Kurt Weill Festival

The Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau is a tribute to the city’s most famous son, which has been held annually since 1993. Not only that, but it’s one of the most prominent and prestigious yearly cultural events in Saxony-Anhalt. More than 70 years after his death, Weill's essence and charisma live on through his music.

Honouring Kurt Weill in Dessau

Although Kurt Weill (1900 - 1950) came to prominence in Berlin in the 1920s and became a Broadway star in New York in the following decade, he was born in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt.

With its many theatres, museums and varied architecture, Dessau has a strong artistic streak, boasting both ancient and modernist buildings that have been declared World Heritage Sites. It was also temporarily home to the Bauhaus School of Architecture, which was forced to move from Weimar in 1925.

Both reflecting and adding to the city's creative climate, each year brilliant musicians, artists and theatre-makers converge on Dessau to celebrate Kurt Weill, his time-honoured musical oeuvre and what he stood for politically and socially. The festival picks up on the mood of the time and has something for every taste, with sounds like chanson to jazz to classical music. 

About Kurt Weill

Berlin, one of Europe's ultimate hotbeds for creativity, was Weill's destination after leaving his hometown in his youth. As a student of composition, Kurt Weill met many like-minded people. During the liberal and hedonistic days of the Weimar Republic, Weill’s plays and operas proved to be cutting-edge. He teamed up with playwright and librettist Bertolt Brecht, and the pair composed some enduring operatic masterpieces such as The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and The Threepenny Opera, which continue to garner broad popular appeal. 

Many of their creations adopted elements of jazz and ragtime which were trendy at the time, and a lot of their songs became hits with overwhelming longevity: Alabama Song has been covered by The Doors and David Bowie; Mack the Knife has been recorded by everyone from Bing Crosby to Michael Bublé and was even parodied on Saturday Night Live and The Muppets.

Weill was officially denounced for his leftist and populist views, and the fact that he was Jewish swiftly made him a target of the Nazi authorities. With no choice but to flee, Weill made his way to New York. Already prolific before even leaving his homeland, his fate as a world-renowned composer was sealed when he made such a massive impression on the Broadway theatre scene. 

Get your Kurt Weill Festival tickets

Get your festival tickets in advance on the Kurt Weill Festival website and plan your trip to Dessau!