Speak Low: The Music of Kurt Weill – The First Evening of the Cabaret Convention at Rose Hall –
By Myra Chanin . . .
Kurt Weill was a German-born, prominent, popular and indefatigable Jewish composer, as officially denounced for his left-wing political views as for his DNA. Forced to flee first to Paris in 1933, and then to New York in 1935, no matter where, no matter when, he continued to obsessively create subtle and seductive melodies non-stop. How indefatigable was he? For starters, seven cantatas, three string quartets, 14 orchestral works, 27 chansons including the atypical “Schickelgruber” with these lyrics by Howard Dietz:
Schickelgruber, Schickelgruber, you were born a child of shame.
You have always been a bastard, even though you changed your name
Weill also composed a slew of scores in the American style, learning whatever he needed to know by paying attention to what his fellow artists said and did. The lyrics that accompanied his melodies were supplied by major American poets/lyricists like Maxwell Anderson for Lost in the Stars and Knickerbocker Holiday, Ira Gershwin for Lady in the Dark, One Touch of Venus with Ogden Nash, Street Scene with Langston Hughes, Love Life with Alan Jay Lerner. Weill’s aim was not fame. He wanted to write useful music and his most useful works were among the quasi-operatic scores like Threepenny Opera, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogany and Happy End which he wrote with one of his soul mates, Berthold Brecht, which starred his on and off wife, Lotte Lenya. The Threepenny Opera may have been his greatest American success with Brecht’s lyrics masterfully translated into English by Mark Blitzstein. It ran Off-Broadway for five years.
Kudos to the forever gracious hosts Jeff Harnar and Andrea Marcovicci who are always (to quote one of Weill’s lyricists, Ira Gershwin in Lady in the Dark),”bright as a penny.” Their equal would be hard to find.
When I saw Ari Axelrod step out and face the audience — Larry Yurman behind him, sitting at the Steinway — Ari delivered a soul-stunning rendition of Lost in the Stars from the Weil’s last musical based on Alan Patton’s book, Cry The Beloved Country. It was followed by another bravura performance by the inimitable Clint Holmes, who gets more irresistible every year, as he thundered Ogden Nash’s scorching description of the confusion of an out-sider, “I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” to a marvelously up-tempo tune and great and well-deserved applause. Dawn Derow chose to sing “My Ship,” from OneTouch of Venus because she grew up on Cape Cod watching ships go out to sea. Tovah Feldshuh sent apologies for not appearing but sent her Favorite French Chanteuse – Tovah with a French Accent – to sing about Mr. Right (with James Bassi on piano). The lyrics were by Alan Jay Lerner who’d been Mr. Right over and over, usually during the start of his 8 marriages until they turned into 7 alimony payments. Gorgeous Madalynn Matthews, winner of the Foundation’s High school competition award, sang the gentle love song “Stay Well,” from Lost in the Stars (with Will Kjeer on piano) and with the emotional intelligence of a much older person gracefully accepting the Julie Wilson Award. One unfamiliar ballad after another without any patter as to where or why it was written became tiresome until Ute Lemper dropped down from Valhalla to bellow and whisper the always terrifying “Pirate Jenny,” in English and German from Threepenny Opera featuring Vanna Gierig on piano.
Danny Bacher and Minda Larson opened the second act arguing their way through Weill’s biggest hit, “Mack the Knife,” she in Deutsch, he with the help of his sax with Ian Herman at the piano. Another high point was Maude Maggart’s exquisite “The River is Blue,” a straightforward Yankee delivery to a slightly subversive European tune with Gerald Sternbach at the piano. Another familiar song “Lonely House,” from Street Scene, was delivered with beautiful restraint by Natalie Douglas. And Karen Akers, lovely as always, reminded every person in the audience of every lousy rat they’d erroneously cared about in the past with her memorable rendition of “Surabaya Johnny” with Alex Rybeck at the piano.
As always Sidney Myer won the hearts of the audience with his opening greeting, “Good Evening.” He spoke about his connection to “That’s Him,” a love song Sidney never imagined he would be able to sing publicly. Well, now he can and has and graciously accepted the 2023 Mabel Mercer Award to great applause.
The closing was a knockout. With Alex Rybeck on piano, Jeff Harnar beat Danny’s Kaye’s record on the tongue twisting “Tchaikovsky” by two seconds! Hear! Hear! while Andrea Marcovicci cleverly Rex Harrison-ed “It Never Was You” with subtle rejection. Marta Sanders, warbling “September Song,” (Alex Rybeck on piano) I appreciated more and more as I reach November.
Finally, the Marvelous Moipei triplets tied everything up like a perfect braid with “Here I’ll Stay” from Love Life, about the best kind of love – requited.
I think that when a composer is honored, especially if it isn’t Gershwin, Rogers, Berlin or Porter, and even with them too, if there was some explanation about the timing of the song, it’s connection to the singer, it would make the program more meaningful to newcomers.
PHOTOS: Conor Weiss – Featured Photo: Andrea Marcovicci & Jeff Harnar
The 34th New York Cabaret Convention at Jazz at Lincoln Center
October 17, 2023
Christopher Denny on Piano Unless Otherwise Noted
Steve Doyle on Bass
Rex Benincasa on Drums
