira Gershwin, book by Edwin Justus Mayer). Composed in 1944. Alvin Theatre, New York; Maurice Abravanel, conductor, John Murray Anderson, director, 22 March 1945. 43 performances.

Down in the Valley (Arnold Sundgaard). Radio opera. Never broadcast or published; revised April 1948 (see below).

1946

Kiddush. For cantor, chorus and organ. Park Avenue Synagogue, New York; Cantor David Putterman, tenor, 10 May 1946.

A Flag is Born (Ben Hecht). Incidental music. Alvin Theatre, New York; Isaac van Grove, conductor, Luther Adler, director, 5 September 1946. Sponsored by the American League for a Free Palestine.

1947

Street Scene (book by Elmer Rice, lyrics by Rice and Langston Hughes). Composed in 1946. Adelphi Theatre, New York; Maurice Abravanel, conductor, Charles Friedman, director, 9 January 1947. 148 performances.

Hatikvah. Orchestration. Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York; Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky, conductor, 25 November 1947. Israeli national anthem.

1948

Down in the Valley (Arnold Sundgaard). Stage version. Indiana University, Bloomington; Ernst Hoffmannn, conductor, Hans Busch, director, 15 July 1948.

Love Life (Alan Jay Lerner). Composed 1947-1948. 46th Street Theatre, New York; Joseph Littau, conductor, Elia Kazan, director, 7 October 1948. 252 performances.

1949

Lost in the Stars (Maxwell Anderson). Music Box Theatre, New York; Maurice Levine, conductor, Rouben Mamoulian, director, 30 October 1949. 281 performances.

1950

Finished: Five songs for Huckleberry Finn, based on Maxwell Anderson's Raft on the River, an adaptation of the Mark Twain novel. First performance: 92nd St. Y, New York; Maurice Levine, conductor (orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett), 2 March 1952.

Chronology of Works