Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964) was an American composer, pianist and theatre musician whose work fused classical technique with political urgency and theatrical bite. Born in Philadelphia, he trained as a pianist and composer before finding his most individual voice in music for the stage.

His most famous work is The Cradle Will Rock, a pro-union musical play whose troubled 1937 premiere became a landmark of American cultural history. Blitzstein also wrote operas, songs, orchestral music, film scores and an English adaptation of Weill and Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera.

His music draws on modernism, jazz, cabaret, popular song and sharply etched declamation. It often has a restless, argumentative quality, using musical theatre not merely to entertain but to prod, expose and accuse.

Blitzstein remains one of the most distinctive voices in American political music theatre. His career shows how art song, opera and Broadway could be made to share the same electric socket.