Weill, Kurt (Julian) 1900-1950. German
composer, US citizen from 1943. He wrote
chamber and orchestral music and collaborated
with Brecht on operas such as Die
Dreigroschenoper/The Threepenny Opera 1928
and Aufsteig und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny/The
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny 1930,
all attacking social corruption (Mahagonny
caused a riot at its premiere in Leipzig). He
tried to evolve a new form of music theatre,
using subjects with a contemporary relevance
and the simplest musical means. In 1935 he
left Germany for the USA where he wrote a
number of successful scores for Broadway,
among them the antiwar musical Johnny Johnson
1936 (including the often covered `September
Song') and Street Scene 1947 based on an
Elmer Rice play of the Depression.