1918

• 22 April

  Arrives in Berlin to begin studies at the Hochschule für Musik (Conservatory)

• Early May

  First composition lesson with Engelbert Humperdinck

  Soon he begins work with Humperdinck on an existing composition, the String Quartet in B Minor. Weill attends non-musical classes as well, including lectures by Ernst Cassirer and Max Dessoir.

• 24 July

  Returns to Dessau for summer break; also visits his brother Hans in Halberstadt

• September

  Completes String Quartet in B Minor

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    The earlier of two surviving copies in Weill's hand of the String Quartet in B Minor

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    Letter from Kurt to his brother Hans, 9 May 1918: "Gestern kam er [Humperdinck] dann in die Hochschule, gab mir neue Aufgaben u. sagte mir, ich solle ihm in der nächsten Stunde eine Skizze meines Streichquartetts zeigen; ich habe es gleich herausgekramt u. arbeite nun daran." (Yesterday he [Humperdinck] came to the Hochschule, gave me new homework, and told me that in the next lesson I should show him the sketch of my string quartet. I immediately dug it up and now I'm working on it.)

• November

  Witnesses street battles and political ferment in Berlin as Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and Germany moves toward a republic

1919

• February

  Develops close friendship with fellow pupil Walter Kämpfer, which persists through the 1920s

  Later, Kämpfer becomes a well-known music critic

• 27 March

  Writes to Hans that he has formulated an initial conception of a symphonic poem based on Rilke’s “Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke” (manuscript lost)

• July

  Withdraws from the Conservatory and considers studying with Hermann Wetzler, Hans Pfitzner, or Arnold Schoenberg

• 4 September

  Accompanies soprano Elisabeth Feuge in a vocal recital in Dessau that includes two of his own songs

• December

  Conductor at the Stadttheater Lüdenscheid

  Accepts assistant conductor position at the Stadttheater Lüdenscheid; he is soon promoted to head conductor. Weill stays in Lüdenscheid only six months, yet years later he would tell an interviewer that he learned everything he knew about theater there.

  • 

    Weill (front row, left) with singers in costume from the Stadttheater Lüdenscheid

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    Program from a performance conducted by Weill in Lüdenscheid

1920

• 10 January

  Opening night of the first operetta for which Weill has been entirely in charge of rehearsals and preparation, Die tolle Komteß by Walter Kollo

• 2 April

  Writes to his sister that he plans to return to the Conservatory in Berlin in the fall, because Franz Schreker has been named director there

• Summer

  Completes Sonata for Cello and Piano

  Private performance in Dessau with the dedicatee, cellist Fritz Rupprecht, in mid-August (Weill at the piano). First known public performance at the Berliner Festwochen in 1975: Siegfried Palm (cello) and Aloys Kontarsky (piano).

• Late November

  First interview with composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni, newly appointed to lead a master class in composition at the Prussian Academy of Arts

  Soon afterwards, Busoni accepts Weill for the master class.

1921

• 6 March

  Delivers lecture in Halberstadt: “Beethoven: His Life and Work”

  The engagement is probably arranged by his brother Hans.

• Spring

  Composes Symphonie in einem Satz (symphony in one movement), inspired by Johannes R. Becher’s play Workers, Peasants, Soldiers: A People’s Awakening to God

  The previous year, Weill hoped to receive a commission to write incidental music for the play, but apparently the project went no further.

• July

  First meeting of Busoni’s master class

  • 

    Ferruccio Busoni surrounded by his "disciples" from the master class: Kurt Weill, Walther Geiser, Luc Balmer, and Wladimir Vogel

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    Weill made a four-hand piano arrangement of his Symphonie in einem Satz for a performance in Busoni's class; pictured is the first page of the second part

• October

  Busoni gives his students the assignment of setting Goethe’s poem “Die Bekehrte”; Weill is miffed when Busoni selects Wladimir Vogel’s setting as the best

1922

• Spring

  Joins the Novembergruppe, a progressive association of artists and musicians that includes many leading figures

• Autumn

  Accepts a young music theory pupil named Maurice Abravanel — they go on to become close friends; starting the late 1920s, Weill frequently asks Abravanel to conduct his compositions

• 18 November

  Premiere of children’s pantomime Zaubernacht

  Berlin, Theater am Kurfürstendamm: scenario by Wladimir Boritsch; directed by Franz-Ludwig Hörth; conducted by George Weller. The first performance of a stage work by Weill is greeted with good reviews. Lenya auditions and is called back but does not take the role.

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    Invitation to the premiere of Zaubernacht

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    First page of Weill's piano score of Zaubernacht

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    Handwritten note from Weill to Ludwig Brav: "Bitte sehen Sie sich diese mit Zangen geborene Aufführung meiner Kinderpantomime an. Ich hoffe, wir sehen uns bald. Ich wohne: W 15. Paderbornerstr. 2. b. Wolff. Herzlich Ihr Weill. (Please come see my children's pantomime, which has had a difficult birth. I hope we will see each other soon. My address: W 15, 2 Paderbornerstr. c/o Wolff. Sincerely yours, Weill.)

1923

• 12 March

  Premiere of orchestral work Fantasia, Passacaglia und Hymnus

  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Alexander Selo.

• 10 April

  Premiere of Divertimento for small orchestra and men's chorus

  Members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Heinz Unger.

• 14 June

  Premiere of Quodlibet, an orchestral suite from Zaubernacht

  Dessau, Friedrichs-Theater: conducted by Albert Bing.

• 24 June

  Premiere of String Quartet No. 1, op. 8 by the Amar Quartet in Frankfurt; Weill’s first exposure to an international audience at a major festival

• December

  Completes master class but remains close to Busoni

1924

• January

  Meets well-known playwright Georg Kaiser; the two soon begin work on a ballet-pantomime

• 25 January

  Premiere of Frauentanz, a song cycle for soprano and ensemble

  Berlin, Singakademie: Fritz Stiedry, conductor; Nora Pisling-Boas, soprano.

• Mid-February

  Leaves on an extended trip to Switzerland and Italy, returning to Germany by way of Vienna

  He spends time in Davos with his cousin Nelly Frank before traveling alone to Italy.

• 22 April

  Signs contract with music publishing house Universal Edition in Vienna, which is known especially for representing contemporary composers

  Busoni has recommended Weill to the head of Universal Edition, Emil Hertzka, praising the String Quartet no. 1, op. 8: “I hardly know a piece by a 23-year-old of the present day that is so attractive and worthwhile—it is thoroughly ‘modern’ without any ugly feature."

• Summer

  Meets Lotte Lenya

  Meets Lotte Lenya at Georg Kaiser’s house, where she is working as an au pair. The Kaiser family and Lenya help Weill deal with Busoni’s death on 27 July.

  • 

    Lotte Lenya as au pair with the Kaiser's three children: Anselm, Sybille, and Laurent

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    Playwright Georg Kaiser

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    Pallbearers carry Busoni's casket out of his apartment building in Berlin

• August

  Stops working with Kaiser on the ballet-pantomime; they switch to an opera based on Kaiser’s play Der Protagonist

• 30 November

  Publishes first review in the new journal Der deutsche Rundfunk (German Radio)

  Weill writes for the journal for the next five years or so, usually publishing an article or review once a week.

1925

• 22 January

  Premiere of Stundenbuch, settings of Rilke’s poems for baritone and orchestra

  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Heinz Unger; Manfred Lewandowsky, baritone.

• May

  Moves into Kaiser’s Berlin apartment with Lenya

• 11 June

  Premiere of Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra

  Paris, Théâtre de l'Exposition des Arts Décoratifs: Orchestre Straram conducted by Walter Straram; Marcel Darrieux, violin. Weill offers to dedicate the concerto to renowned violinist Josef Szigeti, but apparently he never performs it.

• 29 October

  Attends performance of the Violin Concerto in Dessau, Weill’s hometown

  Weill is angry about the inept performance and sneers at the Philistines in the audience.

• 27 December

  First performance of Weill’s music in the U.S., Zaubernacht at the Garrick Theatre in New York, choreographed by Michio Ito

1926

• 28 January

  Marries Lenya in a civil ceremony in Berlin

  Later, Lenya recalls that they decided to get married to quell local gossip.

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    Wedding photo

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    Marriage certificate

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    Interior of Weill and Lenya's first Berlin apartment