Dessau, Paul 1894-1979
German composer and conductor

Born in Hamburg, he studied in Berlin, after which he became an opera coach. He conducted opera at Cologne from 1919, Mainz from 1923 and the Berlin State Opera from 1925. During the Nazi era he moved to Paris (1933) and the USA (1939). From 1942 he collaborated with Bertolt Brecht, writing incidental music for Mutter Courage (1946, 'Mother Courage') and other plays. Like Brecht, he settled in 1948 in East Berlin, where he produced the operas Die Verurteilung des Lukullus (1949, 'The Trial of Lucullus', text by Brecht), Puntila (1957-59, text after Brecht), Lanzelot (1969) and Einstein (1971-73). Dramatic inventiveness and socialist commitment are also evident in his orchestral, choral and chamber works, and in his many songs.