WHEN:
November 7-9, 2024
WHERE:
Guarneri Hall
11 East Adams, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60603
A spokesperson describes the event as follows:
“...35 years after its dismantling, the Berlin Wall continues to hold a place in memory as a symbol of the Cold War. The collective output of a generation of writers, artists, and musicians on both sides of the Iron Curtain reveals a complex and often unexpected mix of conflicted nationalist loyalties, ideological optimism, and artistic triumph in the face of profound challenge. With the help of leading topical experts, each event will illuminate less conventionally understood aspects of the era’s music and provide a balanced view of the forces that influenced its composers.
November 7th will be The Landscape of Exile. The program illuminates the music and story of Hanns Eisler (1989-1962), an important German composer whose work is seldom heard in the U.S. The concert follows his life story between Nazi Germany, U.S. and East Germany, a journey reflective of the complex 20th-century history and politics. A German pre-war Communist, Eisler emigrated to the U.S. after his work was banned by the Nazi Party in 1933. In 1948, Eisler was blacklisted and deported from the U.S. He eventually settled in East Germany and would go on to write its national anthem, but would often find himself persona non grata again, writing music that was too experimental, difficult, and political for the Communist regime. University of Chicago Sociology Professor Andreas Glaeser will frame this performance with a discussion of 20th-century history and the politics reflected in the music of Eisler’s era. The concert program includes selections from “The Hollywood Songbook”, Fourteen Ways of Describing Rain, Op. 70, Septet No. 2 (“Circus”), and “Serious Songs.” Performing artists include Tyler Duncan, baritone; Erica Switzer, piano; Elizabeth Fayette and Stefan Hersh, violins; Brian Hong and Tanner Menees, violas; Ari Evan and Alexander Hersh, cellos; Constance Volk, flute; Katherine Jimoh, clarinet; and Ben Roidl-Ward, bassoon.
November 8th is Between Laughter and Tears. The music of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is deeply associated with Russian political repression during the Cold War era. In 1960, Shostakovich composed two profoundly contrasting works that together demonstrate an incredible range of emotions. In Satires, Pictures of the Past, Op. 109, Shostakovich tested the limits of artistic freedom with parodies of old Russian tales and a sardonic polka to mock the absurdities of the Soviet bureaucracy. His next work, the String Quartet #8, is dedicated to the victims of fascism and war but further expresses the trauma Shostakovich felt after joining the Communist party. A third piece, Dance on a Tightrope, written in 1993 by Soviet-Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1933), rounds out the program and demonstrates the flourishing of music in the immediate post-Soviet era. University of Chicago Graham School instructor Jennifer A. Lind will discuss the events leading up to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, with emphasis on how everyday Germans and creative artists persevered throughout decades of authoritarian government. Special attention will be paid to how the fall of the Berlin Wall was received differently between East and West Germany, Eastern and Western Europe, and the U.S. Performing artists include Laura Strickling, soprano; Steven Beck, piano; Elizabeth Fayette, Maria Ioudenitch and Adé Williams, violins; Brian Hong, viola; and Alexander Hersh, cello.
November 9th will be A Tale of Two Worlds, featuring the music of Hungarian composers György Ligeti (1923-2006) and György Kurtág (b. 1926) who ended up on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall. They met as prospective students of Béla Bartók at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest in 1946 and became lifelong friends, but each went on to forge independent artistic lives. In the wake of the Hungarian uprising of 1956, Ligeti fled Hungary and resettled in Vienna. He eventually took Austrian citizenship and would spend the rest of his life living and working in the West. Kurtág, meanwhile, chose to return to Budapest following his studies in Paris in 1957-58, with most of his creative output coming from behind the Iron Curtain. University of Chicago Associate Professor of Political Science Paul Poast will discuss Cold War politics in Hungary, to which Ligeti and Kurtág reacted very differently, despite their deep friendship and shared values. The program features György Ligeti: Homage a Hilding Rosenberg for Violin and Cello; György Kurtág: Officium Breve opus 28 (1989) in memoriam Andreae Szervánszky; György Kurtág: Six Moments Musicaux for String Quartet; and György Ligeti: Horn Trio. Performing artists include Steven Beck, piano; Elizabeth Fayette, Maria Ioudenitch, and Adé Williams, violins; Brian Hong, viola; Alexander Hersh, cello; and Nicolee Kuester, French horn..."
