Voices from the Holocaust, Remembered: Selected Works for Cello

Abstract

During the Holocaust, many prominent Jewish composers’ lives and careers were cut short in their prime. Their music was banned and they had to abandon their homes and emigrate in order to survive. Tragically, many were shipped off to concentration camps where they were murdered. These composers were stripped of all possible advantages. As a result, their music often fell into obscurity. I chose to explore the lives and works of six of these composers: Hans Gál, Hans Krása, Gideon Klein, Erwin Schulhoff, James Simon, and Alexander Zemlinsky. Through my dissertation, I hope to promote their compelling music and bring some measure of justice to the tragedy of lives and careers cut short by the Holocaust.