Joseph Gilbert Lectures

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847), child prodigy, musical genius, brother to equally talented Fanny was the grandson of Moses Mendelssohn the renowned German Jewish Philosopher. He was baptized into the Lutheran Faith at age 7. He was a prolific composer, excellent musician and conductor, publically loved, yet, later, his music was besmirched by Richard Wagner. Later in the nineteenth century his music was less often played.  In the twentieth century, his music was banned by the Nazis as he was considered a Jew. After the War, his music has re- emerged to great acclaim yet to a continuing controversy related to the famous oratorios of St.Paul and Elijah.  Audio and visual materials are used to explore the Mendelssohn family, the music of Felix and his legacy.

The words “Jewish”, “Degenerate”, and “Bolshevik” were used by the Nazis to describe any art or music not acceptable to the Third Reich. What constituted “degenerate” music was the content, the political views of the composer, the composer’s religion or if the music was African-American or modern in derivation. Many composers escaped to Britain or America and elsewhere in the 1930s and some were most successful in exile.  The talk describes selected stories of these artists and examples of the extensive repertoire of the music written for the concert hall, for the movies or the opera house will be played.

The words “Jewish”, “Degenerate”, and “Bolshevik” were used by the Nazis to describe any art or music not acceptable to the Third Reich. What constituted degenerate music was the content, the political views of the composer, the composer’s religion or music described as African-American or modern in derivation.  When the Nazis came to power they dismissed all Jewish musicians, composers and administrators. Many fled, others could not. Later, many were killed. Some composers escaped to Britain or America and elsewhere in the 1930s and some were most successful in exile. Some non-Jewish composers remained in “internal exile”.   The talk describes how the Nazis developed and utilized the idea of degenerative music, (entartete music); who was involved and how people coped with this barbarism. A parallel process was in place for “degenerate” art.

Many composers from Germany, Austria, Italy and the Czechoslovakia escaped to the US. With their classical training and abilities they formed a powerful group of Hollywood film composers. Soon, despite a totally different genre they were at the forefront of demonstrating the impact a film score could have on a movie. They changed the industry and earned many awards including Oscars. Names such as Korngold, Rosza, Weill, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Schoenberg and Waxman are some of the familiar names of that group of exiles. The talk describes the biography of these selected composers and examples of the music and excerpts from the corresponding films will be shown.

When the Nazis took over the German government in 1933, all Jewish artists, actors, musicians and public domain administrators were dismissed. Soon afterwards, the government consented to a Jewish cultural organization, the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden, that was founded in Berlin and then later established in many other German cities. These organizations were restricted to Jews and could only perform non-German music or plays, e.g. no to Bach or Beethoven, but yes to Mendelssohn and Shakespeare, at least at the beginning. The organizations became more and more restrictive and censored by the Nazis and were finally disbanded by 1941. The talk describes this anomalous organization, it’s participants, what was performed and the controversies surrounding the leadership and the participant artists.

These talks focus on a review of operas in which Jewish characters are the central subject or Jewish characters are part of the story or plot. Stereotyping Jews was a common practice in the operas of Reinhard Keiser (1674-1739), Heinrich Marschner (1795-1861), (perhaps) Haydn (1732-1809) and Richard Strauss (1864-1949). A special discussion needs to be held to describe the operas of Richard Wagner (1813-1886).  He was an avowed anti-Semite and his operas are a revolution of the art form. Yet the Ring of the Niebelungen projects a world view that places Jews in the underworld, an evil place. Whether Wagner portrayed Jews in the Ring operas and in his other works continues to be a controversial subject. There are also a number of well- regarded Jewish composers whose total oeuvre had no Jewish content.

In recent years a number of composers have written operas that portray Israelis as evil, militaristic and as predators. Other compositions are said to be sympathetic to terrorists, and “protestors”.  Other so-called Regietheatre directors  (European) have taken classic opera works and adulterated them to contemporary times to portray Israelis as terrorists, evil people.  The talk presents examples of Anti- Israeli opera and describes the issue surrounding contemporary productions.

lfred Rosé (1902- 1975) Professor of Music at Western University (UWO), was the elder brother of Alma Rosé, son of Arnold Rosé (Concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and leader of the Rosé String Quartet). He was also the   nephew of Gustav Mahler.  His sister Alma died in Auschwitz where she was the leader of the Women’s Orchestra. Her tenure as leader is controversial: with books, film and an opera written about her, describing her leadership, faults and strengths.  The story of the Mahler and Rosé families is told using audio and visual material and photo/artifactsfrom the Mahler- Rosé Collectionhoused at Western University (UWO) in London, Ontario. The museum is a world resource for any study of Mahler and Rosé.

Yiddish folk tales and legends are abundant, none more so than those from the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the shtetls of central and eastern Europe. As these stories were passed down from one generation to the next, they were altered and embellished. Yiddish writers such as S.A. Ansky and Sholem Aleichem are famous for their tales and parables, some of which have been transferred to the opera art form in several languages by composers and librettists. The Dybbuk and the Golem are two of these operas. The lecture will discuss and explore these and other transformed tales.

peras on various aspects of the Holocaust have made their appearance in recent years. The operas range from those which describe individual tragedy to those which portray the Holocaust in general and its aftermath. The composers are from Russia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, England, Israel and the US. The operas are based on stories written by survivors, heroes of the War and specific events.  It is not always clear why a certain composer chose to write about the Shoah. There are more than 35 operas that depict some aspect of the Shoah. The talk describes a representative sample of these using audio and video material.  A discussion of the meaning of these stories within the framework of writings about the Holocaust is part of the talk.

The opera “La Juive” (The Jewess) was a highly successful French Grand Opera when it opened in 1835. The opera remained popular and was frequently performed in France and elsewhere until the First World War. Written by a Non Jewish librettist Eugene Scribe and his Jewish collaborator, the composer Fromental Halevy, it had its germination in the liberalism of Voltaire and the French Revolution.   It portrays the issues of anti-clericalism and anti-Semitism and encourages tolerance. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church continued as a strong influence and supported French anti-Semites such as Edouard Drumont. His articles and newspaper were a forerunner of events that reached their apogee in the Dreyfus affair. The presentation includes material from the opera, and draws on the writings of Diana Hallman* that exemplify these issues. A great work of art relates to the issues of the day but also goes beyond and addresses ongoing human concerns.

*Opera, Liberalism, and Antisemitism in Nineteenth Century France –Diane Hallman, Cambridge Studies in Opera. Cambridge University Press 2002.

In 1941, the Nazis took over the town of Terezin and establish a concentration camp where they interned Jews (mostly) from Czechoslovakia. Creative artists and their families were temporarily housed here until most were sent to Auschwitz. The Nazis allowed, nay, encouraged a “free time organization” which performed plays, concerts and readings. The purpose here was to show (film) how Jews were treated, so as to reduce the condemnation they, the Nazis were receiving from Western Countries. Many composers, musicians and artists participated in these cultural events. In addition, children were taught in school and poems and paintings were the legacy. The music of Terezin has only come to light in the last 25 years and much has been written about the composers, musicians and their legacy. It is an extraordinary story of artistic endeavor, courage and tragedy. The talk describes this “place” and the people who lived there, those who died and those who survived.

Salamone Rossi (ca. 1570-1630) was an Italian Jewish composer and violinist who was a musician at the Gonzaga court in the duchy of Mantua. He is famous for his compositions of madrigals and Shir ha’Shirim the Songs of Solomon. He was the first Jew to use Western musical notation to guide the music of liturgy. In addition he was exempt from restrictions posed on Jews in Mantua and was part of the orchestra of Monteverde, an early composer of operas: his operas are still played today. Recently, an Israeli origin group of musicians, the Profeti della Quinta have begun to play and promote Rossi’s music. The talk describes the scene in Mantua uses excerpts both audio and video from the current musical menu to portray Rossi and his world.

During the time of both the First and Second Temple, instrumental music was part of the Sacrificial Services on Shabbat and on Festivals. After the loss of the Temple and as the Synagogue became the place of community prayer, the Rabbis decreed that instruments must not be played. This was the dominant status until the 19th Century, when during the development of “Reform” Judaism, an organ was introduced first in Germany and later in America. What were and are the reasons for this ban?  Were there any attempts to break the ban earlier than the 19th-Century? How and why did the Reform branch of Judaism introduce instruments during prayer? What is the situation in the diverse Jewish Community of today? Are there are different views in the Ultra -Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements, and how do these ideas compare with those of other faiths?