Symphony in one movement

Symphony no. 1 - “Berliner Sinfonie”

Critical edition by James Holmes

orchestra

The life of Kurt Weill is divided between the old and the new world. His Symphony No 1 was composed shortly after Weill had moved to Berlin from his native town of Dessau, long before his emigration to America and during the period when he was associated both with Ferruccio Busoni and leading figures in the German Expressionist movement. The manuscript score was lost in 1933 but came to light 25 years later. It was not until 1956 that the work received its first performance (by the NWDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg, under Wilhelm Schüchter).

Edition: Performance material

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Description

Kurt Weill composed his 1st Symphony at the age of twenty-one during his studies in Ferrucio Busoni’s master class in Berlin. This early work already reveals the composer’s originality: in contrast to the ´'young classicism' taught by Busoni, Weill’s early tonal language displays traces of influences ranging from Mahler and Schoenberg to Strauss which are blended by the composer into a thoroughly distinct idiom. The sparse instrumentation of this work in three sections produces a transparent tone, at times reminiscent of ch amber music. The composer himself remarked that he was inspired to write this symphony after reading a work by the poet J. R. Becher.

Orchestral Cast

2 (2. auch Picc.) · 1 · 2 (2. auch Bassklar.) · 2 - 2 · 1 · 1 · 0 - P. S. (Glsp. · Gl. · Trgl. · Beck. · Tamt. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr.) (3 Spieler) - Str.

Content

Grave · Allegro vivace · Andante religioso · Larghetto

More Information

Title:

Symphony in one movement

Symphony no. 1 - “Berliner Sinfonie”

Critical edition by James Holmes

(Kurt Weill Edition, Series II, Volume 3)

Edition:

Performance material

Publisher/Label:

Schott Music

Year of composition:

1921

Duration:

25 ′

World Premiere:

Jan 1958 · Hamburg (D)
Conductor: Wilhelm Schüchter · NWDR Sinfonieorchester

Jan 1958 · Hamburg (D)
Conductor: Wilhelm Schüchter · NWDR Sinfonieorchester

February 13, 2021 · Berlin (D)
Philharmonie
Conductor: Kirill Petrenko · Berliner Philharmoniker

(concert)
World Premiere (Revision) (Live streaming without audience)