Terezin

[lenka lichtenberg <lenkal...>]

My mom, a Terezin child inmate who was told to stay quiet in Hans Krasa's  
Brundibar choir because she was not on key, says the pre-war acclaim of 
Terezin's composers varied. Krasa was well-known, also abroad, won prestigious 
awards. Viktor  Ullman, style of Alban Berg, self-published 40 works, 2 operas; 
had some success as a conductor, assisting in Prague and conducting himself out 
of Prague but also in Vienna and Stuttgart. Janacek's pupil Pavel Haas was an 
active and busy composer and theatre/film composer, though not "famous" really. 
The most talented apparently was Gideon Klein, who died too young, at 26 I 
think, but was ackowledged as a genious by all. There were many who probably 
would not be known at all were it not for their fate, such as Ilse Weber whose 
songs I sing because they are touching and sincere testimonials, yet actually 
rather poorly written.  

lenka lichtenberg, singer-songwriter, yiddish and world music performer. for 
mp3s, audio clips and performance updates, visit www.lenkalichtenberg.com

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Alex J. Lubet 
  To: World music from a Jewish slant 
  Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2003 3:19 PM
  Subject: Re: Partch (off topic) Terezin (on-topic)


  He wasn't axed.  He was a visiting professor.  I dare say that, with his
  unconventional skills and lack of traditional skills and degrees, they'd have
  had a hard time keeping him on.

  The man was exceptionally iconoclastic, which indeed meant that he struggled.
  Being gay apparently didn't help, either.  Even if he were a bona fide
  exception, which I've been contesting, it wouldn't alter the typical 
trajectory
  of composer's careers.  I'd still be hard put to think of any who had zero
  musical career and were post mortem declared geniuses.  For one thing, the
  chance that remnants of the work of such a person being preserved are slimmer
  than had that person published, recorded, performed publically.

  To bring this back to topic, I keep getting reminded of the artistic 
productions
  from Terezin, the 'model' Nazi death camp whose victims were permitted 
(forced?)
  to remain artistically active.  I attended programs of Terezin composers a
  couple of times and have been asked to work on a couple more.  I'd not been
  aware of any of the composers before and I'm not altogether sure what their
  reputations would be were it not for their ghastly fate.



  Seth Austen wrote:

  > on 3/13/03 10:58 AM, Alex Lubet at lubet001 (at) umn(dot)edu wrote:
  >
  > > I don't actually think you're disagreeing with me at all.  Everyone who
  > > records for CRI has to cover costs, which isn't unusual for a classical
  > > label, but it's still refereed, in that one still must be chosen.  I
  > > wouldn't be surprised if his self-production was financed by grants.  I'd
  > > also venture that a loyal following who loves his work enough to play for
  > > free is an indication that he transcended obscurity in his lifetime, like
  > > having a Guggenheim or a major professorship.
  >
  > The impression I got from his biography was of obscurity for much of his
  > life, despite the Guggenheim or occasional fellowships. At one point in the
  > book, it talks of him finally getting a fellowship, besides a tiny office in
  > a University basement, he had little or no support from the institution,
  > major financial undertaking from his own pocket to ship his instruments to
  > the campus, getting axed after a year, etc. Perhaps it's just the normal
  > treatment for any composer! I wouldn't know, having never held a university
  > teaching position.
  >
  > Seth
  >
  > --
  > Seth Austen
  >
  > http://www.sethausten.com
  > email: seth (at) sethausten(dot)com
  >

  --
  Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
  Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music
  Adjunct Professor of American and Jewish Studies
  Head, Division Of Composition and Music Theory
  University of Minnesota
  2106 4th St. S
  Minneapolis, MN 55455
  612 624-7840 612 624-8001 (fax)


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