Radio Station: WXXI, Rochester, NY
Series title: “Fascinatin’ Rhythm”
Dates: 9, 16, 23 March 2013
Host: Michael Lasser
Event page

The popular public radio series, “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” hosted by Michael Lasser (photo at right), will devote a sequence of three programs to Kurt Weill’s career in the U.S. during March. The program originates on WXXI in Rochester, NY and is widely available over the radio or online as a live stream. Lasser will present a variety of Weill’s American songs, from the famous to the obscure, in performances from Weill’s day and more recently. Listeners will also hear brief recorded reminiscences from Weill’s collaborators Ira Gershwin, Langston Hughes, and Ogden Nash, along with expert commentary from Kim H. Kowalke, president of the Kurt Weill Foundation. The three programs can be heard all over the world, but they have local significance as well, serving as a harbinger of several Weill events in the Rochester area in April: the finals of the 15th-anniversary Lotte Lenya Competition at the Eastman School of Music (13 April), and performances of Street Scene at Eastman (4-7 April) and The Threepenny Opera at Nazareth College (12-14, 19-21 April). On 7 April, Lasser will host a special performance of Weill songs at the Harley School.

Features

Press release about “Kurt Weill, American” series

“Fascinatin’ Rhythm” home page

Michael Lasser’s home page