Author: Madeleine Fremuth

© Stones of Remembrance

Memorial stones for the composer Julius Bürger and his family were recently laid at Obere Donaustraße 59 in Vienna. These memorial stones, which commemorate Chaje Bürger, Solomon Bürger, Elias Bürger, Isak Bürger, Siegfried Bürger, Julius Bürger and Rosa Bürger, are part of a project launched at the initiative of the American musician and researcher Ryan Ross. Ross has dealt intensively with the life and work of the Viennese composer Julius Bürger, who was forced into exile in the USA due to the horrors of National Socialism. 

The laying of the memorial stones was made possible by the “Stones of Remembrance” association with the support of the City of Vienna and the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism.

The composer’s friends, supporters and relatives took part in the solemn memorial ceremony, including Ron and Collette Pohl, Trude Zörer, Eva Spreitzler, Edith Seybal and the team from the mdw Exilarte Center under the direction of Gerold Gruber. 

The event was supported by Uniqa Insurance Group, which made its premises available. The ceremony was musically accompanied by the group Avanim, with Daliah Hindler and Barbara Probst singing and Christoph Kögler on the accordion.

© ORF Design, Hans Leitner

On Saturday, October 5, 2024, the “ORF Long Night of Museums” will be held throughout Austria. 

The mdw Exilarte Center is taking part again. This year the center is once again offering a variety of events, including lectures, concerts and guided tours of the exhibition “Triangle of Viennese Tradition | Zemlinsky – Schönberg – Hoffmann” and through our permanent exhibitions. 

SPECIAL EVENTS as part of the ORF Long Night of Museums

1) “Piano duo Haufe – Ahmels”, piano duo Friederike Haufe and Volker Ahmels (start: 6:15 p.m.)

Opening: Gerold Gruber, director of the Exilarte Center  

Since their time as students, the piano duo Friederike Haufe and Volker Ahmels have focused on the interpretation and research of classical modernism, especially ostracized music. The present program is a selection of “classics” from the 2nd Viennese School, supplemented by the celebrated “Serbian Songs” of the time by the composer Hans Gál, who, like Arnold Schönberg, had to do military service in the First World War. While Schönberg’s miniatures represent a turning point in the free-tonal phase for the condensation of the material, the Variations op. 27 by Anton Webern can be seen as a continuation of the consistent use of dodecaphony. The fragments for piano 4 hands are hardly known to the public and yet definitely deserve attention. Alban Berg’s highly demanding piano sonata is still a masterpiece by Arnold Schönberg’s student at the time. Friederike Haufe and Volker Ahmels are co-hosting this program designed for the occasion and want to give the audience access to the Viennese masters of the first half of the century.

2)  “In the ice of the moon we wander”, a song recital with Pia Buchert and Tatjana Dravenau (start: 8:00 p.m.)

The program combines compositions by Walter Arlen and Hans Gál, whose papers were entrusted to the Exilarte archive, with works by other Jewish composers. Ruth Schonthal, who comes from a Viennese family and initially grew up in Hamburg and Berlin, emigrated to the USA via Sweden and Mexico during the Nazi era, where the Berlin-born composer Ursula Mamlok also found a new circle of life and activity. Both women did not let the politically motivated persecution take away their courage to live or the development of their musical talents. Schonthal studied composition with Ingemar Liljefors, Manuel Ponce and Paul Hindemith, Mamlok with Gustav Ernest, Ernst Krenek and Roger Sessions. The diverse oeuvre of the two composers, encompassing all genres, as well as numerous awards and teaching positions at renowned universities document their importance in the further development of the classical-romantic composition tradition in the 20th century. Felix Wolfes, who came from Hanover and was a student of Hans Pfitzner and Richard Strauss and worked as a conductor at various German opera houses, also had to leave his homeland and worked as a professor of composition in Boston in the second half of his life. An extensive collection of songs based on German texts was created here, whose fine, often polyphonic lines create a transparent and delicate sound. Similar to his letters and diaries, his ability to articulate experiences of suffering and loss without bitterness and vindictiveness is evident here.

3) “Melancholy”, a chamber music evening by the VIVA LA CLASSICA ensemble!

After successful concerts in Vienna, London, Lublin, Krakow and Warsaw, the ensemble VIVA LA CLASSICA!  Excerpts from his program “Melancholy” with works by Walter Arlen, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Henriëtte Bosmans, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Rosy Wertheim, Erwin Schulhoff, Victor Ullmann, Simon Laks, Franz Waxman, Erich Zeisl and Paul Hindemith. The cruelty of the Third Reich had many faces, one of which was the complete ban on the performance of composers’ works – be it because of their origin, beliefs or sexual orientation. In order to devalue their art, it was given the term “degenerate”. Some persecuted artists managed to escape into exile, where they were able to continue their artistic work. Others were not granted this and fell victim to National Socialist persecution. Their music, some of which is still unknown, wants VIVA LA CLASSICA!  bring it closer to the audience. They placed particular emphasis on including compositions by female composers who were doubly discriminated against at the time. The song cycle Melancholy, op. 13, composed by Paul Hindemith between 1917 and 1919, inspired the musicians to write the concert title. These songs, based on Morgenstern poems, manifest Hindemith’s early expressionist style, for which he was persecuted by the Nazis. From this song cycle, the musicians present the song “Dunkler Tropfe” – a funeral march.

4) Quick tours through the exhibition (from 6:30 p.m.)

Triangle of the Viennese tradition I Zemlinsky – Schönberg – Hoffmann

Inspired by the globally celebrated 150th birthday of Arnold Schönberg, the new exhibition in the Exilarte Center of the mdw illuminates the social and cultural environment of the founder of the Second Viennese School. In particular, attention is paid to Alexander Zemlinsky, who taught Schönberg and introduced him to Viennese music circles, as well as to Schönberg’s student and later assistant Richard Hoffmann, whose estate has recently been located in the archives of the Exilarte Center. These three personalities, their professional, friendship and musical connections as well as their fates during the time of the Nazi regime are presented using life documents, photos and music manuscripts. Countless other free spirits of the early 20th century from music, literature, fine art and architecture as well as wealthy art lovers and patrons met for artistic exchanges and lavish parties in the artists’ colony planned by Josef Hoffmann in Vienna’s already noble 19th district. The majority of them had Jewish roots and were persecuted by the Nazis. Many were able to emigrate, many died in concentration camps.

ENTRY

Tickets can be purchased directly at the Exilarte Center!

Exilarte center of the mdw, Lothringerstraße 18 / 1st floor, 1030 Vienna

Regular: €17 (incl. VAT)
Reduced:* €14 (incl. VAT)

Free entry for children up to 12 years
*Reduced tickets for schoolchildren, students, seniors, people with disabilities, military servants and Ö1 Club members. Please have relevant proof ready on site.