Forbidden Music: Compositions by Imprisoned or Banned Composers during the Holocaust

Forbidden Music is a performance of music created by composers who were persecuted during World War II including Erwin Schulhoff, James Simon, Szymon Laks, and Pavel Haas. In a concert honoring and reviving the work of these composers, Dr. George Wolfe (saxophone), David Rezits (cello), and Dr. Galit Gertsenzon (piano) commemorate their lives and music on stage. These composers were all persecuted by the Nazis shortly after they took power in 1933. Once celebrated, they each were later discriminated against and their social and professional status were revoked. Both James Simon and Pavel Haas were imprisoned and murdered in Auschwitz.

This concert will feature a movement from Erwin Schulhoff’s Hot Sonate, a composition that introduced Berlin to jazz in 1930. Following will be a selection of solo piano works by composer James Simon who found solace and freedom in post-romantic musical styles. Composer Szymon Laks, whose three Warsaw Polonaises are included, expressed artistic resistance by performing pieces with his fellow inmates in the Auschwitz Men’s Orchestra. The third movement of Pavel Haas’s Suite for Oboe and Piano, transcribed  by Jody Nagel for soprano saxophone, is a grand musical statement of triumph and hope that culminates this program. Other compositions, such as Ernest Bloch’s prayer for cello and piano will also be included.

Tickets for Forbidden Music are available by calling us at 260-726-4809 or clicking here. Adults are $16, students are $8.