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

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