Teresa Stratas - The Unknown Kurt Weill

Kurt Weill (Composer), Felix Gasbarra (Composer), Howard Dietz (Composer), Richard Woitach (Performer), Teresa Stratas (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Richard Woitach, Teresa Stratas
• Composer: Kurt Weill, Felix Gasbarra, Howard Dietz
• Audio CD (June 25, 1991)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005IX0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,444 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Nanna's Lied ('Meine Herren,mit siebzehn Jahren'), song for voice & piano

2. Complainte de la Seine, song for voice & piano

3. Klops-Lied (Meatball Song, 'Ich sitze da un' esse Klops'), for soprano or tenor, 2 piccolos & bassoon

4. Berlin im Licht, song for voice & piano

5. Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib? (The Ballad of the Soldier's Wife), song for voice & piano

6. Wie Lange Noch? song for voice & piano

7. Youkali, tango habańera for voice & piano: Tango Habanera

8. Es Regnet, song for voice & piano (partly lost)

9. Buddy on the Night Shift for voice & piano (Propaganda Songs No. 5)

10. Je ne t'aime pas (I Don't Love You), song for voice & piano

11. Das Abschiedsbrief (The Farewell Letter), song for voice & piano

12. Die Muschel Von Margate: Petroleum Song

13. Schickelgruber

14. Lied von den braunen Inseln (Song of the Brown Islands), song for voice & piano ('Petroleum Song' from 'Die Petroleuminseln')

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STRATAS WALKS THE RAZOR'S EDGE', July 11, 2003

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teresa Stratas - The Unknown Kurt Weill (Audio CD)

I don't review many classical recordings - but this one, from 1981, has always been one of my favorite Weill collections, and after reading the rather negative comments from one reviewer, I felt I had to add my two cents' worth to the fray. Everyone is of course entitled to his or her own opinion - and music in SUCH a subjective topic that this should go without saying.

I've been a big admirer of Weill's work - particularly his collaborations with Brecht - for years. His songs tread the thin, tricky line between classical and cabaret more daringly that most. Brecht's collaborations with Hanns Eisler, for example, are closer to the theatrical than are Weill's. In my humble opinion, Stratas walks this `razor's edge' very nimbly on this recording - her voice is obviously a finely trained instrument, but she is also able of conveying a lot of feeling and emotion with these lyrics. Her choice - or perhaps the producer's - of accompanying here with only a piano is a good one. Woitach does a fine job - and the recording itself is crystal-clear.

My only real complaint with the cd version of this album is the size of the type in the liner notes - Nonesuch could have easily `sprung' for a lengthier booklet, to allow us `old fogies' the opportunity to read it without a magnifier, and also to include the lyrics and translations. I can't recall for certain if the lp version offered the lyrics, but I believe it did. At any rate, these complaints are indeed small ones - this is a timeless, beautiful recording, and one that any fan of Weill's work should at least hear.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Recording, July 2, 2000

By 

Jonathan Dorsch "Pangloss" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teresa Stratas - The Unknown Kurt Weill (Audio CD)

Until I heard this recording, I did not understand Weill nor his appeal. I rate this as one of the best records ever made. I only heard the superficial cabaret sound of the music a la Dietrich but this recording is a revelation. Stratas interprets these songs so one can understand the effect of Berg and other composers on Weill, always maintaining the hypnotic melodies of each song. Stratas is uncanny in her ability to capture the correct emotion and meaning of each word of the songs. I find an urge to listen to this recording at least once a month after owning it for several years.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable musicality!, May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Teresa Stratas - The Unknown Kurt Weill (Audio CD)

Teresa Stratas was asked by none other than Lotte Lenya herself to keep Weill's music alive. And what a job Stratas has done! Like Lenya says, Stratas sings like the songs were written for her!

On this album, she has dusted off such early Weill jems as "Die Muschel von Margate" and "Klops Lied" and given them totally charming, fresh treatments. Her voice is a sparkle, and her singing has an incredible musicality that is sometimes lacking in others' performances of Weill.

All the songs were brought to Stratas by Lenya, and they are all good. Notable are "Es Regnet," a poem set to music, and "Wie Lange Noch," which is "Je Ne T'aime Pas" with anti-war (WWII) lyrics.