Sjostakovitsj' Symfonie nr. 13 ‘Babi Jar’ en Schönbergs A Survivor from Warsaw

Shostakovich's 'Babi Jar' Symphony and Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw

Music is our memory. Shostakovich's 'Babi Yar' Symphony and Schönberg's raw account of a raid in the Warsaw Ghetto confront us permanently with the horrors of the Second World War. In these poignant works, the Concertgebouw Orchestra is joined by the Laurens Vocaal Men's Choir and the unforgettable deep voice of Alexander Roslavets. Stone monuments wear down and decay, but music is immortal and connects us to history, as music critic and cultural historian Jeremy Eichler shows in his award-winning book Time's Echo (published in Dutch as Echo van de tijd ).

Weinberg's Fantasy for cello and orchestra

Solo cellist Gregor Horsch shines in the bittersweet Fantasy for cello and orchestra by Mieczysław Weinberg, full of klezmer melancholy and Polish folk melodies. The Polish-Jewish composer fled from the Nazis to the Soviet Union – where this 'survivor from Warsaw' was once again confronted with antisemitism, but also found a lifelong friend in Dmitri Shostakovich.

As part of The Concertgebouw's season theme 'Reflections on Europe', writer Jeremy Eichler gives an introduction (in English) to this program.