Voices of Sorrow

Program:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann: Concerto funebre
Franz Schreker: Intermezzo
Alexander Tansman: Triptych
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: String Symphony No. 9 in C Major

Featuring:
Orsolya Korcsolán – violin
Conductor: Amaury du Closel

The reign of terror by Hitler left a painful mark on the music of Europe, causing the banning of numerous artists. In his Concerto funebre composed in 1938, Hartmann portrayed not only mourning and gloom but also glimpses of hope in the form of two chorales. Austrian composer Franz Schreker, once mentioned alongside Richard Strauss, saw his work banned in his time. Alexander Tansman fled from Warsaw to Paris and then to Los Angeles with the help of Charlie Chaplin to escape the war. During these troubled years, the works of Felix Mendelssohn were also banned in Germany. The soloist for the evening is Orsolya Korcsolán, a rediscoverer of Jewish composers of the era, who has produced an album of Sándor Kuti's works for Deutsche Grammophon. Leading the orchestra is French conductor Amaury du Closel, whose organization, Forum Voix Etouffees, aims to promote composers persecuted by Nazism.