Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles, will present as part of Essential Voices USA's "The Composer Speaks" programs, Austrian émigrés: Schoenberg, Von Trapp and the Power of Music, on March 30, at 7:30 p.m. at the DiMenna Space for Classical Music, 450 West 37th Street, New York City.
Judith Clurman will conduct Essential Voices USA with Tedd Firth, piano; Maureen McKay, soprano; and Joseph Beutel, bass-baritone. Panel members will include Larry Schoenberg, son of the composer; Elisabeth Von Trapp, granddaughter of the legendary Maria and Baron von Trapp; musical theater luminaries Ted Chapin, David Chase, and Larry Hochman; composer David Ludwig; with moderator Naomi Lewin.
The program explores the stories of two Austrian émigrés whose experiences have been captured in important musical compositions.
In 1947, with the sights and sounds of war ringing in his ears, Arnold Schoenberg composed Survivor from Warsaw as a tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. Twelve years later, the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein recreated the experience of the Von Trapp family in the iconic musical The Sound of Music.
In a recent press release touting the upcoming concert, Clurman explains that she originally got the idea for the program while touring the beautiful landscapes that once served as the backdrop for such a harrowing tale:
"Last summer I was invited to conduct the 50th anniversary concert of the Sound of Music at the Mozarteum, in Salzburg, Austria.
"On the way, my husband and I visited the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna. I began to think about how the Von Trapp and Schoenberg families share a common fate, expulsion from Austria to flee the Nazis. This program juxtaposes the life stories and the music of these disparate émigrés.
"We are honored to be presenting this wonderful music, and are very touched that our guests will be participating in our Composer Speaks program."
Tickets for Judith Clurman and Essential Voices USA, priced at $30, are available for purchase through the choral ensemble's official website.
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