27th of January - Holocaust Remembrance Day
IMPORTANT: Please watch the video for the "Dance of the Forgotten" here: http://youtu.be/bFbuBmyxMZ4
=====================================
Among the millions of victims of the Nazi Regime and the Holocaust, one group is still forgotten today: the nearly 400.000 victims were people with disabilites in the so called "Euthanasie" programs. In fact, they were the first victims of the Nazi regime, and they were the first human beings killed in gas chambers. The "technology" of gas chambers and "death plants" ("Todesfabriken") was first developed for and tested on the German people with disabilities. 

They were regarded as "unwertes Leben" ("unworthy life") and "Ballastexistenzen" ("ballast people"), "wertlose Menschenhülsen" ("worthless human bodies") and "nutzlose Esser" ("useless eaters"). At the end of the programme nearly everybody was in danger, who could not work, even elderly people and wounded soldiers were "euthanized".

Their names are still kept secret. Many of their families still feel "ashamed" today. They feared being viewed as having been "infected" by their disabled relatives ("erbkrank").

The victims of "Euthanasie" were legally not accepted as persecuted by the Nazis and thus did never receive any reparation. It took until the year 2007 (sic!) that the German Bundestag declared the "Erbgesundheitsgesetz" for illegal.

Most of the involved doctors continued their normal lives after the war. The victims were forgotten.

This piece goes therefore out to these forgotten victims of "Euthanasie", because "if we forget the victims, we murder them a second time."

Picture: Anna Lehnkering (2.8.1915 - 7.3.1940)
Anna was as a young girl sterilized and later on killed in the gas chamber of Grafeneck.
http://www.sigrid-falkenstein.de/euthanasie/anna.htm

This piece is part of the "Holocaust Remembrance Suite" for solo piano, which is an unique remembrance project, which has grown out of a collaboration between Stephan Beneking, composer based in Berlin, and pianist Hal Freedman (https://soundcloud.com/classical-soul-pianist) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 

The innocence and beauty of pure piano classical music 
poses a stark contrast to the horrors of the Third Reich and the Holocaust.

All recordings of the "Holocaust Remembrance Suite" uploaded to SoundCloud you find here: https://soundcloud.com/stephan-beneking/sets/holocaust-remembrance-suite-1

The booklet with descriptions about the historical background and scores / sheet music can be downloaded for free here:
http://www.beneking.com/hrs

Each piece in the Holocaust Remembrance Suite contains a vital message about the war crimes and atrocities of the past. Unfortunately, the message is applicable to conditons that persist in our world today. It is our sincere hope to raise social awareness of these problems through this important project.

The Suite is accompanied by dramatic videos showing images, which further tell the story behind each individual piece:
http://www.youtube.com/user/steveberlin0815
http://www.youtube.com/user/hmfreedman

The 'Holocaust Remembrance Suite' can be downloaded from BandCamp and is available (for regular price) on iTunes and many other platforms. 
http://beneking.bandcamp.com/album/holocaust-remembrance-suite-charity-album
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/holocaust-remembrance-suite/id675961753
http://www.amazon.de/Holocaust-Remembrance-Suite-Charity-Album/dp/B00E0QQ52C/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374427542&sr=301-1

All proceeds will be donated to charities.


YouTube Video

The Dance of the Forgotten - Holocaust Remembrance Suite - played by Hal Freedman

Rachmaninoff: Piano Masterpieces

Moments musicaux, Op. 16: No. 1 in B-Flat Minor

Robin Giesbrecht, Klavier
Aufnahme: Bellevue 2012. 50 Jahre Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben

Claude Debussy: L'Isle joyeuse

Grieg - Solveig's Song from Peer Gynt Suite No.2 Op. 55 No. 4

From Peer Gynt Suite number 2 composed in 1891 by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

Performed by Fiona Bechmann July 2024

Grieg - Solveig's Song from Peer Gynt Suite No.2 Op. 55 No. 4

inventions 9 & 10

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S. 124

Martha Argerich, piano
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Recorded 'live' at the BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London, 17 August 2016

BBC Proms 2016: Martha Argerich; Daniel Barenboim; West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (17 Aug 2016; RAH)

Martha Argerich plays Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major (BBC Proms, 17 Aug 2016)

Mozart : Adagio and Fugue - I. Adagio

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Serenade K.375 - 2. Menuetto

BACH / PURCELL / HANDEL: Stokowski Transcriptions

J. S. Bach - Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582 - Leopold Stokowski

The 20 Most Romantic Pieces of Classical Music for Piano

Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op.52

Chopin: 19 Nocturnes (disc 2)

Chopin - Nocturne Op. 62, No. 2 In E Major - Arthur Rubinstein

BRIEF HISTORY

The Hungarian Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1963 by former students of the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. The first artistic director of the ensemble was Frigyes Sándor, a renowned professor of the Academy. After his death it was János Rolla, the excellent violinist, who took over the leadership in 1979 as the artistic director. During this nearly half of a century the orchestra have built up an exceptional international reputation which has been underlined by concerts in more than 50 countries, including the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Sydney Opera House, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Their huge repertoire consists of baroque, classical, romantic and modern pieces as well. They have made more than 200 discs, and played with soloists like Sviatoslav Richter, Yehudi Menuhin, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vadim Repin and Zoltán Kocsis to name a few. The orchestra consists of 16 strings, occasionally accompanied by a harpsichord soloist, winds or other instruments. As true representatives of their country in the international classical music life they have always tried to make the famous Hungarian string traditions even more popular all over the world.

NEW DIRECTIONS

The rich history of nearly fifty years has brought not only extraordinary success, but also new challenges. The orchestra has continuously been seeking new types of co productions with excellent artists from other areas. They played in the theatrical performance of Amadeus, worked with the Ballet of Győr, the Budapest Klezmer Band, the famous jazz band of Roby Lakatos, and played with Ferenc Snétberger guitar player, too. Performing classical music in the traditional way, however, has always remained the main profile of the group, and productions with Emmanuel Pahud, Vadim Gluzman, Denis Matsuev, Maurice André, Efim Bronfman, Gustav Rivinius, Markus Stockhausen, Gábor Boldoczki, Andrea Rost or Steven Ysserlis proved to be memorable moments of the past few years. Invitations to concerts and festivals all over the world, including Japan, the United States, South America, India, and numerous European countries showed continued interest in high level artistic performances. The composition of the original ensemble also went through substantial changes: in place of the “founding fathers” new talented musicians arrived, and joined the group. The presence of János Rolla as an artistic director, however, is ensuring the highest possible standards, and connecting the past with the future.

JÁNOS ROLLA

János Rolla began playing the violin at the age of 5. He graduated from the Franz Liszt Music Academy of Budapest in 1969, where he was taught by the famous violinist, Dénes Kovács. Though he became famous in the world’s prestigious concert halls primarily as a chamber musician, he is also an excellent soloist. As leader and founding member of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra he has been the artistic director since 1979. In appreciation for his work in spreading Hungarian musical culture both at home and abroad he was awarded the “Kossuth Prize” in 1985, the highest cultural distinction in Hungary. In 1992 he became “Chevalier de la Culture” in France; in 1994 he was given the „Cross of Order of the Hungarian Republic” by the President; and since August 2004 he possesses the „Cross of Order with a Star of the Hungarian Republic”. He is the founder of the Zemplén Art Festival, and, as recognition of his efforts, he was elected honorary citizen of Sárospatak in 1996. Since 2008 he has been the head of the Chamber Music Department of the Franz Liszt Music Academy of Budapest. During his career he always followed the aim to progress the famous Hungarian string traditions all over the world. His work and enthusiasm were praised in numerous personal confessions of soloists with whom he, and the orchestra, played together during the years.


Mozart : Adagio and Fugue - I. Adagio

LFKZ

Related tracks