Apr
17
Songs from Exile with works by Rosy Geiger-Kullmann, Paul Aron, and Ernst Toch
NYC
April 17, 2024
/
7:30 pm
-
9:30 pm
In-Person
Performances
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011
Freedom of the arts is essential for any democracy, but what role do the arts play when democracies come under pressure?

Freedom of the arts is essential for any democracy, but what role do the arts play when democracies come under pressure? Through four concerts and talks in New York City, the program indulged in the works and stories of composers who went into exile, sharing their music, and asking how democracies and the arts relate today.

Songs from Exile with works by Rosy Geiger-Kullmann, Paul Aron, and Ernst Toch, performed at the Center for Jewish History, Leo Baeck Institute New York, introduced two German-Jewish composers in American exile: Paul Aron and Rosy Geiger-Kullmann. Aron, a protagonist of the German interwar avant-garde, founded an opera company in New York in the 1950s to popularize the works of émigrés such as Darius Milhaud, Kurt Weill, Tadeusz Kassern, and Ernst Toch through piano arrangements and English translations. One of these - his English version of Toch’s short opera Egon & Emilie - was presented alongside exile songs by Aron. Geiger-Kullmann, a successful opera composer of the Weimar Republic, was born in Frankfurt and fled from the Nazis to New York and later to Monterey. Excerpts from her opera Columbus, written after her arrival in New York, and two-stage works from her years in Germany have been reconstructed and were performed in excerpts – a world premiere.

  • Rosy Geiger-Kullmann: Excerpts from Ritter Lanzelot, Emanuela and Columbus (World Premiere)
  • Paul Aron: Zwei Lieder nach Gedichten von Christian Morgenstern, No 1. Es ist Nacht, January 26, 1950; In Memoriam … Three Songs (William Butler Yeats), No. 2. To Judd. Had I the Heaven’s, August 24, 1947; Vier Herbstlieder (Herman Hesse), No. 1. Der stille Hain, August 10, 1937, revised: July 29, 1947, No. 4. Ich habe nichts mehr zu sagen, August 7, 1947 (World Premiere)
  • Ernst Toch (arr. Paul Aron): Edgar & Emily
  • Moderation: Kai Hinrich Müller (Thomas Mann House, Los Angeles)
  • Musicians: Manhattan School of Music

Photos by: Jamie Isaacs

This festival is generously supported by the Friends of Freiburg University, New York.

Music by:

Ellie Pope, soprano
Benjamin Warschawski, tenor
Benjamin Sokol, baritone
Weiyu Wang, soprano
Elliot Roman, piano
Rea Abel, flute
Clara Cho, cello

In cooperation with the Manhattan School of Music.

The events will be hosted by 1014 – space for ideas, Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Goethe-Institut, and Leo Baeck Institute - New York | Berlin. Presented by Thomas Mann House and curated by Thomas Mann Fellow Kai Hinrich Müller.

Photos: Jamie Isaacs

Opera & Democracy: Listening to Exile
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Located in a critically acclaimed landmark building in the heart of Manhattan, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York is Austria’s leading cultural representation in the United States. The ACFNY presents highlights of Austrian culture in the US by organizing exhibitions and events in the fields of visual art, music, film, theater and literature. All of these are open and free to the public. We promote a vibrant exchange between Austrian and American artists and international audiences, including by networking with academic and art institutions throughout the United States. The ACFNY also provides a platform for science diplomacy, focusing on sustainable development and democratic values.
Our mission and purpose as Friends of Freiburg University is to support international exchange of students and scholars, and to promote joint educational and research programs between the University of Freiburg (formally known in Germany as Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg) and American universities. We build and foster relationships between the University of Freiburg and its alumni living in the United States and establish partnerships with private donors and foundations.
As the globally active cultural institution of the Federal Republic of Germany, we advocate for understanding between Germany, Europe and the world. The framework agreement with the German Federal Foreign Office is the foundation for this work. Worldwide, we provide information about the cultural and societal diversity of Germany and Europe.
The Leo Baeck Institute – New York | Berlin is a research library and archive focused on the history of German-speaking Jews. Its extensive library, archival, and art collections comprise one of the most significant repositories of primary source material and scholarship on the centuries of Jewish life in Central Europe before the Holocaust.
Manhattan School of Music is deeply committed to excellence in education, performance, and creative activity; to the humanity of the School’s environment; to preparing all our students to find their success; and to the cultural enrichment of the larger community.
The Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles aims to create a vibrant transatlantic space for debate, where outstanding personalities, in dialogue with each other and the host country, address fundamental contemporary and future issues related to politics, society, and culture.

Freedom of the arts is essential for any democracy, but what role do the arts play when democracies come under pressure? Through four concerts and talks in New York City, the program indulged in the works and stories of composers who went into exile, sharing their music, and asking how democracies and the arts relate today.

Songs from Exile with works by Rosy Geiger-Kullmann, Paul Aron, and Ernst Toch, performed at the Center for Jewish History, Leo Baeck Institute New York, introduced two German-Jewish composers in American exile: Paul Aron and Rosy Geiger-Kullmann. Aron, a protagonist of the German interwar avant-garde, founded an opera company in New York in the 1950s to popularize the works of émigrés such as Darius Milhaud, Kurt Weill, Tadeusz Kassern, and Ernst Toch through piano arrangements and English translations. One of these - his English version of Toch’s short opera Egon & Emilie - was presented alongside exile songs by Aron. Geiger-Kullmann, a successful opera composer of the Weimar Republic, was born in Frankfurt and fled from the Nazis to New York and later to Monterey. Excerpts from her opera Columbus, written after her arrival in New York, and two-stage works from her years in Germany have been reconstructed and were performed in excerpts – a world premiere.

  • Rosy Geiger-Kullmann: Excerpts from Ritter Lanzelot, Emanuela and Columbus (World Premiere)
  • Paul Aron: Zwei Lieder nach Gedichten von Christian Morgenstern, No 1. Es ist Nacht, January 26, 1950; In Memoriam … Three Songs (William Butler Yeats), No. 2. To Judd. Had I the Heaven’s, August 24, 1947; Vier Herbstlieder (Herman Hesse), No. 1. Der stille Hain, August 10, 1937, revised: July 29, 1947, No. 4. Ich habe nichts mehr zu sagen, August 7, 1947 (World Premiere)
  • Ernst Toch (arr. Paul Aron): Edgar & Emily
  • Moderation: Kai Hinrich Müller (Thomas Mann House, Los Angeles)
  • Musicians: Manhattan School of Music

Photos by: Jamie Isaacs

This festival is generously supported by the Friends of Freiburg University, New York.

Music by:

Ellie Pope, soprano
Benjamin Warschawski, tenor
Benjamin Sokol, baritone
Weiyu Wang, soprano
Elliot Roman, piano
Rea Abel, flute
Clara Cho, cello

In cooperation with the Manhattan School of Music.

The events will be hosted by 1014 – space for ideas, Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Goethe-Institut, and Leo Baeck Institute - New York | Berlin. Presented by Thomas Mann House and curated by Thomas Mann Fellow Kai Hinrich Müller.

Photos: Jamie Isaacs

Opera & Democracy: Listening to Exile
Explore series events
Posted in
Arts & Culture
.
Society & Democracy
.
Partners
Risus tempus id posuere augue. Et pharetra dictumst vitae quis condimentum ut sed. Nisl cras volutpat tortor ut at lectus faucibus.
Apr
17
NYC
Songs from Exile with works by Rosy Geiger-Kullmann, Paul Aron, and Ernst Toch
April 17, 2024
/
7:30 pm
-
9:30 pm
In-Person
Performances
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011
Freedom of the arts is essential for any democracy, but what role do the arts play when democracies come under pressure?

Freedom of the arts is essential for any democracy, but what role do the arts play when democracies come under pressure? Through four concerts and talks in New York City, the program indulged in the works and stories of composers who went into exile, sharing their music, and asking how democracies and the arts relate today.

Songs from Exile with works by Rosy Geiger-Kullmann, Paul Aron, and Ernst Toch, performed at the Center for Jewish History, Leo Baeck Institute New York, introduced two German-Jewish composers in American exile: Paul Aron and Rosy Geiger-Kullmann. Aron, a protagonist of the German interwar avant-garde, founded an opera company in New York in the 1950s to popularize the works of émigrés such as Darius Milhaud, Kurt Weill, Tadeusz Kassern, and Ernst Toch through piano arrangements and English translations. One of these - his English version of Toch’s short opera Egon & Emilie - was presented alongside exile songs by Aron. Geiger-Kullmann, a successful opera composer of the Weimar Republic, was born in Frankfurt and fled from the Nazis to New York and later to Monterey. Excerpts from her opera Columbus, written after her arrival in New York, and two-stage works from her years in Germany have been reconstructed and were performed in excerpts – a world premiere.

  • Rosy Geiger-Kullmann: Excerpts from Ritter Lanzelot, Emanuela and Columbus (World Premiere)
  • Paul Aron: Zwei Lieder nach Gedichten von Christian Morgenstern, No 1. Es ist Nacht, January 26, 1950; In Memoriam … Three Songs (William Butler Yeats), No. 2. To Judd. Had I the Heaven’s, August 24, 1947; Vier Herbstlieder (Herman Hesse), No. 1. Der stille Hain, August 10, 1937, revised: July 29, 1947, No. 4. Ich habe nichts mehr zu sagen, August 7, 1947 (World Premiere)
  • Ernst Toch (arr. Paul Aron): Edgar & Emily
  • Moderation: Kai Hinrich Müller (Thomas Mann House, Los Angeles)
  • Musicians: Manhattan School of Music

Photos by: Jamie Isaacs

This festival is generously supported by the Friends of Freiburg University, New York.

Music by:

Ellie Pope, soprano
Benjamin Warschawski, tenor
Benjamin Sokol, baritone
Weiyu Wang, soprano
Elliot Roman, piano
Rea Abel, flute
Clara Cho, cello

In cooperation with the Manhattan School of Music.

The events will be hosted by 1014 – space for ideas, Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Goethe-Institut, and Leo Baeck Institute - New York | Berlin. Presented by Thomas Mann House and curated by Thomas Mann Fellow Kai Hinrich Müller.

Photos: Jamie Isaacs

Opera & Democracy: Listening to Exile
Explore series events
Posted in
Arts & Culture
.
Society & Democracy
.
Partners
Risus tempus id posuere augue. Et pharetra dictumst vitae quis condimentum ut sed. Nisl cras volutpat tortor ut at lectus faucibus.

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