YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

The Musical Culture of German Jews
under the Third Reich:
Cultural Resistance in the face of Nazi Persecution

 

The lecture focuses primarily on the character of the segregated cultural life within the Jüdischer Kulturbund an organization created by Jewish musicians, composers and performers when they were no longer permitted to perform during the Nazi rule. Dr. Leon Botstein will contrast the predicament faced by artists who remained under Nazi rule until the outbreak of the war, to the fate of those who emigrated from Germany and Austria. New and terrifying political circumstances forced these performers to re-evaluate their relationships with Judaism and Jewish identity, often leading to a stronger, more profound commitment to the avant-garde. The destruction of careers in a culture of which German Jews were an integral part, and to which they were uncommonly attached, will be analyzed in terms of the artists, their listeners, and the circumstances under which they produced their art. Leon Botstein has served as the president of Bard College since 1975; as the music director and conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992; and as the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra since 2003.

Tickets: $20 regular, $10 students. For reservations, call the CJH box-office at 917-606-8200 or go to www.ticketweb.com