Performance

Reviving the Music

Since 1986, the Foundation has played a vital role in the search for and recovery of many compositions written by composers before and during their imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps. These compositions are now becoming important additions to the classical music repertoire.

In 1991, the Foundation produced the Boston Symphony Orchestra's premier of Pavel Haas' "Study for String Chamber Orchestra," led by Maestro Seiji Ozawa. We have worked closely with the Philadelphia Orchestra on their performances of works by Ullmann and Haas. As part of our ongoing collaboration with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Entartete Musik was programmed throughout the 1994-95 season at Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Additionally, we have also worked with such world renown orchestras as the Chicago, Cleveland, Montreal, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, among others.

In 1994, Brandeis University and the Foundation co-produced the retrospective, "Silenced Voices: Music Banned by the Nazis". This retrospective featured a reconstruction of the Nazi's 1938 Entartete Musik exhibit with an examination of the Nazi's racial and political stereotyping of jazz and avante garde music. The exhibit was complemented by a series of symposia and concerts.

Recordings

The Foundation has produced two compact disc recordings of chamber music which feature world premier performances. Chamber Music from Theresienstadt and Silenced Voices have received critical acclaim in both Europe and the United States. These recordings have been followed by two additional releases on the London Decca label featuring the string quartets of Krasa and Haas and selected concertos of Erwin Schulhoff.

Concert Programs

The Foundation produces live performances featuring world renown musicians such as the Hawthorne String Quartet performing works of Klein, Ullmann, Haas, Schulhoff and Krasa. These chamber concerts are combined with narrative and slide presentations which provide background on the composers' lives and music as well as offering a powerful glimpse into cultural activity and life in Theresienstadt.