Hollywood Songbook

Hanns Eisler's "Hollywooder Liederbuch" – or Hollywood Songbook – has long been known through CD recordings. Yet as a printed book of music, this song cycle, arguably the most important one of the 20th century, has just now become available in German for the first time. Eisler did not personally authorize the compilation and sequence of the 47 songs; however, the title is found on 38 autographs (sometimes with the reductive designation "Hollywooder Liederbüchlein"), and nine further scores can be assigned to the collection both on the basis of chronology and contents.

While working on film scores for large ensembles, Eisler began writing the songs on texts by Brecht, Hölderlin and others in Hollywood in the spring of 1942: "This place is for me a hell of stupidity, of (truly indescribable!) corruption, and of boredom. The only good thing is my new little songbook...". Later, in East Berlin, Eisler practically dissolved the Liederbuch and distributed the songs among various volumes of his work edition "Lieder und Kantaten."

It was not before 1976, many years after the composer's death, that the "Hollywooder Liederbuch" was published in its entirety in the complete edition "Eisler – Gesammelte Werke" (EGW). The first complete performance took place in Leipzig in 1982.