JMI Newsletter No. 4
posted Summer 2001
Suppressed Music Edition
Worldwide Interest in Suppressed Music
Nick Kimberley writes in The Observer of 27 May 2001: 'The Nazis tore a gaping hole in European Culture and history still hasn't repaired the damage. In uncovering a work like the string trio by Gideon Klein, the Andrusier (Ensemble) is doing its bit for the restoration process. This 15 minute piece had a controlled exuberance, and expressive tension that suggested a distinctive musical talent, but Klein died in a concentration camp in 1945, aged 26. In a different world he might still be composing.'
There were insatiable audiences in Klein's native Czechoslovakia and in Germany and Austria in the 1920s and 30s for the exciting new music being written by avant garde, yet tonal, composers. New works were eagerly anticipated and operas received numerous productions in their first years. But with the coming of Hitler, music by these composers was banned and very nearly obliterated. The lucky ones escaped with their lives, but in different environments, they were not able to achieve the heights to which they seemed destined.
Great interest is now being shown around the world, in this music by European composers who successfully combined tradition with modernity. Last year Michael Haas (who unearthed music by composers such as Goldschmidt, Schreker, Krenek, Rathaus, Schulhoff, Korngold and others and created for Decca a groundbreaking series, 'Entartete Musik') was invited to be an Artistic Director of 'Musica Prohibida' a two-week Festival in Barcelona, conducted by Laurence Foster. This year he and Erik Levi, author of 'Music in the Third Reich' were invited to speak at an 'Entartete Musik' conference in Charlottesville, Virginia.
BBC Proms chooses 'Exile' as one of its themes
Even this year's Proms season has the theme of 'Exiles', especially from two great political convulsions that caused composers to seek safely beyond the borders of their homelands: the Russian Revolution and the Fascist seizures of power across Europe.
For the Jewish Music Institute, (JMI), this era and this music are especially poignant, as so many of the composers as well as the conductors and musicians involved were Jews. In September 1999, JMI established the International Forum for Suppressed Music (IFSM) as a platform to bring together all those working in the field. In July 2000 JMI held an influential Conference 'Thwarted Voices' at London University, on the composition students of Franz Schreker in Berlin in the 1920s. The Andrusier Ensemble performed a revelatory programme at St John's, Smith Square, of Schreker, Krenek, Goldschmdit and Rathaus, of which the concert reviewed above, part of the Hampstead and Highgate Festival, was a direct result.
The JMI International Forum for Suppressed Music is in the forefront of research, education, publication, recording, performance and communication of information on this vast range of forbidden music. The Executive Committee includes Michael Haas, Erik Levi, and Martin Anderson, journalist, writer and publisher. Members of the Advisory Board include Christopher Hailey of the Schreker Foundation LA, and the Schoenberg Institut Vienna and Albrecht Dümling of Musica Reanimata Berlin. Sir Simon Rattle has honoured JMI by becoming the President of this Forum (see Sir Simon's message on page 2).
In November 2001, JMI IFSM mounts a whole day of Suppressed Music at the South Bank featuring vocal, chamber and orchestral music as well as the first British performance of Max Brand's 1929 smash hit opera 'Maschinist Hopkins'.
Maschinist Hopkins Première
Part of JMI South Bank Day devoted to Suppressed music
Patron: Barry Humphries
On Sunday 25 November 2001, JMI is presenting six events at the Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall from 10.00am–10.00pm.
At 2.00pm in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, JMI presents the first British performance of Max Brand's magnificent popular opera Maschinist Hopkins, which still seems relevant as well as avant-garde today, after over 70 years. The day's events start with an introduction by Michael Haas, Executive Producer of the 'Entartete Musik' Series on Decca Records, to the era, the composers and the music. Then follow recitals of lieder by acclaimed singers and chamber works by the world renowned Vienna Piano Trio, a recital of Cabaret songs and a concert by the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra, chamber ensembles and soloists.
Machinist Hopkins an opera in three Acts, written in 1929, with a powerful text by the composer was written in a period, which saw an unprecedented number of new operas staged in Germany. Krenek's Jonny Spielt Auf took Europe by storm as people heard the first opera with a contemporary setting, based on contemporary people. The success of Jonny was repeated soon thereafter with Max Brand's Maschinist Hopkins, a work that matched Jonny's success with 40 different productions in one year alone. The work's contemporary metropolitan setting and 'American' characters were much in vogue. Brand's theme—the relationship between humanity and technology—was familiar through such works as Fritz Lang's film Metropolis (1926) and was the focus of experiments at the Bauhaus. Brand, like Krenek, Weill and Hindemith, advocated a regeneration of opera by using the most characteristic features of the day. Posing social and humanitarian questions in a combination of thriller and romance, Brand presents events cinematically, using colourful orchestration to enhance the emotional impact of the drama, fully exploiting the stylistic palette of his day. The opera is being presented by Cambridge University Opera Society in collaboration with Baker's Opera, and the Cambridge University Opera Orchestra conducted by Peter Tregear. Barry Humphreys (better known as 'Dame Edna') who has a strong personal interest in this music has agreed to be a Patron of this special day.
Programme for Day of Suppressed Music
10.00—11.00am, QEH Foyer
Michael Haas: Introductory talk about the composers featured
11.30am—1.30pm, Purcell Room
Lieder Recital
2.00—4.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall
Max Brand's Maschinist Hopkins (first British performance)
5.00—7.00pm, Purcell Room
Vienna Piano Trio: Zemlinsky, Webern, Rebecca Clark
8.00—10.00pm, Purcell Room
Cabaret songs with Eva Meier
8.00—10.00pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall
Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra and chamber ensembles: Korngold, Schreker,
Goldschmidt and Mozart
Tickets: £18.50—£8.50, available from September from
the Box office 020 7960 4242 or book online at 
www.sbc.org.uk
This day is associated with a season 'Vienna-Berlin-London: Trails of Creativity 1918—1938', organised by The Austrian Cultural Institute, London.
Email newsletter for Suppressed Music
Message from Sir Simon Rattle to Launch the Newsletter:
With this newsletter we now have for the first time in the English language
a directory and information service about the many composers whose works
have been lost through political tyranny. Those of us interested in the
field now have a means of communication with each other, sharing our knowledge
and experience. It is hoped that as we become more acquainted with them,
the works by these composers, who contributed so much to the development
of 20th century music, will continue to enter the mainstream of musical
life around the world today. I wish good luck to this initiative and the
work of the JMI International Forum for Suppressed Music.
450 Subscribers
Over 450 readers have asked to recieve the first email newsletter, launched
in May this year by JMI's International Forum for Suppressed Music, to
deal specifically with music suppressed by totalitarian regimes. In inviting
subscribers, JMI was amazed at the depth of interest expressed by conductors,
festival organisers, musicians, musicologists, critics and journalists
across the world from Brazil to Australia. The newsletter contains details
of recent and forthcoming performances, recordings, publications and conferences
and has had very positive feedback. To subscribe to this quarterly newsletter,
please
use our subscription form.
Recording Oral Testimony
The International Forum for Suppressed Music has embarked on a number
of projects, among them, to record the oral testimony of composers and
musicians of the early part of the 20th Century in Central Europe, their
families and friends. It is preparing to receive the archives of musicians
of the period, establishing databases of the repertoire, developing programmes
in the study, reconstruction, performance and recording of this music,
and publishing new scholarship as well as material not hitherto available
in English. Many projects are lined up and awaiting funding to set them
in motion.
Conferences
In July 2000, the IFSM, together with the Department of Music at SOAS,
held a highly influential International Conference, 'Thwarted Voices',
focusing on the composition students of Franz Schreker in Berlin from
1920–1933 with invited speakers from the UK, Europe and America.
Follow the link to Suppressed
Music to see details and the abstracts of this conference. JMI IFSM
is planning the next conference in Paris in the summer of 2002.
Expansion of IFSM
So much interest is in evidence, that JMI is now seriously considering
expanding its work in the study and performance of suppressed music. We
are at present seeking funding from Academic Boards, Holocaust Funds,
American and European Funds as well as individuals to provide for more
research, publication, recording, and performances of this almost totally
annihilated music as well as to preserve precious archives and make them
available for world wide study. Named professorships and studentships
as well as other benefits are available for donors.
The establishment of this JMI Forum, and the development of its work, is meeting the needs of audiences, musicians, promoters and scholars the world over.
President
Sir Simon Rattle
Executive Committee
Michael Haas, Executive Producer 'Entartete Musik' Series, Decca
Erik Levi, Royal Holloway University of London
Alexander Knapp, Joe Loss Lecturer in Jewish Music, SOAS, University of
London
Lloyd Moore, Boosey and Hawkes
Martin Anderson, Toccata Press
Geraldine Auerbach MBE, Director, Jewish Music Institute, SOAS
Advisory Board
Brendan G Carroll, International Korngold Society
Evelyn Chi-Yi Chan, Friends of Schreker/Weigl Foundation, Paris
Albrecht Dümling, Musica Reanimata and 'Entartete Musik' Exhibition
Curator, Berlin
Christopher Hailey, Franz Schreker Foundation LA
and Schoenberg Institut, Vienna
Martin Schüssler, Rathaus Foundation, New York, Berlin
Patrons
Vilem Tausky, Matthias Goerne, John Mauceri
JMI SOAS Millennium Awards
Applications are being received for innovative projects in Jewish Music, from organising street concerts in Totnes to writing a new work for symphony orchestra. To apply for an average of £2500, you need to be an individual over 16. Your project needs to be completed within twelve months, be a contribution to your personal growth and be of benefit to your own or the wider community Tel 020 7898 4307.
Bevis Marks Tercentary Concerts
As part of the Bevis Marks Synagogue tercentenary celebrations, JMI presents a rare opportunity to hear three of the world's greatest cantors in two outstanding programmes of the music of Sepharad and the music of the Synagogue, as well as a children's Chanukah concert showing the way to the next 300 years of Jewish life in London.
Sons of Sepharad
Sunday 2 December 3.00pm Monday 3 December 7.30 pm
The Sons of Sepharad unites three world-renowned singers of Sephardic
Music: Aaron Bensoussan, Gerard Edery and Alberto Mizrahi, in a thrilling
musical consort that takes audiences on a voyage of discovery. Exploring
songs in Ladino, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew and other languages passed
down from the Golden Age of Spain, these brilliant artists embrace the
rich musical trove of the Sephardim as a living legacy, plumbing its antique
treasures as they contribute to its continuing evolution by composing
new songs in the genre.
Aaron Bensoussan, born in Morocco, is one of the few masters of both Sephardi and Ashkenaz cantorial styles. His soaring lyric tenor blends florid Middle Eastern melisma with pure Italian Bel Canto. He is also a virtuoso player of the oud (Middle Eastern Lute), spicing the Sons of Sepharad's performances with invigorating oriental rhythms and improvisations.
Gerard Edery, also Moroccan, is a classically trained baritone who brings a vibrant sound and expressive urgency to an immense repertoire of Judeo-Spanish songs (he was honored with the 1997 Sephardic Musical Heritage Award). With his masterly guitar playing and gift for infusing modern harmonies into complex elaborations of traditional music, he serves as the backbone of the group.
Alberto Mizrahi, born in Greece, is widely regarded as one of the finest cantors in the world. His heritage, which encompasses Greek and Turkish liturgy as well as songs in Ladino and Hebrew, lends yet another congeries of unique styles to the Sons of Sepharad. With his powerful, yet highly nuanced tenor, he interweaves intricate countermelodies through the ensemble texture, in tones that evoke now a trumpet, now a flute.
George Mgrdichian, oudist, was described by Robert Sherman of The New York Times as 'The world's unquestioned master player of the oud!'; by Richard Shepard, also of the Times as 'the best exponent of the oud, the stringed instrument of the Middle east of which he is an acknowledged master.'
Rex Benincasa contributes an immense instrumental and rhythmic versatility to the Sons of Sepharad. One of the most sought after percussionists in the New York area, he feels equally at home in Flamenco, Middle Eastern Music or Jazz and has previously performed this repertoire with Gerard Edery on several continents.
'Alberto Mizrahi's voice is rich, vibrant, powerful ... a striking performer ...' (Boston Globe)
Hear Our Voice: The Song in Prayer
Sunday 2 December 7.30 pm
The three cantors are here joined by London's outstanding Synagogue choir,
the Neimah Singers, conducted by Marc Temerlies and Cantor Moshe Haschel
a in programme of uplifting and inspiring prayers and psalms from both
the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Traditions.
Tickets for these concerts, will be reserved and numbered tickets and will be on sale from September at £20 and £25.
Chanukah Candles: the Voice of the Future
Sunday 16 December 3.00pm.
The last night of Chanukah will be celebrated by children's choirs from
all over the Capital, singing on their own and together with each other.
A special piece has been composed for the occasion by Raphael Gonley,
for the children, based on the story of the Creation. The priceless and
almost unique Chanukiah owned by Bevis Marks will be lit (joining the
300 other candles in this beautiful Synagogue) in a ceremony to celebrate
the history and the rededication to the continuation of a vigorous Jewish
life in the City of London.
Tickets: for the childrens concert are £15 with concessions of £5 for children.
Early Booking for Friends of JMI
Friends of JMI may book tickets in advance at the special rate of £23
best tickets and £18 (and £13.00 for the Children's concert):
contact 020 8909 2445 Fax 020 8909 1030 email.
Shtetl Conference, UCL 19—21 June 2001
This three day conference focuses on the shtetl (Yiddish term for a small town) and its importance in the tradition, history and folklore of Jewish life in Poland, Lithuania and other parts of Eastern Europe. For more details and registration contact the organisers, the Institute of Jewish Studies University College London Tel 020 7697 3520.
Sephardi Conference, UCL 24—26 June 2001
Friends of JMI are invited to join the Sephardi conference at UCL taking place from Sunday 24 June to Tuesday 26 June. On Monday 25 June there will be a reception dinner and concert from 6.45pm to 9pm. Professor Edwin Seroussi will be talking about Sephardi Music in the afternoon. For details about attendance at some of all of this, please telephone the conference Administrator, Sara Martin at 020 7679 3520. This conference is organised by Hilary Pomeroy.
JMI KlezFest London 1—4 July 2001
Workshops, masterclasses and concerts
Registrations from all over
Registrations have been rolling in from Australia, Canada, South Africa
as well as Europe, and America for the first ever participatory programme
in Klezmer music and Yiddish song. Musicians and non-musicians alike will
have a feast of sessions to choose from including poetry, Yiddish language
and literature. Star teachers, and performers are converging on London
to inspire with their knowledge and experience. You go on to study Yiddish
language at SOAS with the Oxford Institute after KlezFest.
Concerts each night
There are four concerts during KlezFest which all take place at SOAS.
All Klezfest participants go to the concerts free, but there will be spaces
for the general public. On Sunday night 1 July, the faculty will perform
their own special brand of Klezmer music. On Monday night Adrienne Cooper
and Zalmen Mlotek will perform their world famous Ghetto Tango programme
of cabaret songs in Yiddish and English from the war period conveying
the spirit of defiance and creativity against impossible odds. On Tuesday
3 July there is an evening of Yiddish Theatre songs from Europe and America.
On Wednesday 4 July the musicians who have been participating will perform
with members of the faculty. To book for KlezFest and for the concerts,
telephone Barbara Rosenberg on 01628 603 278 or email her on barbara[at]rosenberg87.freeserve.co.uk.
An Act of Reconciliation in Gloucester Cathedral
A special Act of Reconciliation and Repentance will take place in Gloucester Cathedral on Sunday 5 August at 6.00pm. This is being organised by The Reverend Canon Neil Heavisides, the Precentor of the Cathedral in collaboration with Reverend Malcolm Weisman, chief Rabbi's Minister for Small Jewish Communities.
JMI invites you to join us at this historic event. We go by coach from Golder's Green, and spend an interesting day with a stopover in Cheltenham Spa meeting with the vibrant Jewish community there for lunch at the beautiful Queen's Hotel overlooking the Imperial Gardens. We will have a guided visit to the historic Regency Synagogue, a grade II listed building with a talk by Michael Webber, Chairman of the Cheltenham Jewish Community. We will then be welcomed at Gloucester, taken on a special tour of the Cathedral and given tea before attending the Ceremony.
The cost of the coach from London, lunch, tea and snack supper on the way home will be £38.50 per person. (£35 for Friends of JMI). If you are taking the opportunity of a weekend in the Cotswolds or coming from elsewhere in the UK, you can join us for lunch and the programme for the rest of the day. Subtract £10.00 (coach and snack supper) from the cost. Booking is now open, and please book early to be sure of a place. Call JMI on 020 8909 2445.
Friends of JMI for 2001
The Diamond earstuds were won by Reverend B Koshland in a draw on 30 March, the first anniversary of the establishment of the Jewish Music Institute at SOAS. Thank you all for entering the draw. There are still benefits to joining the friends for this year such as discounts on some tickets and receiving this summer newsletter, which only goes to paid up friends.
If you membership has lapsed, please consider renewing. We need all the Friends we have to stay loyal and to help us to preserve and present Jewish Culture. Annual membership is a minimum donation of £20 per year. Please call Tel 020 7898 4308 Fax 020 7898 4309 for details.
- Worldwide interest in Suppressed Music
- BBC Proms chooses 'Exile' as one of its themes
- Maschinist Hopkins Première
- Programme for Day of Suppressed Music
- Email Newsletter for Suppressed Music
- JMI SOAS Millennium Awards
- Bevis Marks Tercentary Concerts
- Shtetl Conference, UCL 19—21 June 2001
- Sephardi Conference, UCL 24—26 June 2001
- JMI KlezFest London 1—4 July 2001
- An Act of Reconciliation in Gloucester Cathedral
- Friends of JMI for 2001
