Weill had brainstormed for years on ways to use his talents towards the American war effort. In 1941, he wrote, “Like everybody else, I have the ardent desire to serve the country in some capacity. I would take any job. But it seems to me I could really be of some help if I would be allowed […]
Read MoreFive years after his production of The Cradle Will Rock was abruptly cancelled by the Works Progress Administration, Marc Blitzstein composed the score for the 1942 anti-fascist, anti-KKK documentary film Native Land, featuring today’s selection, “American Day.” Paul Robeson, frustrated with the type-casting of black performers in Hollywood, sang in and narrated this, his final […]
Read MoreOn a recent foray into the jazz realm here in Pittsburgh, I was introduced to “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” by Cole Porter. It struck me as a charming little number at first hearing, but Porter’s veneer is thin; he is, after all, the master of warping the seemingly innocuous. As I began to […]
Read MoreThis week, as I continue my preparations of the Weill and Blitzstein double-bill for NYFOS next month, I see the many parallels between the time in which these works were composed and our current era (and the reasons for which they were written). I would therefore like this week’s NYFOS Song of the Day to […]
Read MoreMarc Blitzstein’s No For An Answer will be featured on the Nov. 19 NYFOS concert at Merkin Hall. Steve Blier and I had our very first collaboration at Tully Hall in a Blitzstein celebration about 35 years ago. It cemented my friendship with Steve, and helped us see a lot of things about songs concerts […]
Read MoreThis week I’ve been sharing music of Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein in anticipation of our November 19 performance of No For An Answer (Blitzstein) and Silverlake (Weill). Perhaps the most important playwright for both of these composers was Bertolt Brecht. Brecht and Weill had a tumultuous relationship that yielded several successful shows and much […]
Read MoreOn Nov. 19, NYFOS will be presenting a concert version of Kurt Weill’s Der Silbersee (Silverlake) at Merkin Hall in NYC. Weill is an adopted New Yorker, having emigrated in 1935. His music had been banned by the Nazis. His early theater works, The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of Mahagony were considered […]
Read MoreWe are gearing up for a concert performance of Marc Blitzstein’s No For An Answer on Nov. 19 at Merkin Concert Hall. No For An Answer came together in 1941 and had a very short run over a few weekends at what is now City Center. No For An Answer was Blitzstein’s follow-up to his […]
Read MoreJust a month ago at the Moab Music Festival we opened the season with a program about war. The original inspiration came from John Brancy and Peter Dugan who toured extensively with a beautiful program celebrating the centenary of the end of WW 1 (the armistice). I borrowed a few of their ideas and included […]
Read MoreIf you weren’t lucky enough to catch Shoshana Bean at Encores! last year, remedy it NOW. You’ll be so glad you did. This woman is a powerhouse and ‘Just One Step’ from Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World is the perfect vehicle for her unbounded, fearless artistry. I have pressed REPEAT on this one many, […]
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