Kurt Weill: Lady in the Dark Concert Suite (1940, arr. R. R. Bennett)

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by / Orquesta Sinfónica de Bournemouth dirigida por Marin Alsop.
1. My Ship (0:00)
2. Girl of the Moment (2:39)
3. Bolero “This is New” (4:37)
4. Allegro alla marcia (8:23)
5. Dance of the Tumblers (9:32)
6. The saga of Jenny (11:19)
Nicknamed the “Verdi of the Pauper”, Kurt Weill (1900-19500) led a successful career as a composer who constantly broke barriers between art and vernacular music thanks to his continuous collaborations with German and American artists and impresarios during his rather short life. Weill wrote music for nearly 30 plays, operas and musicals which are constantly revived by companies ranging from professional to amateur; the music for Lady in the Dark belongs to this group. A musical with words by Ira Gershwin, it tells the tale of an unhappy woman who is editor in a magazine, and its final song “My Ship” is among Weill’s most famous. Robert Russell Bennett, a famed arranger and composer, later created this orchestral suite.
Llamado el “Verdi de los Pobres”, Kurt Weill (1900-1950) tuvo una muy exitosa carrera como compositor al romper constantemente las barreras entre la música culta y vernácula gracias a sus continuas colaboraciones con artistas y empresarios del arte alemán y estadounidense durante su relativamente corta vida. Weill escribió la música de casi 30 obras teatrales, óperas y musicales que son constantemente revividos por compañías que van desde lo profesional hasta lo amateur; la música de Lady in the Dark pertenece a este grupo. Siendo un musical con letras de Ira Gershwin, cuenta la historia de una mujer infeliz que es editora en una revista y su canción final “My Ship” yace entre las más famosas del compositor. Más tarde el compositor y arreglista Robert Russell Bennett crearía la presente suite orquestal.
Image/imagen: Glow of the City / Destello citadino. Martin Lewis. 1929.

[@malakai713]

this guy was so ahead of his time. you can hear so many tv and film music tropes that clearly originated from his work. mancini, morricone, williams, and elfman all have this guy in their genes. also, his his violin concerto op.12 is like the primer notes for how to do a horror movie soundtrack. lookit up it's terrifyingly beautiful

[@keyvanyahya]

The guy was a genius indeed.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

hey, guy!!

[@cmoran9103]

Wellllllllllllll, it me it sounds like an homage to Gershwin! I'm getting a lot of Porgy & Bess, which was 5 years earlier, and Rhapsody in Blue, which was 15 years earlier!

[@cmoran9103]

Not that I'm detracting from Weill. Admire the man a lot, I'm just pointing out what I think is a very clear influence here.

[@700singer]

Beautiful..Bravo R.R. Bennett.....

[@ausbrum]

Bennett worked at Chappell in New York and orchestrated for Richard Rogers (a concert tone poem of South Pacific) and Catfish Row, a concert poem from Porgy and Bess. Publishers often encouraged composers to create a concert suite from operas/stage works.Leonard Bernstein wrote a concert poem of West Side Story music

[@bigcedock]

Outstanding arrangement and orchestration by a master of his craft, and a brilliant performance by orchestra and conductor. Great tribute to a rather underrated Herr Weill, who needs more recognition than he gets. Thanks!

[@fredericchopin7538]

Delightful!

[@obduliorincon6112]

🇧🇷❤🎧 Terrific the image by Martin Lewis, and the brilliant arrange by Robert Russell Bennet on Weill music.

[@Marcel_Audubon]

yes, I can't stop looking at it

[@Nookyularnexus]

At 1:47 and again at 4:02, lo and behold: it’s the grand tune from the finale of Sibelius Symphony No. 2. A whimsical, satirical reference that’s actually not so far-fetched. Weill studied under Busoni, who was a close friend and admirer of the Finnish master.

[@carlolosito2850]

amazing

[@MrRickywallace]

Lovely!

[@GalGeorgeGjurin]

The great Kurt Weill! Beautifully orchestrated by Mr. Benett, a lot of neatly arranged and (surprisingly well tuned) brass - similar to Weill's Violin Concerto Op. 12, although there's much more woodwinds than brass anyway ... In my opinion the "MY SHIP" theme is stunning and exceptionally comforting in all it's existing forms. I was much surprised by the B-flat 7 chord at 16:38 in the coda section, since there's a B-flat Maj7 chord present in most available versions on-line. It seems that "jazzy" versions mostly use B-flat Maj7 and the more "classical" oriented versions lean towards a plain B-flat 7 chord pregression at the end. Nevertheless, "My ship" is an inspiring song for generations to come.

[@easyaspi1177]

:)! Thanks so very much for sharing this! I am reading Robert Russell Bennett's autobiography and haven't read about his arranging this suite yet. :) If you folks can, please read RRB's life story. This music is so unlike one of his other areas, which was orchestrating Broadway musicals. His autob is called THE BROADWAY SOUND. But he was into so many areas.

[@harryandruschak2843]

Thank you for this upload. I do believe that, at age 71, this is the first time I have heard this work.

[@BigglesWatch]

The National Theatre, London, staged "Lady in the Dark" a couple of decades back; fascinating show.

[@easyaspi1177]

At age 80, the first for me, Harry.

[@warrengwonka2479]

75 here

[@charlie.cochran6907]

Am 82, still too young to have seen the original production in '41, regretfully. Always particularly loved "Girl of the Moment."

[@DoctorWho007]

I'm 21, what a great piece of music :)

[@w.urlitzer1869]

the great Marin Alsop.

[@hugoregis3236]

Genial!

[@slothropgr]

And another bullseye! First heard of Kurt Weill courtesy of Bobby Darin, then there was The Doors and the best of the bunch: Judy Collins' Pirate Jenny. Never heard the official version, glad to have it. The usual gratitude.

[@grantc4516]

You'd love THIS CD: www.discogs.com/Teresa-Stratas-Kurt-Weill-The-Unknown-Kurt-Weill/release/10104230

[@jiyujizai]

🌸🌱💛😀

[@Justawoodsawyer]

Cello Section: 1:11 (Bar 18 - Arco) 1:46 (Bar 27 - Andante Amoroso) 2:48 (Bar 73 - Arco) 4:00 (Bar 137 - Con Passione)

[@hervegilles7941]

Il y a des génies qui ne sont pas des grands techniciens...et l’inverse. Weill est la fois un génie et un merveilleux technicien : Quatuor op.8, Royal Palace, Violin Concerto, Mahagonny, Die Burgschaft, The Eternel Road, Johnny Johnson, Lady in the Dark, Street Scenes...

[@JeremyRobson]

At 10:25 is that a reference to Prokofiev's Scythian Suite?

[@malakai713]

i don't know but i gave you a thumbs up for pointing me towards more good music. thank you !

[@moonshifter0]

It is. In the musical, this part is about Russian composers.

[@danielmateos2377]

Pero que maravilla, no?

[@davidmayhew8083]

First rate!

[@gilthethrill9179]

Some of this sounds like old Pink Floyd

[@asherjael6575]

Hi, which painting is this pleasE?

[@AndreVerGotti]

It's a Martin Lewis drypoint. Lovely isn't it

[@alexfrediani4095]

@@AndreVerGotti It reminded me of TS Eliots Wastelands “… the violet hour …”