Search - Kurt Weill, Otto Klemperer, Hans Sommer :: Weill: From Berlin to Broadway

Some good, some bad, all Weill.

Matthew Murray | New York City, NY USA | 01/01/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Kurt Weill and Broadway fans will probably feel an intense need to have this album, and I'm not sure I'd be able to dissuade them. There's some good stuff on this recording, to be sure, but a great deal of it is in German, and much of it might not interest even someone with just a casual interest in the material chronicled. While there's a strong representation of The Threepenny Opera (all in German), the selections from Lady in the Dark featuring Gertrude Lawrence and Danny Kaye are vital, as are the tracks of Mary Martin and Kenny Baker performing selected numbers from One Touch of Venus. (You can also hear Walter Huston performing a song from Knickerbocker Holiday, though it is, for some strange reason, "The Scars." It's an interesting historical record, but not a great song.) Lotte Lenya also sings some as well, which is a treat, but overall, this is a highly variable recording. Make sure you know exactly what you're getting beforehand, or you may be likely to find yourself--as I do--listening to only half the album."

Brecht sings!

S. Futty | 02/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Come on! A chance to hear Bertolt Brecht sing his own Mack the Knife before Bobby Darrin messed it up! How many CDs are going to have that?!"