Listen: 'Kaddish: Reflections on the Holocaust in Music and Words'

The lessons of history are best remembered, and the tragedy of the Holocaust is commemorated this week, as Jews all over the world observe Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), which begins at sundown on Wednesday.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust. It began in Germany in the earliest days of the Nazi regime with the abridgment of rights, the confiscation of property, and the revocation of citizenship of the country's Jewish population. Over time, it became a relentless, wholesale effort to rid all of Europe of its so-called "undesirables" on the basis of their religion or ethnicity, their sexual orientation or their politics. The result: the unparalleled, systematic slaughter of millions. Survivors were few, and each has a unique story.

A few years ago, classical music host Mindy Ratner conducted a series of conversations with Holocaust survivors or their descendants; these form the basis of (the Gabriel Award-winning) Kaddish: Reflections on the Holocaust in Music and Words.

The music on the program was written by composers — mostly Jewish — who either survived as refugees or died in concentration camps. Their work is their legacy.

Mindy's guests include Theodore Bikel — actor, singer, social activist and master storyteller — who came to the Twin Cities in June 2013, and longtime radio professional Martin Goldsmith, plus members of our own community with stories and insights to share.

Listen now to Kaddish: Reflections on the Holocaust in Music and Words.

Program Playlist

Maurice Ravel (arr. D. Hope): "Kaddish" from Two Hebrew Melodies
Daniel Hope, violin
from Forbidden Music (Nimbus 5702)

Lukas Foss: Elegy for Anne Frank (1989)
Kevin McCutcheon, piano
Berlin Radio Symphony Orch/Christopher Wilkins, conductor
from Lukas Foss: Elegy for Anne Frank (Naxos 8.559438)

Paul Ben-Haim: Suite No. 2, Mvt. III: “Nocturne” (1936)
Gila Goldstein, piano
from Paul Ben-Haim (Centaur 2506)

Paul Ben-Haim: Pastorale Variée (1945)
David Drosinos, clarinet
St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Lande
from Portals (Marquis 81423)

Stephen Paulus: Interlude: "Veil of Tears," from To Be Certain of the Dawn (2005)
Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Osmo Vänskä
(BIS 1726)

Carlo Sigmund Taube: "Ein Jüdisches Kind"
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Bengt Forsberg, piano
Ib Hausmann, clarinet
from Terezin/Theresienstadt (DGG 477 6546)

Hans Gal: Symphony No. 1, Mvt. III: “Elegie”
Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Thomas Zehetmair
from Kindred Spirits (Avie 2224)

Ilse Weber (music and text): "Und der Regen Rinnt"
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Bengt Forsberg, piano
Bebe Risenfors, double bass
from Terezin/Theresienstadt (DGG 477 6546)

Hans Gal: Serenade for Strings (Mvts. I & III)
Symphony Nova Scotia, conducted by Georg Tintner
from Late Romantics/Neo-Romantiques (CBC 5167)

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Melancolia
Christopher Parkening, guitar
from The Artistry of Christopher Parkening (EMI 54853)

Krzysztof Penderecki: Kadisz (Kaddish) (Mvt. IV) (2009)
Cantor Alberto Mizrahi, tenor
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Male Choir, conducted by Antoni Wit
from Penderecki: Magnificat/Kadisz (Naxos 8.572697)

Gallery

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