April 22, 2025
Athens, GR 14 C
Expand search form
Blog

City Without Jews, the musical version

City Without Jews, the musical version

The Salzburg Festival is putting on performances of a prophetic 1924 film, predicting the upsurge of murderous Viennese antisemitism.

The film has been furnished with a musical score by the Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth, co-commissioned by the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Ensemble Intercomporain, and London’s Barbican Centre.

First reviews says the music adds little to the caustic horror of Hans Karl Breslauer’s silent film.

Neuwirth said she tried ‘to maintain a liveliness by making the music simultaneously touching and hard, warm-hearted and open, amusing and angry, involved and distant, humorous and sad.’

Die Presse’s headline was: ‘Olga Neuwirth’s music has nothing to say about “The City Without Jews”’

Der Standard’s critic writes: ‘The music, which Olga Neuwirth composed in 2017, is subtly biting and ironic and also not at all funny.
Neuwirth’s world of ideas… is more like a dark field of energy that envelops the threatening aura of this story. Alienated mass hysterical applause, veiled yodeling, wine tavern music: all of this shines through as an alienated original; you can even briefly hear the song Immer wieder Österreich , which the John Otti Band sings at FPÖ party events.’

PHACE
Nacho de Paz Dirigent

The post City Without Jews, the musical version appeared first on Slippedisc.

Previous Article

All shall have prizes? Not Dudamel, surely…

Next Article

Paris’s rain-soaked conductor has his say

You might be interested in …

Pure enjoyment: Peter Moore & Tredegar Band give the first recording of Simon Dobson's concerto for Moore alongside works paying tribute to trombonists like Arthur Pryor, Don Lusher & Tommy Dorsey

Pure enjoyment: Peter Moore & Tredegar Band give the first recording of Simon Dobson’s concerto for Moore alongside works paying tribute to trombonists like Arthur Pryor, Don Lusher & Tommy Dorsey

Arthur Pryor, Gordon Langford, Phoebe Palmer Knapp, Erik William Gustav Leidzén, George Bassman, Simon Dobson, Philip Sparke; Peter Moore, Tredegar Band, Ian Porthouse; Chandos RecordsReviewed 28 March 2025 Trombonist Peter Moore joins forces with Tredegar […]