Born in 1900 into a German Jewish family, Kurt Weill gained fame as composer of The Threepenny Opera and other politically charged works written by Bertolt Brecht. He reinvented himself in America; by his death in 1950 he had written several popular Broadway shows ("Lady in the Dark") and one indisputably classic tune, "September Song." This solid biography capably covers Weill"s life (including a tactful account of his unconventional marriage to Lotte Lenya), but concentrates on the music, refuting charges that Weill"s American work betrayed his talent in search of commercial success.