Discography

Marc Blitzstein: Music for Solo Piano, 1918-63

Toccata Classics TOCC 0438 (CD)

Leonard Lehrman, piano and speaker
Helene Williams, speaker

released 2019

Click here for complete contents.

more info

The Cradle Will Rock – Opera Saratoga Cast

Bridge Records 9511A/B (CD)

New cast recording (June 2017), recorded live at Opera Saratoga
John Mauceri, Conductor
Lawrence Edelson, Artistic and General Director

Release date: July 2018

Features Blitzstein's original orchestration

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

The Cradle Will Rock – Original Broadway Cast

Musicraft 1075-1081 (78 rpm)

Original Broadway Cast (April 1938): Howard da Silva, Ralph MacBane, Peggy Coudray, et al; Orson Welles, director; Marc Blitzstein, piano

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

The Cradle Will Rock – New York City Opera Cast

Cantus Classics 501931 (CD)

New York City Opera cast (1960)
Tammy Grimes, David Atkinson, Craig Timberlake, Kenneth Smith, et al.; Howard da Silva, director; Lehman Engel, conductor

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

The Cradle Will Rock – Theater Four Cast

MGM E/SE-4289-2 OC (LP)

Theater Four Cast (November 1964): Jerry Orbach, Gordon B. Clarke, Nancy Andrews, et al.; Howard da Silva, director; Gershon Kingsley, piano

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

The Cradle Will Rock – Acting Company Cast

JAY Records JAY 1300 (CD, LP)

Acting Company cast (September 1985)
Patti LuPone, David Schramm, Randle Mell, et al.; John Houseman, director; Michael Barrett, piano

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

The Cradle Will Rock – Blank Theatre Company Cast

Lockett & Palmer Recordings LPR 940411 (CD)

Blank Theatre Company cast (1995)
Jeffrey Rockwell, Peter van Norden, Ali Mandelbaum, et al; Stephen Bates, piano

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

Cradle Will Rock (film soundtrack)

RCA B00003A9F7 (CD)

Cradle Will Rock (film soundtrack). With Audra McDonald, Eddie Vedder, Susan Sarandon, Vicki Clark, et al. (includes “Nickel under the Foot,” “Moll’s Song,” “Croon Spoon,” “Joe Worker,” “Honolulu,” “Oh, What a Filthy Night Court,” “Reverend Salvation,” “The Cradle Will Rock”)

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

Marc Blitzstein Discusses His Theatre Compositions

Spoken Arts Recordings 717 (LP)

Marc Blitzstein Discusses His Theatre Compositions.

Spoken Arts Distinguished Composers Series

With Evelyn Lear, Roddy McDowall, Jane Connell, Alvin Epstein; Marc Blitzstein, piano and narration (includes "Nickel under the Foot" and the Hotel Lobby scene)

more info

Puccini, Rossini, Verdi, Bellini, and Blitzstein

Westminster XWN-19108 (LP)

Leighton & Wechsler, duo-pianists; Milt Hinton, bass and Osie Johnson, drums (includes arrangement of “Nickel under the Foot”)

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

American Piano Music, vol. 2

Etcetera KTC 1036 (CD)

Bennett Lerner, piano (includes three short dances arranged for piano solo: Variations II, Pas de deux, Three-Four Dance)

Related Works: The Guests
more info

American Composers at the Piano

Concert Hall Society B9 (78 rpm)

In a collection called American Composers at the Piano, Blitzstein recorded three short selections from an earlier version of The Guests with the working title “Show.” The selections were titled “Variation III,” “Three-Four Dance,” and “Finale.” The recording was released as a numbered limited edition on Concert Hall Society B9 (78 rpm) in 1948.

Related Works: The Guests
more info

The Harpies

Premier Recordings PRCD 1009 (CD)

Studio Cast (1991): Rosalind Rees, Thomas Bogdan, Fay Kittelson, et al.; Adirondack Chamber Orchestra and the Gregg Smith Singers; Gregg Smith, conductor

Related Works: The Harpies
more info

Lotte Lenya Boxed Set

Bear Family BCD 16019 KL (CD)

(1937) Lotte Lenya, vocals

Songs included: the Suicide's Aria from I've Got the Tune ("And so, the last thing, too"); “Pirate Jenny,” “Solomon Song,” “Tango-Ballade” from The Threepenny Opera (1937, 1954)

more info

Juno

Fynsworth Alley FA-2134 (CD)

Original Broadway Cast (1959)
Shirley Booth, Melvyn Douglas, Jean Stapleton, et al.; Jose Ferrer, director; Robert Emmett Dolan, conductor

Related Works: Juno
more info

Marc Blitzstein: No for an Answer [and] Juno

JJA 19772 (LP)

Selections from the score performed by Marc Blitzstein (demo recordings)

Related Works: No for an Answer, Juno
more info

No for an Answer

AEI CD 031 (CD)

Original Cast (1941): Martin Wolfson, Carol Channing, Olive Deering, et al.; Marc Blitzstein, piano

more info

Regina – New York City Opera Cast

Columbia 03S 202 (LP)

New York City Opera (April 1958): Brenda Lewis, George Irving, Elizabeth Carron, et al.; Herman Shumlin, director; Samuel Krachmalnick, conductor

Related Works: Regina
more info

Regina

Cantus Classics 501983 (CD)

Reissue of New York City Opera 1958 recording

Brenda Lewis as Regina Giddens; Joshua Hecht as Horace Giddens; Helen Strine as Alexandra Giddens; George Irving as Benjamin Hubbard; Elisabeth Carron as Birdie Hubbard; Emile Renan as Oscar Hubbard; Carol Brice as Addie; Loren Driscoll as Leo Hubbard; Andrew Frierson as Cal; Ernest McChesne as William Marshall

New York City Opera Orchestra & Chorus
conducted by Samuel Krachmalnick

Related Works: Regina
more info

Regina – Scottish Opera Cast

London 433 812-2 (CD)

Scottish Opera (May 1991): Katherine Ciesinski, Samuel Ramey, Angelina Reaux, et al.; John Mauceri, conductor

more info

The Threepenny Opera – Off-Broadway

MGM 3121 (LP)

(translated and adapted by Blitzstein)

Original Off-Broadway Cast (1954): Lotte Lenya, Scott Merrill, Jo Sullivan, Charlotte Rae, Bea Arthur, et al.; Carmen Capalbo, director; Samuel Matlowsky, conductor

Note: The Off-Broadway cast recording includes many cuts and changes in Blitzstein's original English lyrics.

Related Works: The Threepenny Opera
more info

The Threepenny Opera – Brandeis University

West Hill Radio Archives WHRA-6048 (CD)

Tryout cast, Brandeis University (1952): Lotte Lenya, David Brooks, Jo Sullivan, Marc Blitzstein (narrator); Leonard Bernstein, conductor

Released as part of 12-CD Set: Leonard Bernstein: Historical Recordings 1941-1961.

Related Works: The Threepenny Opera
more info

Symphony: The Airborne

RCA Victor 09026-62568-2 (CD)

New York City Symphony, Robert Shaw, Charles Holland, Walter Scheff, RCA Victor Chorale; Leonard Bernstein, conductor (October 1946)

The RCA original release and the BMG reissue include the song “Dusty Sun,” from the film score to Native Land, performed by Walter Scheff and Leonard Bernstein (piano).

more info

The Airborne Symphony

Sony Classical 88697683652-9 (CD)

New York Philharmonic, Orson Welles, Andrea Velis, David Watson, Choral Art Society; Leonard Bernstein, conductor (October 1966)

more info

Freedom Morning

Supraphon H 18130 (78 rpm)

Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hugo Weisgall, conductor (1947)

more info

Piano Concerto

CRI CD 554 (CD)

Michael Barrett, piano; Brooklyn Philharmonic, Lukas Foss, conductor (1988)

The first movement of the Piano Concerto was reissued on a CD titled Gay American Composers, vol. 2 (CRI CD 750). An excerpt from the third movement was issued on a sampler titled “Lollapalooza USA,” issued by Boosey & Hawkes (2005).

Related Works: Piano Concerto
more info

The Viennese School – Teachers and Followers: Arnold Schönberg

MDG MDG6131434-2 (CD)

Steffen Schleiermacher, piano

includes Blitzstein Sonata for solo piano

more info

For Lenny

Naxos 84284011251 (CD)

includes "Innocent Psalm"

Lara Downes & Friends

featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Thomas Hampson, Javier Morales-Martinez, Kevin "K.O." Olusola

Related Works: Innocent Psalm
more info

Marc Blitzstein: First Life

Other Minds OM 1017-2 (CD)

2008 release of Blitzstein chamber works

  • Solo Piano Music: Piano Sonata (1927) - Sarah Cahill, piano
  • Piano Percussion Music (1929) - Sarah Cahill, piano
  • Scherzo: "Bourgeois at Play" (1930) - Sarah Cahill, piano
  • String Quartet: "Italian" (1930) - Del Sol String Quartet
  • Serenade for String Quartet (1932) - Del Sol String Quartet
more info

Zipperfly & Other Songs

Koch KIC-CD-7773 (CD)

(1991) William Sharp, baritone; Karen Holvik, soprano; Steven Blier, piano

Songs included: "Monday Morning Blues," "Croon Spoon," "The New Suit" ("Zipperfly"), "In the Clear," "Then," "I Wish It So," "In Twos," "Penny Candy," "Emily" ("Ballad of the Bombardier"), "Displaced," "o by the by," "until and I heard," "open your heart," "jimmie's got a goil," "What Will It Be for Me?," "Rose Song," Blues," "Nickel under the Foot," "The Cradle Will Rock," "Bird upon the Tree," "Stay in My Arms"

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

A Blitzstein Cabaret

Premier Recordings PRCD 1005 (CD)

(1990) Helene Williams, Ronald Edwards, vocals; Leonard Lehrman, piano and vocals

Songs included: "Miracle Song"/"Lovely Song," "The Russian Language"/"Mamasha Goose," "Who Will Close the Door on a Neighbor's Misfortune"/"How I Met My New Grandfather," "A Quiet Girl," "The New Suit," "Send for the Militia," "Penny Candy," "What Is the Stars," "My True Heart," "Quarrel Song," "Modest Maid," "Be with Me," "Rose Song," "Love at First Word," "With a Woman to Be," "Miracle Song"

more info

A Marc Blitzstein Songbook

Original Cast Recordings OC-4441 (CD)

(2001) Helene Williams, soprano; Gregory Mercer, tenor; James Sergi, baritone; Leonard Lehrman, piano and vocals

Songs included: "Nickel under the Foot," "Who Knows" (Let's Be Blue), "Smoking Glasses," "Few Little English," "Outside Agitator," "Secret Singing," "Lullaby," "Expatriate," "The Best Thing of All," "Musky and Whiskey," "The Hills of Amalfi," "Ireland's Eye," "I Wish It So," "Farewell, Me Butty," "Under the Sky," "Rosa-Sacco Suet," "Vanzetti's First Aria," "Sacco's The Whole Shoe," "Vanzetti's Last Statement"

Related Works: The Cradle Will Rock
more info

The Marc Blitzstein Centennial Concert

Original Cast Recordings OC-6127 (CD)

(2005) Helene Williams, Lars Woodul, Robert Osborne, vocals; John Craven, Leonard Lehrman, piano

Songs included: "Song" (text by Rupert Brooke), "What's the Matter with Me?," "The Way You Are," "Hard to Say," "Lovely to Get Back to Love," "War Song"; From Idiots First: "Under the Sky," "Who Will Close the Door?," "How I Met My New Grandfather,"; from Walt Whitman settings: "As if a Phantom Caress'd Me," "After the Dazzle of Day," "As Adam"; from Sacco and Vanzetti: "Memorial Day Parade," "With a Woman to Be," "Torremaggiore-VillafallettoTrio"; from I've Got the Tune: "Prologue," "The Street," "The Salon," "The Neighbor," "The Street"; from The Cradle Will Rock: "Nickel under the Foot" performed by Blitzstein.

more info

Carpentersville

ABC Classics 481 0331 (CD)

(2013) Lucy Schaufer, soprano, with Ensemble; Kevin Amos, music director

Songs included: “Best Thing of All,” “I Wish It So”

Related Works: Regina, Juno
more info

I Wish It So

Nonesuch 9 79345-2 (CD)

(1994) Dawn Upshaw, soprano; Eric Stern, conductor

Songs included: "I Wish It So," "In the Clear," "Never Get Lost"

more info

Love

Reprise Records 9 46072-2 (CD)

Includes "I Wish it So"

Rosemary Clooney, vocals; Nelson Riddle, arranger and conductor

Related Works: Juno
more info

Jeff Harnar Sings the 1959 Broadway Songbook

Original Cast OC-916 (CD)

(1991) Jeff Harnar, vocals; Alex Rybeck, piano and arrangements

Songs included: “I Wish It So”

Related Works: Juno
more info

Open Your Heart

Delos DE 3483 (CD)

(2015) Laura Claycomb, soprano; Marc Teicholz, guitar

Songs included: “open your heart,” “until and I heard”

more info

Serious Cabaret

Orchid Classics LC 20037 (CD)

Mary Carewe, Voice
Philip Mayers, Piano

more info

Songs I Taught My Mother: Silly, Sinful, and Satirical Selections

Vanguard VRS-9004 (LP)

(1955) Charlotte Rae, vocals; John Strauss, piano and arrangements

Songs included: "Modest Maid," "Fraught"

more info

Songs of Free Men

Sony Masterworks Heritage MHK 63223 (CD)

(1997 Remaster) Paul Robeson, baritone; Lawrence Brown, piano

Songs included: “The Purest Kind of Guy” (1942)

more info

“Where, Oh Where”: Rare Songs of the American Theater

Premier Recordings PRCD 1001 (CD)

(1986) Judy Kaye, soprano; Peter Howard, piano

Songs included: "I Wish It So"

Related Works: Juno
more info

Amiscellany

Nimbus NI 7720 (CD)

John Amis, vocals, Penelope Thwaites, piano (1992) (includes "Emily" from The Airborne Symphony)

Related Works: Airborne Symphony
more info