Ghetto Songs
Saturday, March 14, 2009; 2:00 p.m.
Seattle Art Museum, Plestcheeff Auditorium

Don’t miss this second hearing of Schoenfield’s poignant Ghetto Songs, a 2008 MOR commission based on the poetry of the famed “Krakow troubadour” Mordecai Gebirtig, shot to death in the Krakow Ghetto at age 65. Also, America was a haven for many important artists fleeing the Holocaust. Émigré musicians—such as composers Ernest Bloch and Erich Korngold, whose works we’ll hear—have had influential roles in shaping American musical life. In her commentary, Mina Miller relates this theme to SAM exhibition Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art 1660-1893 from the Yale University Art Gallery.

Ernest Bloch
Nigun

Erich Korngold
Pierrot’s Dance Song (Die Tote Stadt)

Paul Schoenfield
Ghetto Songs

Laura DeLuca, clarinet; Walter Gray, cello; Jonathan Green, doublebass; David Klein, narrator; Mina Miller, piano; Angela Niederloh, mezzo soprano; Marié Rossano, violin; Mark Salman, piano; Mikhail Shmidt, violin; Morgan Smith, baritone

“These concerts are a must to attend. Most informative and enjoyable.” — audience member