Category: news

Alma Rosé came from a well-known Austrian family of musicians and gained fame as a violinist. Her career was abruptly ended in 1938 by Austria’s annexation to Nazi Germany. As conductor of the women’s orchestra in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp, she was able to save the lives of numerous musicians before she herself died in Auschwitz in 1944.

In memory of the life and work of Alma Rosé (Vienna 1906 / Auschwitz 1944), students and lecturers from the Alma Rosé Institute for String Instruments, Guitar, and Harp in Music Education will perform works by Henriëtte Bosmans, Hans Gál, Gideon Klein, Erwin Schulhoff, and others.

Tuesday, January 27th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m

Palais Ehrbar – Kleiner Ehrbar Saal
Mühlgasse 28
1040 Vienna

Admission free! / Registration here.

Program:

works by Henriëtte Bosmans, Hans Gál, Gideon Klein, Erwin Schulhoff, and others.

Moderator:

David Frühwirth (Director, Alma Rosé Institute for String Instruments, Guitar, and Harp in Music Education)

Soprano Shira Karmon and pianist Paul Gulda present songs from their joint album Spirit of Hope (Gramola, 2021) as well as other works composed in exile from the Exilarte archive. The programme includes songs by Julius Bürger, Wilhelm Grosz, Szymon Laks, Viktor Ullmann and Kurt Weill.

The Israeli soprano has made guest appearances at the Komische Oper Berlin, the Opéra national du Rhin, the Schwetzinger Festspiele, Wien Modern and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, among others. In addition to her classical repertoire, she is deeply committed to Jewish music and performs internationally with programmes about exile and remembrance. Her albums Spirit of Hope, Little Cakewalk and Bei mir bistu sheyn (Gramola) have won numerous awards. Karmon is a prize winner of the 20th and 21st Century Song Competition organised by the Cultural Committee of German Business.

The Viennese pianist, composer and teacher Paul Gulda has been performing internationally as a soloist, chamber musician and improviser since the 1980s. He has worked with artists such as Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, Martha Argerich and the Hagen Quartet. In addition to the classical repertoire, he is also involved in projects promoting cultural dialogue and Jewish musical tradition. Numerous CD recordings, most recently ‘Spirit of Hope’ (Gramola, 2021) and ‘Arpeggione’ (cpo, 2022). Gulda teaches at the Friedrich Gulda School of Music in Vienna.

Thursday, December 18th, 2025 at 7:00 p.m

Palais Ehrbar – Kleiner Ehrbar Saal
Mühlgasse 28
1040 Vienna

Admission free! / Registration here.

Contributors:

Shira Karmon, soprano | Paul Gulda, piano

Program:

Songs by Julius Bürger, Wilhelm Grosz, Szymon Laks, Viktor Ullmann and Kurt Weill

The Shoah Songbook is an ongoing project by the Likht Ensemble that researches and performs music from the ghettos of World War II. The works revolve around themes such as spring, dreams, longing, and resistance, combining lyrical beauty with subtle irony and deeply moving truth. The program is complemented by scholarly lectures by Nate Ben-Horin and Jaclyn Grossman on vocal music from the estates of the Exile Art Center and on the work of exile composers in Canada.

The project is supported by the Canada Council for the Art.

Wednesday, March 25th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m

Palais Ehrbar – Kleiner Ehrbar Saal
Mühlgasse 28
1040 Vienna

Admission free! / Registration here.

Program:

Musical works from the archives of the Exilarte Center:
Walter Arlen, Wilhelm Grosz, Erich Zeisl, Hans Winterberg, Walter Bricht, and works by Julius Schloss

Performers:

Jaclyn Grossman – soprano | Nate Ben-Horin – piano