Search - Kurt Weill, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Weisberg :: Weill: Kleine Dreigroschenmusik / Milhaud: La Création du Monde

Weill's entertaining suite from The Threepenny Opera is a real charmer. Scored for winds, brass, percussion, bandoneon, and banjo, it contains all of the best tunes, from the famous "Ballad of Mack the Knife," to the "Kanonen-Song." Milhaud's Création du Monde is an authentic distillation of the style of Harlem jazz--probably the best such piece ever attempted by a classical composer. It's a ballet that has since made a life for itself in the concert hall. At the original performance, the moment of creation was marked by the inflation of animal balloons, and the hiss of compressed air drowned out the music! Fortunately there's no such problem here. Great performances. --David Hurwitz