Leopold Stokowski: Making Music Matter Curated by Marjorie Hassen Otto E. Albrecht Music Library University of Pennsylvania

American Premiere of Alban Berg's Wozzeck
19 March 1931

For the American premiere of Alban Berg's Wozzeck, underwritten by Mary Louise Curtis Bok, Stokowski joined forces with the Curtis Institute of Music and the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company, beginning rehearsals in December 1930. So early in the opera's career was this rehearsal that no English translation of the libretto could be found, and Stokowski commissioned one from Reginald Allen, who was then a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra board. After the performances in Philadelphia were lauded by visiting critics from New York--who had ridden south on a train specifically chartered for the event--the production was taken to New York the following November.

Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Wozzeck
Vienna: Universal Edition, 1926
Conducting score marked for performance by Stokowski

Program